Shannon and Mango at Richland Park 2011
A deal has been finalized for Michael Pollard to purchase and syndicate Balligowan Pizazz from Shannon Lilley and The Lilley Group. This deal makes the best out of two tough situations and moves one of the best horses in the US from one great rider to another. Shannon has been slowly recovering from emergency back surgery in February. The surgery ruined her chances of competing her 2011 Pan Amerocan Games partner Ballingowan Pizazz “Mango” at the London Olympics and has left Shannon still unable to ride. Pollard Eventing continues to recover from the trailer accident that took three of their wonderful horses in May.
I spoke with Shannon briefly today and she told me that Mango was not actively for sale but she made a special exception out of her respect for Michael’s program and because Michael told her that he didn’t just lose three great horses in the trailer accident, he lost three horses that were members of his family. She explained to me “Mango is a once in a lifetime horse and he deserves a shot to compete at his best. Michael is such a nice rider and he also deserves a shot to be the best. Hopefully they will reach that potential together.” Throughout our entire conversation it was clear to me that the decision to part with her great partner was incredibly hard for Shannon, but she ultimately made the decision because she wants to see Mango be the best he can be.
Shannon and Mango represented the United States along side Michael and Schoensgreen Hanni at the 2011 Pan American Games, where Mango finished in 5th place and helped the US win team gold. The 10 year old Irish Sport Horse was imported to the US in 2007 for one of Shannon’s students. Shannon and The Lilley Group bought him in May of 2011.
In my opinion, Mango is absolutely a world class horse and he is one of the top horses in the United States looking ahead to the 2014 World Equestrian Games in Normandy, France. He brings pure quality to all three phases with a wonderful trot and a great jump. I believe he could score in the low 40’s of a four-star test today and I would expect him to finish on that without much trouble after forming a partnership Michael.
Watch Shannon and Mango ride dressage at the PAGs:
[Richland Show Jumping]
I am thrilled for Michael and Shannon about the opportunities this sale creates for both of them. My understanding is that shares of the syndication with Michael are still available and we will have more details soon about what would be an opportunity to be part of a tremendous partnership for the future. Mango has passed the pre-purchase vetting and is scheduled to fly to Kentucky from California on Wednesday morning. We’ll have more from Shannon and Michael shortly. Go Mango.
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**UPDATE 7:45pm**
From a Pollard Eventing release:
“After one of the lowest points of my life I decided I needed to take positive and productive action that would give our team something to look forward to. I began sending out some personal messages to past and present supporters in an effort to ask for help in rebuilding, and I have been humbled by the response,” stated Pollard. “This new syndication has been possible by their incredible generosity. When I realized that we might actually be able to pull a group together I began to think of horses that could potentially live up to the standard of the incredible horses we lost. Ballingowan Pizazz (aka Mango) was at the top of the list. Obviously, I knew him very well from watching him at the Pan American Games, but because he was not on the market and my tremendous respect for Shannon it was a very difficult decision to even ask if he could be for sale. I was very surprised when Shannon wrote to me and said that she would consider selling him, and honestly I was honored that she considered me worthy of such an amazing horse. Shannon is one of the best and most positive people I know and, while I am obviously thrilled to have the opportunity to ride Mango, I am also sad that Shannon is not able to continue his career. They were a wonderful partnership to watch, and I will do everything I can to fulfill her faith in me with Mango to realize his potential. I am also very grateful for the people who have stepped up to help me, and I hope we can round out this syndication in the coming months.”….
Additionally, in response to many requests Pollard Eventing is establishing a Road to Recovery fund on its website where supporters can donate to help cover veterinary and equipment expenses incurred as a result of the trailer accident in which three horses lost their lives, and for which no coverage existed. “We were self insured with the horses and unfortunately a clerical error left our trailer without insurance. The driver of the vehicle that caused the accident had very limited coverage and it has put us in a very difficult situation. While we are very fortunate in many ways we were not properly prepared for this type of accident. We have received incredible support since this tragedy from people offering to help so we decided to establish this fund where donations will be used to rebuild Pollard Eventing. It is our focus to become a contender for future U.S. teams with the goal of making the 2014 World Equestrian Games in Normandy and 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janiero,” said Pollard.
