Jordan Lambert and Rio Wild competing in the OP at The Ark. Photo by Sierra Severt.
One of the things that I love about eventing is the diversity in the breeds, shapes, colors, and sizes of the horses. At any given event, you can see any number of different horses. When I first met Jordan Lambert and her spotty pony, Rio Wild, I was so impressed. Rio is a gorgeously colored Appaloosa gelding with only a very little bit of TB in his line. I have always been a big fan of color, so I immediately fell in love with this partnership. (All photos used with permission)
As with most of us that have horses in the blood, Jordan Lambert has had a love for horses since she was a small child. She did everything that she could to ride a horse growing up in West Des Moines, Iowa. When she was 14, she moved to New Mexico and finally got to dive into English riding and learned how to jump., and finally, at the age of 20, she got her first horse. In 2005, life led her to Four Corners Equine Rescue in Aztec, NM and her journey with Rio Wild began.
Rio and Jordan at Valles Caldera on one of their many trail rides together.
At the time, Jordan owned a young appaloosa mare that she had raised from a weanling and started herself. Unfortunately, the mare had developed congenital stationary night blindness which effected her depth perception, and thus, her jumping career. A friend of Jordan’s knew of Rio being at the rescue. She suggested that Jordan talk with the owners to see if they might be interested in trading her mare for Rio. At the time, Jordan thought it was a crazy idea, but now, she is very thankful that she took the chance!
Rio was an easy horse to start, and he and Jordan bonded quickly. Jordan spent a lot of time getting the basics down with him and they spent many an hour trail riding on the Rio Grande. (Totally cool!!) In 2006, they started their eventing career together, and by the end of the year, had successfully completed two recognized Novice events together. The following year brought Training level and more success together. However, in late 2008, Jordan decided to take a hiatus from eventing, as gas was extremely expensive. As everyone from the West Coast knows, events are quite far apart, and gas can add up quite quickly going to just one event.
During their break from eventing, Jordan and Rio started taking the Jumper world by storm. They even competed in the A rated $1500 Marshall and Sterling Children’s/Adults 1.10m Jumper Class and finished second in a big division! Trail riding and camping in the mountains of New Mexico also became a favorite past time. The time they spent doing all of these things has really turned Rio into an all around horse.
Rio and Jordan rocking around the Prelim at Full Gallop Farm. Photo by Hoofclix
In 2010, Jordan and her husband packed up their two horses and moved across the country to North Carolina. Being on the East Coast really gave Jordan the itch to get back into eventing. She found Bonnie Mosser (Coach Extraordinaire!) and started working hard toward her goals. They spent most of 2011 at the Training level and made the big move up to Preliminary last fall at Why Not An American Ark. They have been successfully rocking around at the Prelim level this spring and plan to compete in the CCI* at the Virginia Horse Trials this November.
Along the way, Jordan encountered people who told her that Rio would never go above Novice or never go above Training, but she didn’t listen. She believed in her lovely spotty pony and continued to work hard, and all of her efforts have paid off! This duo catches eyes at the shows and can really put in a lovely performance.
I am sending them good EN Karma and am very excited to watch them continue to succeed!
