Kelly List and Minstral competing at Fair Hill
Every horse that we ride has a lot to teach us. The longer we ride, the more we can pick out skills that specific horses have taught us along the way. However, there is always one horse that starts it all for us. The one that teaches about riding and makes us into the rider we are today. This new series is going to tell the stories of the horses that started it all. This week, I got to chat with Canadian, Kelly List, about her first big time horse, Minstral. All photos are provided by Kelly List and used with her permission.
In 2004, Kelly and her mother flew to British Columbia to try a horse in the snow. It turns out, that was one of the best decisions Kelly would ever make. During that trip, she tried Minstral, lovingly known as Danny or “the Danimal.” After purchasing Danny, Kelly had him shipped to her in Ontario. They picked him up one night close to Christmas in the local Walmart parking lot.
Kelly had been looking for a one star horse when she tried Danny. She thought it would take a long time before that goal would be reached, however, it took less than a year. In the fall of 2005, Kelly and Danny completed the CCI* at MidSouth in KY finishing 7th in the Junior Division. After their quick success, Kelly’s parents thought it would be a great idea for her to become a working student. After a lot of searching, they decided to send Kelly to St. Matthews, NC to be a working student for Bonnie Mosser. Kelly says, “I had no idea where I was going or what I was going to do, but it sounded like it would be a good experience.”
After assessing Kelly and Danny, Bonnie told Kelly that they were ready to move up to Intermediate in the spring. It was not what Kelly expected to hear, as she never imagined that she would make it past Prelim! After a lot of training, Kelly and Danny made their Intermediate debut the spring of 2006 and won! She was on Cloud 9. Things were just falling into place. Danny’s dressage was less than stellar, but it didn’t seem to matter as he was always safe and quick around the cross-country. That spring, they did the CCI** together at Jersey Fresh and finished a respectable 11th. They were then chosen to represent Canada at the Young Rider Championships. Along with three other teammates, they brought home the Bronze in the CCI** division. Danny was turning out to be an awesome horse that just kept stepping up to the plate.
Kelly and Danny competing at Fair Hill
That fall, Bonnie told Kelly that if she and Danny could tackle the bounce into the water at the Gibbs Farm, then she and Danny were ready to move up to Advanced. She couldn’t believe that they were even thinking of doing Advanced, but she thought she would give it a go. Sure enough, Danny popped through the bounce like it was nothing, and their fate was sealed. The following spring, they moved up to Advanced at Pine Top. Kelly remembers,
“My mom and my good friend, Vanessa, came to watch. Before cross country, I was white as a sheet and could barely talk. Vanessa had to tack up my horse for me. When I was warming up, I kept totally missing at the crossrail. Bonnie came over and said, ‘Okay, go jump the oxer, and you’ll be ready to go.’ I was in a daze. However, Danny stepped up again and carried me safely around my first Advanced. We ended up finishing 2nd in the Young Rider Division.”
That spring, they ran the CCI*** at Jersey, only to have a fall on course from a silly mistake. After this unfortunate event, they decided to reroute to Bromont, where they finished 13th in the CCI***.
In the fall of 2009, when the monsoon rains came, Kelly and Danny ran the CCI*** at Fairhill. Kelly says, “In hindsight, I probably shouldn’t have run the cross country.” Danny ran brilliantly around the tough course in the deep mud, however, it took its toll on one of his suspensories. Kelly was devastated. They gave him a lot of time off and did stem cell therapy. Kelly took her time bringing him back, and she was very hopeful that he would make a full recovery.
Kaitlyn Pollard and Danny
In the spring of 2011, Danny made his comeback in the Preliminary at Rocking Horse. After competing him, Kelly decided that he still not quite right. She made the difficult decision to retire him from upper level competition. He was given more time off, but Danny wasn’t a horse that wanted to just stand around in retirement, so Kelly offered to lease him to Kaitlyn Pollard for a bit. Kaitlyn successfully competed him at Training level before giving him back to Kelly.
Vasiliki Roussakis and Danny competing at HITS this past spring
Danny is currently still at Kelly’s barn, Frog Street, and is owned by Vasiliki Roussakis. Vasiliki is new to eventing, and Danny is showing her the ropes. They started at BN together, and they are now successfully rocking around Novice. They have earned a ribbon at almost every event together, including the Novice Championships. Danny is now teaching Vasiliki just like he taught Kelly. Kelly says that the decision to retire Danny was tough, but he didn’t owe her anything. He had a lot to teach others, and she loves watching him go around happily. “He doesn’t know what level he’s competing at. He’s just happy to be out there doing his thing.”
