|
I had my most crazy horse girl idea ever about ten days ago. I decided to take my coming four-year-old filly who had just been brought back into work after a few months off to WEC Ocala Week V. How did it go, you ask? Well, read all about it! Bringing along a young horse takes a village and I am lucky to be part of the best!! First it takes a great breeder and start to life. Thankful to Jen Moskal with Invictus Farm & Sport Horses of Florida for breeding such an amazing filly. Grateful to Tiffany Catledge with Allforit Farm, LLC for selling us such a well-rounded and great-minded young horse. Then comes the “fun” stuff of starting them and putting in a great foundation. Stacey Belcher-Archer has done a phenomenal job with Zellie in bringing out her super star qualities. She was started nice and slow in May last year after turning 3. We showed in the hunter breeding classes at a few shows and took home at Sallie B Wheeler East and 4th at USHJA Zone 3 Championships. We popped her over a few small cross rails and verticals before giving her a few months off. She came back into work a few weeks ago and I had the crazy idea to take her to World Equestrian Center - Ocala for week 5 with no expectations other than to give her a good experience and getting to play with her in the Florida . We had the BEST week with our Steadfast Farm family. Zellie blew us away with her demeanor and performance. Never having jumped a full course before we entered the Future Hunters (2ft with no oxers) and she cantered around like it was no big deal, and even got her lead changes! Ribbons were the last thing on my mind but she ended up with two 2nds and an 8th over fences and a 4th on the flat! If that wasn’t enough she was overall division CHAMPION! ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: HUNTER BREEDING TO PERFORMANCE HORSE  Photo by Andrew Ryback Photography
2 Comments
AAE
2/8/2022 02:15:25 pm
Congratulations on what sounds like a wonderful experience. However, one of the reasons why I believe many adult amateurs join groups such as this one, is to learn from shared experience, a common humanity lens. Many of us have found our equine partners in less "privileged" circumstances that pose the exact opposite of the described experience above. I would have loved to hear more about the actual logistics of the day, the preparation that led up to such a positive experience in more relatable terms that address some of normal challenges that arise from introducing a young horse in a new environment. I would argue that if we are only exchanging and sharing dialogue that celebrates achievement driven success over that of a focus on grounded, genuine horsemanship skills, and the level of leadership support it takes to even arrive to this place, then we will only be producing surface level, misguided amateurs left feeling "less than" for not fitting into the above mold. I propose taking a deeper dive and normalizing the struggle and encouraging, supporting, and connecting those who are seeking to be better to those with the resources like yourself.
Sarah - AdultAmmyStrong
2/8/2022 02:55:10 pm
Hello! That is a great idea. I can do a recap post of how I prepped her each day and how we got to the ring. Leave a Reply. |
Categories
All
popular posts
|
RSS Feed
