JUMPING ( CROSS COUNTRY)
A gelding with the amusing moniker “Westosterone” (Leo to his friends) clears a rugged outdoor hurdle at a Three-Day Event with owner Charlene Barry aboard. She writes to say that despite being incredibly well bred and selling as a yearling for $160,000 in 2003, Leo was not a racehorse. “I’ve been lucky enough to meet a few people who worked with him during his racing career,” she writes, “and they’ve all said he made it very clear racing was not his preferred activity.” Happily, this horse has found his niche in eventing. Charlene reports, “In six years of eventing Leo was only out of the ribbons three times—and it was always rider error. By the end of his career, he was regularly achieving 8s on his canter and
8-10 on his walk and trot in dressage. He was a beast cross-country and never had issues meeting optimal time. In the show-jumping ring he was neat and tidy... a true professional, Leo always ‘showed up’ at competitions and outings and saved any sort of shenanigans for training at home. This boy had heart and one hell of a work ethic. It made dealing with any challenges presented by his breeding, and gait, a nonissue.
“Outside of competing,” Charlene continues, “Leo regularly attended events as an ambassador for the Standardbred breed. This included being featured at Farmfair International for a number of years as part of a “Breed Alley” where he met an average of 100,000 people over the 5 days of the event. His favorite ‘fans’ to meet were always the children, and even at the end of a long day he would still come up to his stall guard to blow air kisses on any child that would peer into his stall.” (Shannon Brinkman Photography)
Owner Carrie VanMeter and her gelding Western Kissed. She writes to say,
“the list of things this horse has done has far surpassed my 30-some years of owning various breeds of horses. He has done trail riding, overnight camping, mounted shooting, barrel racing, and mountain trail challenges.” Last year they placed in the top five in Novice “in hand” versatility competition offered by the U.S. Refined Horsemanship Association, in which a ground-handler is required to direct the horse through or over a series of obstacles. Short-rein skills such as leg-yielding and backing on straight and curved lines are also part of the program. This year, Carrie says,
“we tried our hand at a ranch horse competition and we ended up with Champion Gaited Ranch Horse. Our favorite event so far is jumping…He is not happy with jumping in an indoor arena, but absolutely loves hunter paces. We have been to numerous hunter paces the past few years and he usually brings home a blue! He also totes around my 3-year-old daughter better than any pony could.”
The gelding Illusion Of Freedom with owner Amy Moskin aboard. They’re having fun at a horse trial here, and Amy reports that he’s great at jumping. She says that she also enjoys driving him—single, double, work harness and pleasure harness.
Lindon’s Rose Me N clears a narrow bench with owner Meaghan Martin up. The pair enjoy lower level eventing and jumpers. “I worked on the farm where she was foaled,” reports Meaghan, “and after she became my horse in 2009, I did her retraining myself.”