Race horse turned jumper turned dressage, and finally my partner.
When the owner of the Biltmore Estate offers you a horse, how can you refuse? At the time I was looking for a Level 4 partner, one who could do flying changes at a snap of the fingers. A friend of ours, who was in charge of the riding program at the Biltmore said, “I have the horse for you!”
When I went to North Carolina to meet Flash, he was jumping out of his skin, of course he had been on stall rest for three months. It was clear he hadn’t learned how to act like a horse – despite being 16 years old. He had never had turn out with a herd. He also came with a suitcase of interesting habits including: cribbing, weaving, a “nervous tick” (a lightning fast cow kick whenever you asked him to move), bucking at the sound of a horse fly, and bolting. It also took the on-site trainer 2 hours to load him in the trailer to go to a show. But he had great flying changes!
After riding him in an arena, we went for a trail ride that led us under a highway. Somehow, he was fine with that. But I was still convinced this was too much horse for what I was looking for. As we pulled away with an empty trailer Flash hung his head over the gate and whinnied. This of course brought my mother to tears, as she pleaded, “He needs you!” I spent a week back home in Alabama, still adamant I’d made the right choice. It wasn’t long until my friend and fellow Parelli professional Robin Harris heard about Flash. She took it upon herself to convince me to get him. Now if you haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Robin, she can be very persuasive. After telling me how good of a challenge it would be, and that I would be helping Flash. She added how much it would build my savvy and make me become a better Instructor. Running my way, she grabbed me in a hug, sealing the deal. So we went back and got Flash a week later. It took a short 20 minutes to load him into the trailer, a good sign for the future.
Flash backed out of the trailer 9 hours later, took a few steps, and bucked so hard that his tail touched the tip of his nose. That’s my boy. Getting him over the horseflies was the easy part, the hard part was teaching him how to act like a horse and be part of a herd. He had no personal boundaries, and would run right up to every horse. This lack of propriety resulted in many battle scars from the herd-bosses. As time passed he found a place at the bottom of the totem pole. Within 30 days of owning Flash, I took him to Tennessee for a 4 day clinic with 6 Star Master Instructor Carol Coppinger. In those 4 days, she took us from biting, bolting, and bucking, to cantering around the indoor arena, doing flying changes over jumps, all in a halter with 1 rein!
Flash became a big softie, following me around the pasture at liberty, teaching me some dressage, and learning tricks. He is now retired from riding due to arthritis in his hip, but he still enjoys playing Online and at Liberty. His favorite tricks are Spanish Walk, nodding, and cantering into the trailer.