The Merry-Go-Round Life of Horses

This is Flora. Keeping reading to learn how she comes into the picture...

Every choice is a bizarre stepping stone to the unknown. When I purchased Vino, I really thought I had found my next prelim and first FEI horses. After one early success, I started having difficulty getting Vino around xc without a random stop somewhere on course. I reached out to Dan and Kaitlin Clasing for their input on some trainers to work with in my area and they enthusiastically told me to go work with Waylon Roberts. At the time, Waylon and his wife, Jenny Caras, were based in Alabama. 

After a particularly annoying stop at the first fence on xc in Sept 2021, I sent Vino home from a competition with Waylon. For the next 8 months, Waylon and I alternated competing Vino. Waylon would compete him through Training and I took him Novice. After several months, it was clear Vino's passion wasn't cross country. Waylon was always in the ribbons with him, but he said he never gave him a great feeling. Our partnership was much more inconsistent. Vino required a decisive ride at every fence, no matter how straight forward the question. If I ever backed off, he would stop.

Vino and I, March 2022 @Sporting Days - Clear for 5th in ON

Vino and I, April 2022 @Stable View where we had a stop at the third from last fence on XC

 

Waylon didn't believe Vino had the scope, hunger, or the mental fortitude to be 2* horse - or even the willingness to be BN/N-packer. He pointed out that his bloodlines were dressage bloodlines - not jumper bloodlines and that makes a difference in the aptitude of the horse. I took him to Ocala in June 2022 where he was sold as a dressage horse. 

In the last 4 years, I've sold all three of the prospects I purchased: two thoroughbred prospects and one warmblood prospect. Each one was better than the one before but none were meant to be my next Leo. 

I've learned through the process that horses are a bit like real estate. If you buy a good (but green) horse, improve their training & education, add successful competition miles, and then let a professional broker their sale, you will likely sell the horse for more than you bought him/her for. This cycle allows you to upgrade the quality of horse with each purchase. That was certainly true for me. 

So what next, after Vino? After 3 failed prospects and the reality that I am now 44 years old (!!!), I wanted my next purchase to "guarantee" me that I could step back up to the prelim level. I wasn't going to buy a prospect. I was going to buy something ready for the prelim step up or already competing prelim. It was that simple. And because I am older now, my finances have matured. I knew I could make that a reality now - where it had never been a possibility before. 

AND this is where Vino was most valuable to me. He was a connector. A thread. It was through him, that I was matched up with Waylon and Jenny. They are both great friends of Dan and Kaitlin. I met them years ago when I was horse shopping and tried a horse Jenny had. I ended up leasing Missy instead of buying a horse at that time. Funnily, Jenny said she remembers I gave her a good vibe. Then flash forward a few years, and we meet again! That is my favorite thing about life. How the randomness isn't that random at all. But you don't know until you have the hindsight. 

As soon as Vino sold, Jenny reach out into her network to see what was available. She recommended that I purchase something from overseas. Why? Because the price of a training level horse in the US is typically equal to the asking price of an Intermediate level horse in the UK (sometimes even more). My money would go further abroad. Why you ask? I've learned that there are many more people that compete at the upper levels in the UK (and at all levels) - in comparison to the US. The volume of upper level horses on the market keeps the prices reasonable. The opposite is true in the US. Fewer horses = higher prices.  

So what did Jenny find when she put her feelers out? She discovered that her good friend Ludwig Svennerstal (yes, the Swedish Olympian) had a 3* mare he was interested in selling. Fit for Fun RAA, barn name "Flora". She sent me videos and I was like "Can I actually afford this horse?" and she was like "Yes." 

Long story short: I bought her. And she is perfection. 

Some information about her:

• Born May 20, 2010 
• Swedish Warmblood
• 16.2
• Bay
• Sire: Fighting Alpha (4th individually in the Show Jumping World Cup Final in 2003)
• Competed at the 3* level (last 3* was in 2018)
• She had a tendon injury in 2019 and then Covid shut down shows in the UK in 2020.
• Last competed in 2021, a full season at the Intermediate level
• Ludwig scaled way back from riding in 2022 and decided to focus on his non-horse career
• His girlfriend was legging her up when I came into the picture

I didn't fly to England to try her, but I did have her vetted. That was mid-August. Dutta arranged her flight to the US via Fedex. She flew from London to Indianapolis. She did 2-days of USDA quarantine in Louisville KY and then did 14 days of CEM quarantine in Lexington KY. At the end of September she finally made her way to Georgia. 

Flora & Ludwig

Flora is a total dream come true. She is a super nice horse - great ground manners, super smart, sensitive to her surroundings but without being foolish, impeccable training, BOLD jumper. I mean she HUNTS her fences. Waylon said she is an FEI horse through and through. We're both Flora groupies. Waylon said he is "obsessed with her." LOL. So am I. Ludwig said she was his favorite horse and now we know he wasn't kidding. 

Jenny and Waylon were instrumental in making this match. I wouldn't be here without them and it super cool to know they will be with me every step of the way (I forgot to mention they purchased a farm in Georgia, 70 miles east of Atlanta and I've been based with them ever since!)

A NOTE ABOUT LEO 

Leo is doing GREAT!!! I made the decision to retire him to Hunt Ridge Stables in Upperville, Virginia and he moved there in fall of 2021. Letting him go was very hard for me, but he is so fat and happy in Virginia with his retiree buddies that I don't regret the decision at all. Patricia Ramey who runs the farm is a delight and so knowledgable about thoroughbreds. She gave clear and excellent guidance about when to transition him to 24/7 turnout (fall) and was super supportive when I sent him up (she completely understood how emotional it was). I know he is in the best hands. 

Leo Oct 2021

Leo Oct 2022. Happy boy!