A few weeks ago, I was asked to write about our experiences as high performance event horse owners. I thought to myself, "Oh, great timing," as we’re on our way to CHIO Aachen where our horse Z and rider Phillip Dutton have been named to U.S. Team. And maybe we’ll win a medal - wouldn’t that be a great thing to write about!?

 

Of course, as a long time owner, I knew it was also entirely possible that I might be writing about how our horse didn’t quite make it around or how he had an abscess the day before shipping (or worse, upon arrival in Germany) or - true story - how our horse was offended by a national level horse trial holding their cross-country phase at the same time (and next to) his dressage phase, making a podium finish…unlikely.

 

I could only truly predict one outcome - that we would have a wonderful time - surrounded by astonishing horses and horse-crazy friends. As it turned out, this part did come true and we DID win a medal. There was much to celebrate. We’ve now owned high-performance prospects and contenders for nearly 20 years - and this was a first for us. True - it took a minute - but we have enjoyed (nearly) every moment along the journey - due entirely to those astonishing horses and the company of this incredible community of mad equestrians.

 

My husband David and I came to horses late in life - midlife to be fair - but when you’re climbing on a horse for your first up-down lessons at the age of 40 it seems indeed very late in life. Just as we were diving into our horse lives, we moved to Virginia to the heart of horse country. We immersed ourselves in all our new home had to offer with the wild abandon and oblivious bliss of absolute beginners. One day, one of my new neighbors dropped by as Dave was riding his new mare, a wild and feral thing that Dave loved because “she went fast,” and my neighbor said, “If you love your husband, you might want to get him some lessons. Why don’t you come meet my trainer.”

 

So we met Jenn Simmons who happened to be an eventer with an open heart and the patience of a saint, and she took us on as students. Through Jenn, we were introduced to the sport of eventing and all the adventures it had on offer, including high-performance sport horse ownership.

 

The first few horses we bought for Jenn didn’t quite make it to the high-performance level, which taught us important lessons about “expectations” and how you shouldn’t have any. But we learned a lot and we kept our collective chins up. The adventure was definitely educational and, strangely enough, extremely fun.

 

Eventually, Jenn decided to retire from riding and pursue a different career path. She had been taking lessons from Phillip and suggested we send her remaining prospects to him, so that he could continue their education, compete them, build their record, and sell them.

 

So we met then six-time Olympian Phillip Dutton. And Evie Dutton, and Olivia Dutton, and super groom Emma Ford, and super vet Dr. Kevin Keane, and top event horse owner Annie Jones, and, and, and….because the thing about Dutton Eventing is you kind of get a whole package of amazing humans and you very quickly know you would like to be a part of that crew. Phillip took one of our prospects to Jersey Fresh and won the then 2* with him. We were excited! "Would this be our Kentucky horse," we asked with stars in our eyes. Likely not, Phillip told us, but if we were interested in owning such a horse we could sell our horse to a perfect home and then join one of his syndicates on a potential big league prospect. He promised us only this - his syndicates were filled with great people (“no jerks!”) and that we would have fun.

 

Can confirm - it has been so much fun. For certain, we’ve had our share of bumps along the road (horses!), but we knew enough by then to expect this. The surprising thing about this go around - we had companionship along for the journey and all its ups and downs. Every burden - financial, emotional - was shared with our fellow syndicate owners. And, more importantly, every triumph, small and large, was celebrated with this incredible bunch of people!

 

As the horses we were a part of started moving up the levels, the adventures got bigger and further afield. Our long wished for trip to Kentucky came in the odd 2021 post-covid form - ie, no crowds. Owners were permitted to attend so we did, cheering our horses on with enough enthusiasm to make up for the missing crowds. The following year, our horse Z went to Badminton. Fellow syndicate member Caroline Moran (ie Julie Cruise Director) found us an incredible house to rent together for the event. The fun ante was upped yet again as we all wandered and explored the incredible show grounds and surrounding area together. Sure dressage day was slightly disappointing but we took cues from our host country and “carried on” - some retail therapy, a big hearty meal together, and maybe some wine. We had faith in our horse and rider to deliver a cracking good cross-country round and celebrated appropriately when it so happened.

 

Our most recent adventure (Aachen) took things to an entirely extra level - the TEAM thing. Not only did we have our own syndicate members to cheer and celebrate with, but the rest of the team horse owners and riders as well. “One team, one dream,” as fellow team horse owner Rich Booth says.

 

It made me realize how fortunate Dave and I have been to find this “tribe” along the way - this, objectively speaking, odd little group of people singularly obsessed with this somewhat obscure sport of eventing. I looked across our crowd and tried to understand what drew us together - why, indeed, were we all here in a corner of Germany I’d never heard of until I came to horses. We were from all over, had a wild variety of backgrounds, and each with his own story of how we came to be here. We all loved horses, clearly, and most of us were equestrians in our own rights. But we were further driven to be, somehow, a part of this extraordinary display of partnership between a horse and his rider. To watch Phillip (and Tamie, and Liz, and Will) bring all their talent, drive, experience, curiosity, and love and respect for their horses to this moment - and doing so in the company of friends who fully understood and valued that connection - was an incredible gift. A moment to be cherished in the company of those who understood and cherished it as well.

 

Who knows where the next adventure will take us, and who knows what will happen. We just know we’ll be in good company. And we look forward to it!