He’s only eight years old but he’s the talk of the dressage world. Yesterday people came to watch him school because they had seen him on YouTube and they wanted to see him in person. Luckily for the U.S. he’s on our team at the 2011 Pan American Games, after claiming reserve championship honors at the 2011 Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Dressage Festival of Champions. Owned and ridden by Heather Blitz, the lanky 18- plus-hand chestnut gelding has jaw-dropping movement in the ring. There’s nothing normal about him and what he has achieved and is capable of at his age. But at home, he’s just a horse. Heather and her groom Hannah Michaels talk about his first day under saddle, how he survived Hurricane Katrina, getting lost in Denmark and his favorite food. This is the story of Paragon told by the people who know him best.
USEF Press Officer Joanie Morris (JM): What’s he like as a ‘person’?
He’s pretty laid back, he’s pretty easy going. He definitely likes people, even from when he was a foal he would rather come to the people than stay with his mother. That’s pretty unusual, most foals want to hide behind their mother.
JM: Was he big as a foal?
We gave him three hours to try to stand on his own and he couldn’t because he was so big. So I picked him up. (His sire) Don Schufro is kind of known for throwing some big babies and his mother’s sire (Loran) is kind of big. So there are some big genes in there. I gelded him early so his
growth plates would stay open longer and I got a little extra height from doing that. But he’s really sweet, he’s really down to earth and he’s really humble. He doesn’t know that he is a superstar but he somehow also knows that he is capable to do whatever I ask him to do.
JM: Did you know he was special right from the beginning?
I knew he was the first day, he went out in the pasture and cantered around the pasture with his mama (Pari Lord). I knew he was then and up to like three months he was pretty special but then he went through an ugly duckling phase - because he’s such a big guy, he definitely went through an unattractive phase. When he was six I knew he was pretty special and what his future would hold. But up until then I thought he was a nice horse but people would say, “Is he really good?” and I would say, “I don’t know, we’ll see.”
JM: To ride him, does he have a similar personality?
He’s super to ride. I started him with nobody even in the round pen or holding him when I got on. I swung my leg over and walked around and he acted like he’d been ridden for a year. I did walk, trot, canter that same day and I also opened the round pen door from his back and I rode him out in a field to a dressage arena and I did walk, trot, canter out there too. That was the first day I ever sat on him. So that is the kind of horse he is. I feel like he was born with a chip installed, like a rideability chip. He was born this way - with this temperament.
JM: Do you do a lot of breeding?
I didn’t actually breed him. I was working for Oak Hill Ranch in Folsom, LA. Richard Freeman owns it. I was working for them and I was breaking in his mother and thought that she was so easy and straightforward and sweet and I knew I wanted a foal if they would breed her to Don Schufro for me. They bred him, I just knew I was going to buy him when he was born. Now if he was a mare I might not have – I like mares a lot but just import/export, stuff like that is more complicated. I think mares can be fantastic but I just thought, a gelding is less complicated.
JM: Tell me a little about his daily routine, I hear he gets turned out?
He gets turned out. He can get a little high strung in the pasture sometimes, but not crazy. He doesn’t lose it. But he can gallop around. He likes it. But every day he breaks a fence board to get the grass on the other side of the fence. He can get a squeal under his breath, he can get high-strung. But he’s very kind. He’s a gentle giant and he loves attention from people who come over and say “Isn’t he wonderful?” He really loves that. He’s quite humble but he’s very honest. He just tries so hard, like yesterday in training him a little bit – he tried so hard and I only asked him for half of that.
Heather and Paragon at the Selection Trials (SusanJStickle.com Photo)
JM: Even though he’s so big he seems like he’s pretty easy on himself?
He’s very balanced. That was another thing the first day I rode him: how aware of his balance he is.
JM: How old was he when you broke him?
He was three and he was only 16.2. So between three and six he grew six inches. That’s a lot.
JM: Do you think he will get any bigger?
I think he will fill out a little bit – but he will never be a bulky horse. He’s always going to have that lanky, rangy kind of thing I think. I don’t think he’ll ever really get bulky. He’s put a lot of muscle on over the summer. He’s turning eight so this is his first chance to put some muscle on because he’s been growing.
JM: I can’t believe he’s only eight.
He’s just scratching the surface, it’s really exciting.
JM: Is there anything else about him that we should know?
He’s kind of defied a couple of seriously life threatening things.
JM: I noticed a scar on his knee?
That wasn’t a big deal, I never did find out what he did. He came in from the field with the skin hanging off his knee. That was in Denmark, he was sutured up - but he was never off, not even a day. But when he was younger he got barbed wire wrapped around his hind leg, when he was a yearling, that didn’t cut his skin but it strangulated the tissue. So we took the wire off and the swelling went down and three days later he went lame and the tissue fell off so he had a big open window to his exstensor tendon on the front of his cannon (bone). I mean it was a hideous hole in his leg. That was right before Hurricane Katrina, I was in Louisiana and he was just a young horse at that point and I evacuated but I took four FEI horses with me. So he stayed there for the storm with that injury. The vet was having to come back and cut proud flesh off the tendon every other day because it was so prolific. So Katrina hit and nobody could get around because the roads were not passable, but she had a chainsaw and she cut her way to the farm to keep treating him after the storm even when there were so many things to take care of, she came back and took care of him. She saved his life and she actually owns his mother now. I think that she really saved his life, not only because she came back but because she handled that wound so well.
JM: Does he have brothers and sisters or half siblings?
He has one brother, he’s younger and a young rider named Rosie rides him – so that’s a full brother. I haven’t seen him since he was two years old but I think Rosie loves him a lot.
JM: How could you not love this type?
I know, he’s very loveable. Everyone that meets him, everybody says he’s so sweet. He loves people. The other thing that happened that was funny was in Denmark. He got to Denmark before I got there and I was still in Germany with the team. He was out in the pasture with another gelding who really scared him at one point and he actually ran through the fence and broke it down. And left. The people said they couldn’t find him all afternoon, they even called in the police. He was missing. He went AWOL. I don’t remember exactly where they found him but it was fairly far away from the place – toward the beach somewhere. Those are the two things, that when you think about it now…
JM: To think now, that during Katrina you didn’t take him with you…
I know. I mean when I moved to Europe I wasn’t sure what to do with this 3-year-old. I didn’t have time to sell him, I made the decision at the last minute to go so I thought I guess he would go on the plane too.
JM: How long were you in Denmark for?
Four years.
JM: So he grew up over there?
Yes, he didn’t come back here until he was seven.
Thanks Heather, good luck.
Hannah Michaels, Paragon’s Groom
JM: Tell me about his personality, from your perspective?
He’s the sweetest boy I’ve ever met. He has no ego. He’s a real down to earth kind of guy. He’s treated like a normal horse but aside from getting more carrots, he doesn’t get anything special.
JM: Does he have any quirks?
When he spots Heather he will not take his eyes off of her. If he sees here from far away, he’ll start banging on his door. There are hearts between them. He loves her. That’s why he works so hard for her. He likes me too – he’s very comfortable with me, but Heather’s his mom.
How long have you known him for?
I’ve been working for Heather for over a year.
Has he changed since you’ve known him?
He’s pretty much the same. His face seems more mature but personality wise – he’s the same. He’s real laid back. He’s a goof. He loves fruit, bananas, pears, oranges, apples, peppermints, he likes everything. He’s really smart. My apartment is right next to his door so every time I open mine, he’s looking for me.
Paragon and Hannah Michaels
What’s his daily routine like?
He gets turned out, he wears boots, but if he runs a little, he runs a little. He’s a normal horse. I couldn’t believe that she turned him out when I first started working for her because he’s so magnificent. But he’s happy and he likes it, he grazes and loves to roll. He’s just a normal guy. He’s not crazy if he doesn’t get turned out. He can go out for four hours or he can go out not at all. He’s huge and I’m pretty small but he totally respects me and my space. He’s just a pretty easy horse to handle for how big he is. The only thing he’s bad about sometimes is he doesn’t like his head getting hosed off with water. He just knows how tall he is and holds his head really high. But that’s the worst of it.
If that’s the worst of it, that’s not so bad. Thanks, Hannah
Paragon is on Facebook! Like his page, he will keep you up to date on all his activities: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Paragon/323126404598
Watch his Freestyle from the 2011 Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Dressage Festival of Champions (which all served as the Selection Trial): http://www.usefnetwork.com/videos/archives/special/49/highlighted/1.aspx