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| Photo by Grace Beahm of the Charleston Post and Courier |
Jeff Hartzell did THIS write up in the Post and Courier on Tuesday, 6/21/11 (Equestrian Jones Makes an Olympian Comeback). Thank you, Jeff Hartzell! The pictures are of a 23 year old horse I have been riding for about two years. His name is Classic Star. His owner is Beverly Rardin of Mount Pleasant, SC.
She contacted me a couple of years ago and asked if I'd like to start working with Star on dressage. She knew he was getting up in years (although we did not know his exact age until we just found and updated his passport) and thought it might be better for him if he lowered him jump height and started doing more groundwork. We do not know how much dressage training he has had, but he has obviously had some - albeit he hasn't done it for many years. He's been doing hunter/jumpers for youth and young adults since around 2000. He was getting better muscle tone for his 1/2 passes at the trot for me in an FEI frame and could do 3-4 steps of a 1/2 pass in an FEI frame before he would get tight and stiff and needed to be allowed to straighten or stretch. He loved tempi changes and would do 2 tempi changes in a hunter/jumper frame when he was happy in his work. I was hoping to be able to ride those tempi changes in an FEI dressage frame one day! Oh! And when we received his passport, we discovered that the Starmeister was a Grand Prix jumper in his younger years! Go Star man!
On a side note, Bev has bent over backwards to help me ride Star, to make it to WEG with another horse who was not even her own (Ollie), she has boarded Star at her own farm (Rardin Farm), paid for his vet bills and farrier bills - done anything and everything to help me reach my goals. I can't say enough good things about her.
However, two weeks ago, Star decided it might be fun to kick the snot out of his stall wall and break the splint bone in his left hind. Because of a previous, chronic injury to his left front, the decision was made to retire him at the young age of 23 years. I am sure Beverly will see how he does, and it may be possible for me to ride him again, but for now, we all are looking into getting his leg healed and finding a retirement "job" that he will enjoy. While he heals, the hunt is on to find another horse for me to partner with.
A very huge thank you to Nicole for helping me saddle and mount all those many times & to Beverly and Jamie Rardin for allowing me to ride this special horse and bring his dressage prowess back to the forefront in his old age over several years. It was an honor and a priviledge.
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