Whitmorr Topaz

Villa Louis Carriage Classic Novice Driver Champion, 1999

Trail Ride

With Jennifer Steensen

Whitmorr Topaz became a part of the family when she was a 2 year old.  It took my mother that long to find her.  Bob Riley and my mother spent two years looking for a horse to suit my mother's idea of a show horse and broodmare.  They looked at lots of horses in lots of states.  It was a good thing Bob was patient and loved to travel.  My mother was picky.

My mother came close to buying several times, but Bob always vetoed her for some reason.  Usually it was for some conformation reason, after all, that was why he was there: to help my mother find the best possible horse.  If I remember correctly, mother was going to buy a mare that they both agreed on, but...Bob wanted to go one last place, so they headed off to Whitmorr Farm and came back with Topaz.  Bob was tickled.  Mother was happy with the filly, even if she wasn't as showy as the other mare.  She trusted Bob.

Well, as with most things, Bob was right.  Topaz performed admirably in the show ring.  She never misbehaved or gave my mother one iota of trouble and I know that was Bob's first priority in helping find Topaz.  But it was as a broodmare that Topaz performed at the highest capacity.  She produced six wonderful foals including my own beloved Major, Don Pecos and Ace.

Then, of course, there are the dreams, many of which were born on her back.  She gave Jennifer Steensen her first ride.  She taught many little girls to ride with poise.  She inspired a therapeutic horseback riding program.  She gave me my first carriage driving championship, wowing the crowd with her ability to defy gravity and float around the arena.

Topaz had a big, forward way of going which disguised her 14.2 hands.  Her stature disguised the largess of her heart.  Not a day of her life was spent outside her aura of loveliness.  She gave us her service with sentience, grace, nary a demand nor protest.

This morning, she walked through the last gate of this world, leaving the paddock of my life emptier because she's gone, but richer because she was here.

"Warm summer sun shine kindly here.  Warm summer wind blow softly here.  "Green sod above lie light, lie light.  Good night, dear heart, good night, good night." Mark Twain

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

Creating a Show Horse

As a trainer of carriage driving show horses, I am often asked, "How do you get that horse's coat so shiny?" "How do you get that horse to extend like that?" "How do you get that horse to bend like that?" I have a stock of answers, mostly involving variations of "Hard work." Usually the long answer is accidental sagacity.

Show horses are born that way. You can take the most beautifully bred horse with near perfect confirmation and put them in a show ring, but if they don't want to be a show horse, they won't. Conversely, a horse that falls a little short of perfection can be an unusually good show horse. It is a state of mind. Saying that, the trainer must be able to recognize the horse's potential and predisposition and then work to polish it.

Whitmorr Topaz is an excellent example. The dam of my finest show horses: The Major General, Don Pecos du Cheval and Chevals Topp Mentor [Ace], she was a very reluctant beauty queen. She did the job I prepared her to do, she did it well. But she didn't like it. She liked working with little kids, especially working on their self esteem. She didn't care to demonstrate her own in a show ring.

Major and Don Pecos are true examples of horses that were born to show. They thrive on it. They work hard at home to prepare. They never say, "Not Today." Their coats shed off all extra hair and they shine like burnished ebony and bronze. They walk with an air of superiority. The minute they get off the trailer, they are 'on'.

Ace is the created show horse. Like his half brothers, he works very hard. Unlike them, he doesn't believe it's all about him. He is a team player. As a horse trainer and not a soccer coach, this is a challenge for me. I have to make him believe it is all about him. I have to help him discover the superiority complex of the show horse.

"How do I do that?" Hard work. The accidental sagacity answer is: I tell him. Everything I do to train and condition him must revolve around convincing him he is a show horse, that he was born for this, too. When I start to see the elasticity show in his gait, I cheer. When he begins to float, I stand in awe and make sure he knows: "That's my Boy!"

Ace needs to know that he can be a 'good boy' in lessons and 'that's my boy' in the show ring. It is a different attitude, and not every horse can do both. Don Pecos struggles with this: But I am a Show Horse, not a Lesson Horse, he pouts at me, with the exception of his therapy role. Ace is looking at me saying: I am a lesson horse, do you really think I can be a show horse, too? All my skills as a trainer must respond, "Yes, Precious."

That is how I create a show horse.

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.