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2009 Almonte Evaluation's "People's Choice" Award
On the flight home, from Ottawa to Calgary, Alison and I were discussing the event. We both agreed that our favourite Fjord in the evaluation was a little mare that Andrea Thiel had brought to the event. When I got home, I contacted Andrea, in my official capacity as Webmaster, and asked her to share her story. She graciously wrote this to share with us all. Barbara Neufeld, Webmaster
Little Creek Second Chance and Andrea Thiel
The first time I set eyes on Bree was in the classified ads of an equine internet site. I was surprised, because the asking price was extremely low for a fjord, and yet, the picture showed a respectable looking 3 year old mare. My friend, Pat Wolfe took a look and agreed. So, I called the number in the ad and we went to see her...six long hours of driving, to about as far south in Ontario as you can get.
I thought I was through with horses. Over the years, I've owned a few quarterhorses, and a couple of fjords. But, board is expensive, and owning a farm was out of the question, so I finally gave up. Until I saw Bree. There she was in a snowy field with a couple of miniature ponies for company. Her owner had bought her at an auction because she was cute. She knew nothing about Fjords. Her plans to train Bree never came to anything. So, Bree was for sale, halter-broke and that was about it. Home she came.
It was around this time that Pat started talking about an evaluation he wanted to host. It would be one of the first in Canada, a milestone, and it would be right in my own neck of the woods. Much as I loved her, I didn't really think that Bree stood much chance of getting decent scores at an evaluation. However, I wanted to support the concept of Canadian evaluations because I love the breed so much, and I wanted to support Pat, who's been my friend for well over a decade. I decided to enter the conformation class, and told Pat that if I could train Bree enough to get a walk, trot and canter, I 'd enter the introductory riding class as well. It was a long shot because until the very beginning of 2009, she'd never had anyone on her back. I had nine months.
Once Pat taught Bree the basics, I began trail riding her and kept it up through the winter. We didn't get down to serious work until May, when I had access to an outdoor ring. I rode her almost every day, schooling in the ring three times a week and out on the trails the rest of the time, just to give her a break. She was very quick to learn and tried hard most of the time. Through June and July, we worked at perfecting the walk and trot. When it came time to canter, though, I hit a wall. Nothing could persuade her to pick up the correct lead or even stay within the ring. I was at my wits' end and, with a month to go before the evaluation, I called Amanda Skorski, a local coach and dressage rider for help.
For the next month she worked with Bree, teaching her how to make better use of her hindquarters, which is essential for the canter. But Bree still had trouble with her leads and, with two weeks left to go, Amanda and I almost gave up. I called Pat to let him know I might not do the riding class. "You have two whole weeks," he said, "keep trying." So, Amanda did, every single day. Finally, four days before the evaluation, Bree's leads became consistent. We were good to go.
All the stars must have aligned on evaluation day. The weather was perfect. Bree stood like a pro while the judges went over her with a fine tooth comb. When it came time for the riding class, I held my breath when Amanda asked Bree for the leads. They could not have been better. I was grinning like a fool.
My girl made me proud that day, earning herself two blue ribbons and a silver medallion of quality. I made sure she was wearing it around her neck when she came home.