“My Navajo clan name is Ta’neeszahnii,” he says. “The Navajo are maternal, meaning we take our grandmother’s last name.” He grew up inside Navajo Nation on a farm in Cedar Hill, but just outside the reservation where his uncles still keep a horse ranch and his “great auntie” farms the family homestead.

“The isolation of my family farm gave me an authentic, traditional Navajo childhood,” says Englehart, who saw natural beauty up close rather than through a television set. But what his family also saw was how poverty deprived and denied opportunities to the young people on the reservation.

“Which is why my Navajo moved off the reservation—to find work and move beyond the economic injustice my grandmother, mother and ancestors endured, and so I could tell my story.”

Experiential Learning

Now in his 30s, he lives in Los Angeles, Calif., where he works as an artist, horse rescuer and youth educator. A challenge course designer as well as horseman, he hopes to see experiential learning become as mainstream in the United States as it is in both Europe and the southwest Four Corners area where he grew up.

“In Denmark, empathy and outdoor education are mandatory. Navajo education,” he grins, “called it common sense.”

Hollywood is all about putting on a good show, but when it comes to getting real, this passionate advocate for equine therapy says it’s all about the horses.

Earth Warriors

“I incorporate horses, summer camps, challenge courses, empathy, and my Navajo culture as a teacher,” says Englehart.

It has shaped him into a cowboy who is up for a challenge. One of the state’s top challenge course builders and inspectors, he is special consultant to the California State University-Northridge Outdoor and Recreation Department, home to the largest public-owned challenge course in Southern California, and directing manager for Griffith Park Boys Camp, operated by the City of Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Outdoor Education Department—the largest urban park in North America.

He’s carved a niche for himself in the challenge course industry just as it’s evolving to offer more fixed “wilderness type” team-building experiences than expedition-type settings.

The idea, he says, is to use empathy learning and positive memory making to foster a generation of leaders who “understand the importance of cherishing the planet while having the knowledge to become an Earth warrior.”

The Navajo, or in their language, the Diné, believe in two classes of beings. Citing Ray Baldwin Lewis for the Navajo Tourism Department, discovernavajo.com, these are the Holy People, who taught the Diné to live in harmony with Mother Earth and Father Sky; and the Earth People, who do everything they can to maintain that harmony and balance.

It doesn’t get much earthier than helping kids or horses find harmony and balance. The work Englehart does now had its genesis in leaving his home for Los Angeles and finding his way into wrangling and saving horses at a 4,000+ acre municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains, home to the iconic the Hollywood sign.

“For me, Griffith Park is about so much more than horses, but horses are where my story begins.”

Flights & Totes

From Flora Vista, N.M., to Hollywood, Calif., Englehart has lived and breathed horses since he was “in nothing but a diaper and a Stetson” on his father’s lap astride the family horse, named Red.

“I’m not sure why horses give me flight in dreams,” he says. “Muscle memory? I do know that horses in my dreams signal a good night ahead. Horses give me flight in dreams or nightmares. Horses are why I love nightmares, which are never scary when I’m astride a horse. Nightmares are my chance at courageousness.

“One of the greatest horses I ever worked with was named Butters because he was the color of butter. Riding him felt as smooth as flying. Sometimes for fun we’d ride down to the Los Angeles River and race the trail parallel to the concrete canal system, the cool air blowing in our faces as I flew with Butters straight up to the moon over Glendale.”

Or unfurling the wings of his aunt’s 17-hand Thoroughbred, Tote Sack.

“He was all legs and one gait: rocket fast,” Englehart recalls. “The moment you got on, he took flight. Tote and I were closer than I ever got with [anyone] I knew at the time. The only soul to come close has been a Friesian mare named Allie. I’m certain Allie is Tote reincarnated!

“I remember the names of horses more than I do humans. I think that is partly because horse personalities are more memorable—they’re genuine and larger than life. Horses take up their full space, whereas humans hide too much for Navajo to ever fully trust.”

His inability to trust was the most traumatic part of being closeted as a teenager.

“I didn’t come out until I was 23 and completing my last semester of college,” he says. “There’s nothing special about my story, which is actually the saddest part.”

He recently released a book under his pen name, H.A. Eaglehart, called Urban Native: The Musings of a Queer Navajo Cowboy in Hollywood, about growing up Native and the lessons he has learned from life, nature, and horses along the way.

However, his story includes a leg up. A college degree in outdoor education led to a promotion from Ropes Director to Senior Supervisor for Griffith Park Boys Camp last April, and he’s paying it forward. His replacement, Hope Rogers, was his recommendation.

“Our campers are international, have heterosexual and openly [gay] parents, and are surrounded by the spiritually resurrecting qualities of Los Angeles’ most untouched natural habitat,” he says.

An Unspoken Language

For any teenager, self-identity is a daunting undertaking.

“Horses provide a powerfully positive influence in early human development,” says Englehart. “After teaching hundreds of kids from all six continents how to ride, I can say that horses possess an unspoken language that kids speak instinctively, naturally tapping into the ancient bond humankind shares with caballos.

“Horses often perceive children differently from adults,” he continues. “Horses tend to be less trusting of adults because adults are better at hiding emotion.”

Navajo horse sense is handy for experiential therapy facilitators because horses fine-tune their ability to interpret the emotions of predators.

“Horses live by herd mentality, becoming experts in reading body language,” says Englehart. “A herd can feed off of wrangler energy. Stressed out cowboys can literally trigger a stampede. Herding horses taught me in real time how, by relaxing, the positivity of my mood increased, which in turn affected the mood of the herd. Stampedes are dangerous, so it really pays off to be at peace in the world of horses.”

A Hopeful Perspective

He says that children in the programs he works with give him a more hopeful perspective about the world in general.

Sherri Lindsay, City of Los Angeles Senior Director of Griffith Park Boys Camp, says the feeling is mutual.

“Kids love him,” she says. “He sees life differently and connects to people in a different way. Hugh’s easygoing style and love for exploring have taken him from Navajo Nation to the wilds of Hollywood, and we are all better for it.”

Englehart strives to create environments where everyone can thrive as individuals free to pursue happiness within inclusive communities. In therapy or horsemanship, the way to fight fire is not with more fire, but with more harmony.

In Mustangs and in Life

“You will never ride a wild Mustang by getting it to come to terms with your version of reality,” he says, recalling how he discovered the new job of a once-wild Mustang that had come through a rescue where he volunteered as a trainer.

“A Mustang rehabilitated by the federal government program is easy to spot by the freeze brand on its neck,” says Englehart. “I came across a photo of a firefighter in Oregon battling a wildfire and, looking at the markings on its neck, it was instantly obvious that the horse came from the same rescue where I once trained horses! These rehabilitated Mustangs are sometimes adopted by Hollywood stars (like Conan O’Brien), but many are used by border patrol and wildfire fighters, to carry equipment to the front lines where road access by vehicle is limited.

“My incentive as a Mustang trainer was never to be better than anyone else, but that photo solidified my desire to leave the world in a more harmonious state. How much more harmony can exist if wild horses and firefighters can join forces to battle the flames—literally or figuratively—in front of them?”

Englehart’s book, Urban Native, is published by Incunabula Media of Seattle, Wash., and is available at incunabulamedia.com.

This article about Hugh Ta’neeszahnii Englehart appeared in the August 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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Horsey Background

Riding forward is all she’s known since she was 10 years old, when a strawberry roan Welsh Mountain Pony named Ginger was “hers” for two riding camp summers at Glen Durham Stables in upstate New York.

“It was a traditional Pony Club program where we learned everything,” says Harrison. “They took us to local shows in Ulster and Greene counties.”

At the Vershire Riding Camp in Vermont, she picked up the basics of eventing before a summer on Long Island at the Thomas School of Horsemanship.

“I came off during an in-and-out combination where my horse jumped the first fence, then put the brakes on, and his bridle and I ended up on the far side of the second,” she recalls. “He was named Romeo but was no love of mine!”

Photography and Horses

By her 40s, her greatest love—her son—led her back to horses after years spent adulting to earn an MFA in Photography from Cranbrook Academy of Art. She built a work portfolio in retail and administration.

“After offering riding lessons to my 5-year-old, who liked them well enough, I realized it was me who wanted to ride,” she reflects. After three years of weekly group lessons, Harrison bought her first horse, Tony. “I had him for 14 years. He was my first horse and my last.”

The Belgian/Quarter Horse gelding was reminiscent of the “amazing” drafts she saw competing in Michigan while studying for her MFA.

“I’d never been able to draw or paint, but I had a camera in my hand since I was a child,” Harrison recalls. “My first ‘real’ equine photos were at that venue. But my immersion into horse ownership inspired me to turn my camera on the world I was part of.

“I shot unlike what most photographers were doing. I got closer to the bodies, cropping and orienting my subjects to focus on light, texture, contrast, and massing. I wasn’t ‘taking pretty pictures of pretty horses.’”

She found others who understood what she was trying to do, pre-Facebook, on a forum called the Equine Art Guild.

“There were thousands of us,” she remembers. “We held online group shows, entered juried shows, networked and supported one another. I was asked first to jury and then direct an online equine art competition called Ex Arte Equinus.”

That led to meeting more horse-focused artists, and by 2009, she was part of a Red Hook, N.Y., art collective.

“We rented a space with a storefront gallery and smaller rooms in the back that we offered as studio spaces.”

Diagnosis & Gallery Beginnings

She was renting one of those spaces for her own work when she got the diagnosis: stage 3 ovarian cancer.

“Between surgery and chemo, I was unable to get out and photograph, and was spooked about going back in the darkroom to do my own printing,” says Harrison. “When I was done with treatment and in remission, the studio space came up for renewal. I had to decide, was I going to give it up?”

The answer came from the artist friends she gathered with each year during Saratoga Race Course’s Thoroughbred racing meet, held during the summer in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Among them was Canadian artist Linda Shantz.

“Linda had gallery representation in Saratoga, so she would drop off work when we met up, and I would pick it up for her at the end of the season and hold on to it for the bulk of the year until she needed to trade something out,” says Harrison.

“I asked if I could show her art in my studio and try to sell it. I’d been selling my own, so I knew how to market it. Linda agreed and I sold one [of her pieces] almost immediately. That was the genesis of Equis Art Gallery. If I couldn’t create enough of my work to sell, I could try to sell work by others.”

She asked her Equine Art Guild/Saratoga friends if they would send her their artwork to sell.

“And they did! I still represent many of them today, including Linda.”

Giving Back Joy

Harrison’s last cancer treatment was in August of 2013, putting her in remission for the last 11 years. She opened Equis Art Gallery in January of 2014, and it now has an international collector base and represents over 30 artists from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the Ukraine.

“Inviting [Ukrainian artist] Kateryna Beilikova was in discussion when war came,” she says. “I’m honored to have her work and amazed that she continues to create and get it out of the country to me, via Poland usually. I am lucky to know her and her work.

“Equis Gallery was my gift to myself. After surviving cancer, I asked myself what could give me joy and let me give back to those I care about. Two communities took care of me when things were at their worst, my equine artists and my Red Hook, so if I can bring support to them, I am thrilled.”

Equis Art Gallery has been called the only gallery of its kind.

“[Operating] an art gallery is not an easy business, and every sale means a lot, but one of my favorite stories is of a couple one summer who bought several pieces,” she recalls. “I was so excited I looked them up, and she turned out to be the curator of a famous museum gallery in New York City. Knowing that she found art in Equis worth owning meant a lot.”

This cancer warrior believes in giving a leg up to artists who don’t always find representation and introducing them to collectors who may appreciate their work and want to own it; collectors who want their art like they want their horses—right up close.

This article about Juliet R. Harrison appeared in the June 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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Hartford-Sapp has not only made horses into model citizens, but twice they have been made into Breyer model horses.

For every little horse lover who believes models come to life and leap from the shelf as they sleep, there is Hartford-Sapp, giving happy endings to real horses as well as putting them onto those bedroom shelves.

Cobra the Mustang

“I didn’t collect Breyers as a kid,” says Hartford-Sapp. “I was horse-crazy of course, but had I known about them [in St. Albans, Maine], I would have had stables of them!”

Instead, when plans to pursue a law degree at Florida State University didn’t pan out, she gave riding lessons to make ends meet, turning a hobby into a career. In her method of training horses using the “least resistance,” she has also found little resistance from judges to pin good performances, including two Extreme Mustang Makeover wins and a U.S. Dressage Federation Diamond Achievement Award (through Grand Prix and Grand Prix Freestyle).

Mustangs, in particular, have been good to her. Especially Cobra, the black 15.2-hand horse labeled a “three strikes” rogue, who faced life in a Bureau of Land Management facility before Hartford-Sapp adopted him for the 2010 Extreme Mustang Makeover. The competition offers just 120 days to gentle and train a horse.

“He came in angry, and when I came in the pen, he charged me within five minutes,” Hartford-Sapp recalls. They didn’t make that year’s Makeover Finals, but for the next five consecutive years, Cobra never stopped winning championships.

“That horse has won more titles than any other Mustang in the world,” she says. He was even named U.S. Equestrian Federation (USEF) National Horse of the Year in 2018, the same year that dressage superstar Verdades won the USEF International Horse of the Year title.

Then there was The Email.

“I almost didn’t open it,” says Hartford-Sapp of the unfamiliar message from Reeves International (Breyer’s corporate name). “They had been following Cobra’s journey and thought he would make a super model with his incredible story. It was amazing. I still cry about it.

“It’s a major commitment to train and bring along any horse, but the time spent with Cobra was worth it. I took a 6-year-old wild horse, and together we transformed into champions.”

You read that right: A born-wild horse is in the USEF/EQUUS Hall of Fame.

Cobra, Breyer model No. 1784, is based on 2004 portrait model No. 594, Flash, a dark bay Morgan gelding sculpted by California resin artist Sue Sifton.

“Flash was the winner of a write-in contest to pick Pony Club’s 50th Anniversary Horse,” says Sifton. “His owner sent me a video of him going cross-country at Ledyard [a three-day event in Massachusetts]. He was very keen on course, so his confident attitude when approaching a big fence became the focus of my sculpture.”

Hartford-Sapp was thrilled with how the model turned out.

“My first Breyer model is Cobra, and it will be my favorite for eternity,” she says of Sifton’s work. “Cobra’s model is perfect for him. It embodies his spirit beautifully.”

OTTB Full Moon Rising

Lightning never strikes twice—or does it? For Hartford-Sapp, another horse without a clear future became her second champion-slash-Breyer.

Full Moon Rising (aka “Mooney”) is a lavishly mottled 15.2-hand sabino chestnut Thoroughbred gelding. He retired sound from racing after his second season, just as Marsha was seeking a new candidate to compete in the Retired Racehorse Project.

The stars—and Mooney—aligned the day Marsha brought him home. His introduction to the dressage ring began with a few western dressage competitions. By the end of 2021 (his first full year off the racetrack), he had earned six titles: USEF Horse of the Year Western Dressage Open Intro, USEF Western Dressage Suitability (the first Thoroughbred to win it), National Champion Western Dressage, World Champion Western Dressage Intro, USDF Reserve National Champion All Breeds-Training Level Open, and National Pony Cup Small Horse Champion.

“It was about six months after Mooney had finished his amazing season when the company contacted me again—via email,” says Hartford-Sapp. This time she didn’t hesitate to open it.

“I was so grateful to have my work recognized,” she says. “I took a very special, albeit quirky Thoroughbred and won national and world titles [with him when he was] a year off the track. It was a lot of faith and patience in training. We had a terrific time together doing it.”

The Full Moon Rising model, No. 1877, is based on Breyer mold No. 583 of the champion show hunter, Strapless, introduced in 2003 by commercial fine artist Sommer Prosser.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to see such a fresh and unique color on my Breyer work,” says Prosser of Mooney’s unique pattern. “I’ve always been a fan of colorful horses, having owned several myself, and the color dresses up the sculpture beautifully!”

Just as happy with the creative outcome is Stephanie Macejko, vice president of marketing and product development at Reeves International, Inc.

“We didn’t create new sculptures for the two horses, we chose models that represented their personality and athletic ability and focused on getting coat colors and details just right, such as the BLM freeze brand on Cobra,” she says.

Mooney was a bit more difficult, however.

“Full Moon Rising was a challenge with his roany coat!” Macejko adds.

“I am so pleased Breyer picked Cobra and Mooney [as models],” says Sifton. “I own a BLM Mustang that was captured in the wild, and I had an off-track Thoroughbred. I am wholeheartedly a fan of what Marsha has done to promote the heart and talent of the Mustang and off-track Thoroughbreds. [Late Olympic dressage medalist and director of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna] Alois Podhajsky would be proud.”

Take What Life Gives You and Run With It

“I think a lot of things are dreamed into reality,” says Hartford-Sapp. “Cobra becoming a Breyer horse and Mooney, too, are definitely a childhood fantasy come true.”

She says both model citizens are enjoying the easy life in Ocala, living in grassy paddocks filled with live oak trees.

“They actually are roommates and live together,” says Hartford-Sapp. “They keep light riding schedules. Mooney is schooling some hunter stuff, and Cobra continues some dressage to maintain health and muscle tone. Neither is showing, but they come out from time to time for public and educational appearances.

“My two model horses represent the way I view life. Take what life gives you and run with it. Both a wild horse and an ex-racehorse were underdogs and became world and national champions. I owned and trained them. I saw the best in them and made plans on how to present them at their best,” she says.

It’s the same way she looked for the best in the riders she coached from 2004 to 2022 on the Florida State University equestrian team. And what did her riding students think of having such model citizens in their midst?

“It made them so proud,” says Hartford-Sapp. “It was a lot of fun to have real life Breyer horses in the barn. Cobra is excellent at selfies!”

This article about Marsha Hartford-Sapp appeared in the March 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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EV Foundation Sires

Good performance horses often carry lineages that back up promises of future excellence. Ditto for electric vehicles (EVs). Albeit not as romantic as a Byerly Turk or Godolphin Barb, these “foundation sires” began taking their first wobbly steps in the late 1990s and early 2000s, with a limited number of electric pickup trucks produced by Chevrolet (the S-10 Electric) and Ford (the Ranger EV).

Since 2009, more have been joining the electric conversion conversation. The 2010s saw Phoenix Motorcars introduce a test fleet of all-electric SUTs (Sports Utility Trucks). Miles Electric Vehicles began importing a small Chinese electric pickup, the ZX40ST, and Canadian-based Ecotuned offered an all-electric conversion of the Ford F-150 for use by Hydro Quebec and Montreal Airport.

Not Just a Prospect

Fast forward to January 2023, and Robert Duffer, senior editor at TheCarConnection.com, said, “Electric pickup trucks are no longer a prospect: They are a reality. And they’re exceptional.”

Take the Ford F-150 Lightning. Exhibiting the same fine breeding as its bestselling forbearer, the Ford F-150, this EV pickup truck was named overall Car Connection Best Car To Buy 2023, saying the Lightnings are “not just great trucks, they’re evolutionary vehicles.”

This season, roughly half a dozen American-made electric pickup trucks are for sale or under development. But like young racehorses at an elite auction, a buyer’s investment can be considerable.

The work truck that became the family truck can now double as a mobile boardroom and, commensurate with that evolution, J.D. Power says the price of pickups has increased about 3 percent a year since 2009.

Gas-powered pickups account for nearly 20 percent of all new-vehicle sales, with consumers paying an average of $60,000 for a new truck in 2022.

“Automakers have promised a $40,000 electric truck, but no one has yet to deliver one,” says Duffer. “In the first year of sales, the F-150 Lightning experienced three price hikes, amounting to a 40 percent increase as of December 2022.”

If this leaves some feeling financially over-horsed, there are options. A 2023 federal EV tax credit of $7,500 can be applied to new EV and fuel cell electric vehicle (FCV) trucks and SUVs costing less than $80,000 whose final assembly is in North America (see IRS.gov’s Credits for New Clean Vehicles).

EVs listing for under $80,000 include the Ford F-150 Lightning (starting at $57,869) and 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV ($39,900 base price), which shares an Ultium battery platform with the pricier ($86,245 EV2 base) GMC Hummer EV.

Two dark horses whose price and delivery are TBD are the Ram 1500 EV Revolution, aka “Ram Rev” around the barn, from Stellantix (nee Fiat Chrysler), and the mysterious stainless steel, wedge-shaped Tesla Cybertruck, hyped to offer a 500-mile range and tow capacity up to 14,000 pounds.

Among proven bloodlines stands a fierce little surprise talent that has been handily winning accolades, including the highest overall satisfaction ranking of any vehicle in the 2023 J.D. Power U.S. Electric Vehicle Experience Ownership Study, plus 2023 Car Connection Best Luxury Car to Buy, and 2022 MotorTrend Truck of the Year and Motor Authority Best Car to Buy.

Don’t let fancy introductions fool you. This EV is a proven workhorse. Meet the Rivian R1T, the performance prospect that everyone will be talking about.

Rivian to the Rescue

California-based Rivian made the motor industry sit up and take notice in 2022 with the R1T ($74,800-$98,800), the first available battery electric pickup truck. The Standard (135-kwh) all-wheel drive has about 260 miles of range per full charge; the popular mid-range (135-kwh) has about 328 miles, and the Max (180-kwh) pack quad-motor R1T has a 400-mile range.

“By rethinking how a pickup truck can be built, how it can be propelled, how it can drive, how its spaces might be used, how we could interact with it, and to expand its target demographic, Rivian has forced the industry and market to reassess expectations,” wrote MotorTrend reviewers. “The R1T is not just an intellectual exercise; it is at its core a good truck by traditional definitions, too.”

Including quietly going where few have gone before: to a real farm, to do real chores.

In this case, to Farm Sanctuary, whose Los Angeles, Calif., and Watkins Glen, N.Y., locations have been havens of peace for rescued farm animals and retired horses for decades.

Christopher Kokotajlo, HR coordinator for Farm Sanctuary, was working as an environmental caregiver when MotorTrend contacted their organization in 2018 about testing four mid-size trucks. That “test ride” went well enough to earn a callback.

“[MotorTrend] loved our mission and had such a great experience collaborating with us that they wanted to do it again,” says Kokotajlo. Would Farm Sanctuary be interested in testing out an EV truck?

“They wanted to test the Rivian in ‘real-world scenarios,’” he says. “We let them know the kinds of tasks we routinely do, like loading hay to feed, hooking up trailers, et cetera. Farm Sanctuary uses large trucks to haul feed, equipment, and material, as well as large trailers when we need to perform rescues or transport larger animals.”

They’re always looking to improve transportation. Kokotajlo says the FS Environment team would kid about getting an electric truck “for both the ‘cool factor’ and ‘doing good for the environment’ factor.”

The truck was a hit.

“It looked sleek and futuristic while maintaining a ‘truck’ look,” says Kokotajlo. “It was silent while driving, which was great. We have a blind sheep named Biscuit who gets startled when we run heavy machinery, but he was very calm when we were driving by.”

The farm’s senior rescue horses, Darla, Joanna and Zoe, also tend to spook if a truck unexpectedly rumbles by, so for them, the EV silence was golden.

“Based on Joanna’s injuries, we speculate she was used for horse tripping at an illegal rodeo, but once you earn her trust, she’s a sweetheart,” says Kokotajlo. Joanna’s companion, Zoe, “loves her hay and isn’t afraid to let you know!” As will Darla, a malnourished surrender who’s now the feisty queen of the paddock.

When the Rivian drove by, “They stayed peacefully eating their hay.”

Inside, the truck’s cab was spacious.

“It fit five people easily, which means two can fit with plenty of space for tools and equipment,” says Kokotajlo. “There’s extra storage, like the ‘frunk’ (front trunk), and more space than usual between the bed and cab. The bed had a durable liner and cover that could lock to protect valuables.

“There was plenty of room to stack feed in the back and, when pulling the trailer, even as a passenger you couldn’t feel the truck working hard. It gripped the ground and maintained traction, making for safe handling on rocky or sandy terrain. Lastly, the truck was easy to hook up. It has hydraulic suspension that allowed for more flexibility in lowering the hitch onto the ball.”

EV at Work

MotorTrend wanted them to ask the R1T to perform two tasks Farm Sanctuary would otherwise have used traditional trucks for:

1. Hooking up a horse trailer and backing it into a pen.

2. Loading up the bed with hay to feed.

“The truck performed very well for these tasks, and I had no complaints,” says Kokotajlo. “Another bonus was, when running into town for errands, we wouldn’t be using gas and would be able to come home and plug it in rather than refuel.” In the long run, Kokotajlo feels that would save Farm Sanctuary money.

To test loading the bed with hay, they used the farm’s standard three-string bales, which measure 16″x22″x44″ and—depending on the type of hay or straw—weigh in at 50-100 pounds each.

“We fit five or six bales but, with careful planning, and using rope to tie it down, we could have stacked 10 to 12,” says Kokotajlo. “We have a hoop house where we store our hay (alfalfa, barley, orchard, timothy), which is fed to our cows, horses, goats and sheep. We also load up a trailer to bring out to the feeders along the back part of our property.”

That’s not to say that some aspects of the electric workhorse’s performance didn’t raise more questions than they answered.

“We make long drives with animals in the back, sometimes to emergencies where we can’t spend 30 to 60 minutes charging,” he says. “I’m curious about how the range alters when pulling a 20-foot trailer with a few large animals in back. MotorTrend was not able to speak to this, and I believe this [could be] a limiting factor to using an electric truck.

“The other thing I would love to see is the ability to install a gooseneck. I know many folks prefer goosenecks and there is not an option for this yet. [Goosenecks] are great for turn radius and tack areas that do not significantly reduce trailer space.

“Also, the towing capacity is stated as 11,000 pounds, which is toward the lower end of most of our trucks. This might not be an issue, depending on [your needs].”

Feeding the EV

Just how easy did Farm Sanctuary—with real mouths to feed—find recharging an electric workhorse?

There have been anecdotal complaints from EV owners regarding the unreliable state of too many of the 40,000+ public charging stations and 100,000 outlets in the U.S., such as broken chargers and screens, wonky software, et cetera.

J.D. Power surveyed more than 11,500 EV and plug-in hybrid owners in its 2022 Electric Vehicle Experience Public Charging Study and concluded, despite “big growth” in the number of public chargers, EV owners felt the overall experience “still sucks.”

Most owners do their charging overnight while parked at home, the study concluded, but if EVs are to become a more attractive option to buyers, charging stations will need to be become “more pervasive and reliable, like gas stations.”

Farm Sanctuary found the EV truck could be charged three ways: by Level 1 charging at home (a standard 120-volt household outlet); Level 2 charging at public stations (208- to 240-volt—Level 2 can also be installed in households by an electrician, just like an extra dryer plug); and Level 3 DC Fast Charge and Supercharging (400- to 900-volt), currently only available at specialized public charging stations.

“We tried [Level 1] to show that you can take an extension cord from your house, add an adaptor that comes with the truck, and plug your truck in,” says Kokotajlo. At a recharge rate of about 3 to 5 miles an hour, this is the slowest method.

“But if you use this overnight, it can charge 24 to 40 miles in eight hours. That’s a perfect [option] if you’re not using the truck for long trips.”

Level 2 charging will become more accessible as the 10,000 Rivian Waypoint chargers proposed in the U.S. and Canada become available near hotels, parks and commercial centers. As should super-fast Level 3 stations, with charging rates of 3 to 20 miles per minute.

“It’s a little bit of a learning curve,” Kokotajlo says about the care and feeding of the EV workhorse, “but once you understand the differences, it felt intuitive. It was like plugging in your toaster.”

Comfort Zones

Feel is important in good horsemanship, and this EV wasn’t Kokotajlo’s first rodeo.

“I have personal experience driving EVs,” he says. The direct handling of the R1T was limited to the MotorTrend team. “[But] when we drove around the Sanctuary, the first thing I noticed was how silent it is. We had the windows down and I could hear the gravel crunch.

“There was a bit of a learning curve. It wasn’t so much the acceleration, which is fast and smooth, but the regenerative braking, which felt similar to downshifting, but not as ‘planned’ as driving with a stick. After learning what it does, it was nice to have the vehicle help with the braking while also capturing the energy.” In regenerative braking, every time you lighten your foot off the accelerator pedal, the car feels like it’s applying a light brake, and captures the energy to boost the battery’s charge.

He also found the dashboard intuitive.

“It felt like a large tablet. It was a bit weird, not seeing A/C buttons and dials but, after learning where everything was, it made sense. You can control everything from the screen.

“Another cool feature is that the truck can be updated. If there is software that changes how it handles regenerative braking to make it more efficient, you don’t have to go to a shop to activate it. You hook your EV to Wi-Fi and it updates itself. This is a cool concept as the truck can improve without you having to invest in new parts or technology.”

Ready to Saddle Up?

Prospects versus proven performers start with finding the right partner for the job. Is the EV ready to go to work in every equestrian facility? Maybe not yet, but Farm Sanctuary sees that the potential is out there.

“The truck itself is very high quality, which was noted in the finishes, the thoughtful features, and performance. For how Farm Sanctuary uses trucks, I think a Rivian EV would handle the workload.”

But despite a desire to advocate “full force” for the truck, Kokotajlo has reservations.

“I wish we could have tested some main concerns, the primary one being range when hauling. While not confirmed, I’ve heard there can be up to 50 percent reduction in range when hauling, depending on load and terrain. This might or might not be a dealbreaker for some folks. For shorter trips, this would be fine, but for larger or emergency trips, it would not.

“Lastly, for the price and what the truck can do, I’m uncertain on the ROI [return on investment]. But if a few things get ironed out, this truck will be a no-brainer purchase.”

Overall, the EV pickup truck is probably still a long yearling for most horse facilities, but in a few years, they’ll be finished performers.

Further Reading

◆ Choosing a Vehicle to Tow Your Horse Trailer
◆ Selecting a Horse Trailer to Fit Your Needs

This article about electric pickup trucks appeared in the June 2023 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Electric Pickup Trucks: Can They Haul? appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Sometimes horses, like people, need a leg up in life. That’s where Joe Misner comes in. Growing up in Alaska for much of his boyhood, the creator and director of the Wild2Ride Academy is no stranger to wild country. These days, in Missoula, Mont., he is offering the only wild horsemanship certification program of its kind anywhere in America.

While appearing as a panelist at the EQUUS International Film Festival four years ago in Billings, Mont., he heard about a horse facing a dire plight. The owner of a green-broke BLM Mustang was leaving town, and with winter just around the corner, he threatened to abandon the hapless colt in the mountain wilderness if someone didn’t come up with a better solution.

For a horseman who likes to live by the motto, “Come on and let me show you,” solutions are easy.

Misner was just starting to work with Melinda Corso and Montana Reins of Hope (MROH) when Janet Rose came to them for help. Rose was organizing a benefit for a local rescue, Horse Haven Montana, and told them how a foster option for the colt, Dante, had proved temporary.

“At that time, Montana Reins of Hope was still early in its formation,” says Corso. “Taking Dante in really solidified MROH’s commitment to the American Mustang.”

Horsemanship That Creates Second Chances

Creating second chances for wild spirits—both horse and human—is what Misner has been doing for the last decade. That has included connecting horses with high-risk youth; working with Wounded Warrior veterans and Mustangs; and offering Rio Cosumnes Correctional inmates in Sacramento, Calif., a certifiable skill after their incarceration while giving wild horses a chance to earn release from their own federal pens.

Misner discovered during his West Coast horsemanship clinics that people wanted to learn what he had to teach. But unless they went to jail, they weren’t finding his unique curriculum.

That’s how the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center Wild Horse Program, developed with the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department (one of only five such horse/inmate programs in the country), became the model for the curriculum now offered by Wild2Ride Academy at MROH.

Misner’s program in Sacramento County honed a successful wild horse gentling approach through retreat-pressure-release, which works with an untouched horse’s natural instincts. It also incorporates leadership horsemanship training for people, based on what he calls the five C’s: Calm, Confident, Caring, Clear and Consistent.

And Dante? As MROH’s first rescue horse and four-legged instructor, he has a forever home.

“Dante started it all,” says Corso, who has brought more than 25 years’ experience in children’s mental health and education to her role as Director at MROH. “We can make this world a better place for horses and humans through quality equine education programs that focus on building relationships with horses on a foundation of trust.”

That’s why Misner, considered one of the premier Mustang trainers in the country, is there.

Cross-Fit, Ranch-Style

A veteran of 16 Extreme Mustang Makeovers, with nine Top 10s, and 2014 NORCO Extreme Mustang Makeover champion (with Kenai), Misner has built a 90-day wild horsemanship certification course progressing through six levels.

After completion of a level, students earn a Wild2Ride Academy certificate. At the end of 90 days and all six levels, they are fully certified in the skills necessary to train wild horses.

The name, Wild2Ride, comes from Misner’s experiences in Mustang makeovers since the early days, and from firsthand experience.

“I’ve worked with ‘wild’ men and horses,” he says. “I’ve watched guys who have gone through lots of failures find something to feel passionate about in horses. Here, we teach from the ground up: with a pitchfork, cleaning stalls. I like to call it ‘ranch cross-fitness!’” All joking aside, the program has proven to be transformative for the living creatures that go through it.

“It’s life-changing for everyone,” says Misner. “You can get an organic transformation.”

Wild Horse to Rider Hours Ratio

It starts with his thought-provoking wild horse hours to rider hours ratio.

“Over a year, a horse runs wild for 8,760 hours,” says Misner. “In comparison, 90 days in training adds up to just 60 hours of human interaction.”

That’s 8,700 hours of wild left in an animal apt to behave more like a deer in horse clothing. Take for example a 14-hand, 3-year-old Mustang mare that Misner watched clear a 3-foot fence from a standstill as easily as any whitetail.

“Horsemanship with wild horses is a lot of oxymorons,” he says. “You learn to stay calm but are ready for chaos.”

His 90-day wild horsemanship certification program is also unique in its freedom from traditional semester formats. Applicants do not have to commit 90 days all at once. Like the training approach they hope to learn and apply to horses, students go through the program pressure-free, learning at their own pace.

“One of the most important things about this program is its flexibility,” Misner explains. “You can start any time. You can stop at any point and then come back for more. You can come for a week at a time.” For students learning how to relax a wild horse, it helps to show them they’re not under pressure either.

Riding Forward

Misner is excited to see more students scheduled to enter Wild2Ride Academy through the rest of this year. Two Academy graduates, Hayden Sunshine Kunhardt and John Sullivan (who left a job with the U.S. Forest Service to learn wild horsemanship), have come on board as full-time, paid assistants.

Misner estimates that since 2019, Wild2Ride Academy has seen two dozen burgeoning trainers enter the program and eight complete the full Academy, despite the pandemic.

“I know it sounds crazy, but COVID really got us going,” he says. “It’s been fantastic. People’s lives changed and more of them than ever want new and better connections.”

That’s on top of the hundreds of horses and inmates he estimates he has helped over his five years working with Sacramento County.

“My dad had a saying, ‘Aspire to inspire before you expire,’” he says.

It’s not something the quiet horseman brings up in casual conversation, but the courage and tenacity his own father displayed in life made an indelible imprint.

While born in Minnesota, 57-year-old Misner recalls how his father chose to take his family home to his own roots in Alaska. Misner was still a boy when his father, a heavy equipment operator, sustained a grievous spinal cord injury in an accident.

“My dad is my inspiration,” says Misner. “He was a veteran, and I saw what he went through as doctors held his spine together, as he went into rehabilitation to learn to walk again, and to hold his body upright. He showed me how you can do anything. To keep moving forward.”

A Horse Named Mohican

Another lesson about tenacity came from a “plain brown wrapper” of a Mustang, one of the last to go down the chute and into a BLM pen, who Joe nicknamed Mohican.

Reno, Nev., was where Misner was headed in 2009 to find his second Extreme Mustang Makeover project. He’d finished reserve champion with a horse named Laredo in the previous year’s Western States Mustang Challenge, and 16th nationally. Misner was feeling pretty good about his “formula” for training wild horses within limited timeframes as he stood along the pen watching a new herd of candidates emerge from a trailer.

But it got off to a horrific start. The horse he intended as his makeover candidate “ran right into the fence and broke its neck.”

Next to go was a 5-year-old gelding, taken from the wild a year previously and kept in a holding pen ever since, who was Misner’s resentful replacement. The horse was Mohican.

“He charged and grabbed my chest and front of my shirt as if to say, ‘I have four legs and teeth, and I’m not afraid to use them,’” recalls Misner. “‘Don’t tell me anything. Ask.’”

He had exactly 90 days to ask Mohican for a makeover and to travel from California to Texas to compete together.

For 59 days, 23 hours, and 59 minutes, Mohican didn’t offer much progress. On Day 60, Misner mounted up and started riding in the round pen, but couldn’t get the horse that had once galloped free across the prairie to break into a trot.

“I tried one little spank,” he recalls. “He blew up, rolled over on me, and this time, told me if I ever tried that again he’d squash me like a bug.”

With not much progress to show for those last 30 days, Misner resolutely loaded Mohican and began the 1,200-mile trek to Fort Worth. If he was lucky, he imagined the recalcitrant Mustang would only humiliate and not hurt him in front of all those spectators in the Will Rogers Equestrian Center.

“I purposely entered the Intermediate division,” he says. “I wasn’t expecting much.”

Misner certainly wasn’t expecting what came next. If Mohican saw him as one terrible, two-legged predator, the Mustang’s eyes pretty much popped out of its head when he realized there were thousands of such predators outnumbering them in Fort Worth.

“He stayed glued to me,” Misner recalls.

Maybe it was Mohican’s “come to Jesus moment,” but it worked. Man and Mustang finished 8th nationally, while also performing a freestyle Misner could never have predicted with this horse: “It included jumping over a barrel while holding a flag in one hand!”

In the happiest of all endings, Mohican was purchased at the auction following the competition, raising money for the Mustang Heritage Foundation and finding a forever home.

“I told the woman who bought him that he was very … particular,” he says.

Roses From a Devil’s Garden

Horse Illustrated caught up with Misner the same day he was preparing to welcome five new U.S. Forest Service Devil’s Garden Mustang mares—with foals—to MROH.

Named for a 500-square-mile patch of dense brush and jagged stone so inhospitable only “the devil himself” would plant a garden there, the Devil’s Garden Wild Horse Territory lies within Modoc National Forest outside of Alturas, Calif. According to the USDA and U.S. Forest Service, Devil’s Garden is the largest wild horse territory managed by the U.S. Forest Service in size and wild horse population.

“Devil’s Garden Mustangs have proven their adaptability, trainability and versatility since our first adoptions in 2018,” says Misner. “None of this would be possible without Reins of Hope and its 400 acres that house the facility and program. It couldn’t be done without them.”

It allows Misner and Wild2Ride to keep dreaming bigger and better, including filing for nonprofit 501(c)3 status and launching a fundraising campaign, because “we sure need a covered arena during these Montana winters.”

Mustangs need help, too.

“I know I can make a difference,” says Misner. “Mustangs gave me a master’s degree in empathy for horses, and for trying to do better, every day, with what I have to give.”

This September, Misner and his wife of 30 years, Missy, plan to compete a pair of 3-year-old BLM fillies in the Extreme Mustang Makeover in Fort Worth. A teacher for over 20 years, Missy is also curriculum co-creator of the Wild2Ride program.

“She’s been a huge inspiration in my evolution as a natural horseman,” says Misner. “Without her, I’d be a broken-up old bronc rider, for sure.”

Follow Joe and Missy, Wild2Ride, and the Devil’s Garden Mustangs at Montana Reins of Hope (available to forever homes after 90 days training) at www.montanareinsofhope.com and on Facebook @Wild2Ride and @MontanaReinsofHope.

This article about Joe Misner and his wild horsemanship certification program appeared in the October 2022 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Joe Misner and His Wild Horsemanship Certification Program appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

“In this sport, almost everyone is an underdog to a certain extent,” says the barn manager and equestrian coordinator for Rolling Oaks Estate, a wedding and show horse facility in Decatur, Ala., owned by her husband’s family for the past 40 years. “If you get up and put the work in every day, then you’re a winner no matter your level. We should be proud of the hours we dedicate to our incredible horses and this amazing sport, and measure success through the health and happiness of our equine partners.”

At a time when defeating the odds can seem more fairy tale than reality, Torrez hopes sharing stories of underdogs like her horses Land Quiproco do Feroleto and Donatella offers others a lesson in perseverance.

“Quiproco has a completely different origin story from Donatella, yet they both overcame tremendous hardship.”

Family Values

You might say Torrez was born for the role.

“I’m the first competitive equestrian in my family, but my passion for horses comes from my grandmother, Savina Torrez,” she explains. “As a young woman, she rode her horse to dances, and it’s a family anecdote that Savina delayed learning to drive [a car] because she preferred riding. I believe horses are in my blood because of my connection to her.

“I was raised with a blend of Southern and Southwestern culture,” she continues. “My diverse upbringing taught me the importance of strong family values. I cherish the memories made in Alabama on my grandmother’s farm, and of making tamales with my aunts and cousins in New Mexico.”

Land Quiproco do Feroleto

When Aubrey got Quiproco in 2015, the gelding, bred in Brazil by Haras Do Feroleto, reminded her of a quirky Holsteiner from her childhood.

“He had a wicked buck and an opinion about everything, but was as honest as they come,” Torrez recalls. Quiproco was a challenge and “liked to use his athleticism to go in every direction but forward and straight.”

His long legs earned him the nickname “Squiddy” at the barn, and his bloodline includes a sibling, Land Peter do Feroleto, who carried Stephan Barcha on the 2016 Brazilian Olympic show jumping squad. Now 18, Quiproco has become a gentleman who gives more kisses than bites, and calmly lowers his head when it’s time to put on his goggles.

Goggles?

In 2016, the farm’s veterinarian, Mark Lowe, DVM, of Flint Creek Veterinary Services, diagnosed Quiproco with equine recurrent uveitis (ERU). They were referred to equine ophthalmologist and ERU research expert, Richard McMullen, DMV, DACVO, DECVO, CAQ Equine Ophthalmology (Germany), whose pioneering procedures fought to save Quiproco’s eye but, after developing a painful corneal inflammation known as keratitis, there was no choice but to remove the eye. After surgery, the horse seemed on the road to recovery.

In April 2020, a headshaking syndrome diagnosis knocked them off stride again. Trigeminal-mediated headshaking, according to the 2019 white paper by Veronica Roberts, MA, MA VetMB, DipECEIM, PGCertMedEd, MRCVS, University of Bristol, is a neuropathic facial pain condition affecting less than 1 percent of horses.

“Exposure to bright light triggers the trigeminal nerve, causing the head toss,” says Torrez. “Quiproco’s case was so severe he was unable to wear a halter and stood in the darkest corner of his stall, tossing his head, barely able to eat. I was advised to euthanize him.”

After a string of failed treatments, Lowe recommended Top Stock Head Shaking Formula, a feed supplement made in New Zealand, and after several weeks, she says he went from unrideable to “having my old horse back.”

To combat his sensitivity to light, Quiproco wears the eVysor, ultraviolet goggles made by an Italian company.

“He has different colored lenses for different lighting and footing conditions,” says Torrez. “He took to the goggles almost instantly and has been consistently wearing and competing in them for two years. Between the goggles and his special supplement, his symptoms were drastically reduced. He may look different from other horses in the warm-up, but he is the epitome of perseverance in uncertain times.”

Donatella

Aubrey knew Quiproco’s future could have been uncertain after the ERU diagnosis. She was initially surfing the Internet for a companion horse when she came across an Alabama Craigslist ad for an $800 palomino mare.

“She was rescued at the last minute from a kill buyer on Christmas Eve,” says Torrez. “She’d been abused, neglected, and forgotten, and was living in little more than a shack with a dirt floor, with only donkeys as friends. I tried her out in a field next to a highway, and knew she was special and coming home with us. When we loaded her on the trailer, it was the first time she’d ever seen or stood on shavings in her life.”

The 15.2-hand golden girl welcomed her fresh start and learned to jump.

“She made her debut in 2020 in USEF-rated competition, and ended her season as champion in two divisions, at the WTHJA Memphis Charity Horse Show,” Torrez recalls with pride.

Underdogs Shine As Bright As Gold

She intends to show both underdog horses in local and rated shows, including at the World Equestrian Centers in Ohio and Florida. Donatella will show in adult jumpers; Quiproco, training under Lee Johnson, will go in the 1.20-meter show jumping classes while Torrez eyes doing a mini prix.

“Comparison is the thief of joy,” she says. “Every journey is unique. At the end of the day, it is an honor and privilege to ride and care for the beautiful animals that give so much of themselves to us.”

This article about underdog horses appeared in the August 2022 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Underdog Horses Become Champions appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

When award-winning para equestrian Lauren Reischer was born 24 years ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that 1 in every 550 children born in the United States was diagnosed with cerebral palsy (CP). The most common motor disability in childhood, CP constitutes a group of disorders that affect the ability to move and maintain balance and posture. Of four chief types, spastic CP affects roughly 80 percent of those diagnosed. Spastic CP manifests as muscle stiffness and tightening, primarily in the legs and hips, along an entire side of the body, or at its most severe, throughout the limbs, trunk and face.

As an infant, Lauren was diagnosed with spastic diplegia/diparesis. It was impossible for her to crawl and difficult to sit upright. Her torso and upper body were so rigid it was difficult for her to swallow, and her doctors feared that she would never be able to speak because she was lacking the core strength necessary to produce sounds.

She describes her legs as so tightly twisted together that they were like “a mermaid’s tail.” But this is no children’s fable. This is the true story of a mermaid who captained her Brown University equestrian team (and saved its varsity status), a grand champion at Long Island’s prestigious Hampton Classic, a therapeutic riding advocate, and a biracial para equestrian who refused to be a statistic at the hands of her disability.

Better Call Sol

“I’m just 10 percent—Lauren is the other 90,” says her dad, Sol Reischer, about his role in the life of the girl that he and Mary Kong brought into the world. “When Lauren was diagnosed as a baby, our doctors hypothesized that not only would her life be challenging, but that her condition would worsen with age.

“We had an excellent nanny and car service for her doctors’ appointments,” he says. “I hated it.”

He quit working on the American Stock Exchange to invest in his daughter’s weekly occupational, speech and physical therapy appointments.

At 2 years old, Sol says Lauren’s muscles were becoming so taut that they were pulling her femurs out of their hip sockets. She underwent extensive hip surgery that included cutting her femurs and removing the sockets before pinning everything back in place.

From there, she faced three months at Rusk Rehabilitation (ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of the top 10 rehabilitation programs in the country) in a V-shaped body cast, equipped with a bar that manually forced her legs apart to help retrain her brain to “see” her legs as two separate limbs.

“They were seeing results,” Lauren says. She was using a walker, but her rehab team, led by Joan T. Gold, M.D., a specialist in cerebral palsy and pediatric rehabilitation at Rusk, wanted more. “They recommended therapeutic riding, where the motion of having my legs apart, of having my body move with a horse, would train my legs to work.”

The Help of a Horse

For tiny Lauren, a New York City-based therapeutic riding program known as GallopNYC had just the horse for the job: a one-ton Clydesdale called Voltan.

“Because my legs still didn’t separate on their own above the knee, my dad pulled the handlers [two off-duty New York City mounted police officers] aside and said, ‘Listen, we may have to put her on her knees and hold her there.’ They told him, ‘Relax. We’ve got this. Just wait and see.’

“When they picked me up, my legs separated on their own for their first time ever,” Lauren says. “I don’t know if it was because I made the connection that this is what was supposed to happen, but it worked. I sat on that horse. Upright. With my legs separated.”

Voltan’s cautious steps helped Lauren take her own. “Those movements became my muscle memory,” she says.

Sol agrees. “As scary as it was for a concerned parent, it proved to be the best, most fruitful and most therapeutic experience we ever encountered,” he says. “It’s how my daughter and I became involved with GallopNYC. The rewards she reaped from participation in GallopNYC were miraculous.”

In fact, Sol is now its board chairman, and Lauren has trained nearly a dozen therapy horses, while also supporting new riders with the program. GallopNYC is the first and only equestrian center in New York City offering weekly lessons focused on the therapeutic needs of veterans, adults, senior citizens and children.

“Lauren is always looking to pass on what she’s picked up in her 20 years to help others,” Sol says. “Ninety-nine percent of what people thought her parents were doing is what she was doing for us. She makes us better, not the other way around.”

Captain of Her Fate

“I’m not squeamish, but while in rehabilitation, Lauren saw daily what no one should ever see, like a child who was there because he had been set on fire by his own dad,” Sol says. “It made her more empathetic to others—to be helpful rather than complain about her problems.”

Horses continued to help Lauren find her stride. A GallopNYC instructor, Ben Goldberg, told Sol that if he were willing to drive Lauren to his barn in Goshen, N.Y., he’d train her “like any other able-bodied rider.”

“That’s all she ever wanted,” says Sol.

As a teenager at the Dalton School, Lauren embraced its high school motto, “go forth unafraid.” She was earning respect—and ribbons—in flat and jumping classes at shows, including the Hampton Classic.

It was there in 2016 that Lauren rode a chestnut pony named Opportunity Knocks to first place in all their classes. The equestrian was named grand champion in the independent division of the Long Island Horse Shows Series for Riders with Disabilities (LIHSSRD) Finals.

“If it weren’t for my mom’s severe allergies, she’d be around horses more,” Lauren grins. “But that has had its upside, too. If something isn’t going right, like the time I needed a catch [ride] three days out from a show, she is on it! And before I could do it myself, she handled my entries, et cetera. She can work any horse show website.”

Also read- Equestrian Vaulting as Therapy

College-Bound

The year after winning her Hampton Classic title, it was time to choose a college and—naturally—a riding program. The decision boiled down to which institution would work with her CP best. Ivy League perks like a personal four-wheel drive golf cart were nice, but not compared to NCAA requirements that equestrian athletes engage in physical training multiple times a week.

Only Brown University offered Lauren her own physical therapist to ensure she could comply with staying fit for collegiate competition.

At the same time Lauren was training at Brown, she was riding and boarding a horse of her own at Tom Andreozzi and Dawn Dorrance’s facility. When he first saw her crutches, Andreozzi confesses he was skeptical.

“I was like, ‘Really? How is this going to happen?” But two years into working with her, he no longer equated being handicapped with being sensitive or delicate.

“How [someone’s] body functions might be different from mine, but it doesn’t mean they can’t achieve their goals,” he says. “If you don’t have the heart to do this sport, it doesn’t matter how physical you are in terms of what you can and can’t do. Lauren has heart. Even though her body isn’t a hundred percent, her heart makes up for it.”

A Serious Blow

The size of that heart was tested when, in her senior year, Lauren was named a co-captain of Brown’s hunt seat team. Then, at the start of the pandemic, the university announced it was including equestrian among 11 sports it was reclassifying from varsity to club status.

Sitting in on the webinar announcement, she heard the cut explained not as a budget issue, but because the team wasn’t perceived as “excellent enough” to keep its varsity status.

“This had to be a joke,” Lauren recalls. “Not excellent enough? Brown finished top three in 11 out of the last 20 years and earned more trips to the national championships than any other Ivy League team. If they cut the team, they were [also] cutting 100 percent of its disabled athletes: Me.”

Lauren is the first and only graduate of GallopNYC in the nearly 20-year history of the organization to compete at the NCAA level.

“Brown was the only school I applied to that had an NCAA equestrian team,” she says. “Instead of diminishing me to a box labeled by the things I can’t do, Brown chose to pay attention to the things that I can do.

“It meant the world to me that Brown had provided the opportunity to ride at an NCAA level. Very few people with disabilities get to call themselves athletes, and even fewer get to call themselves Division I athletes.”

Fighting for Her Passion

She went straight to Brown’s director of athletics, Jack Hayes, to advocate for her team and sport. They kept meeting all summer, culminating in a conference call with two of the most powerful and persuasive voices in the horse industry: Bob Cacchione, founder of the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association, and Tom O’Mara, U.S. Equestrian Federation president.

Much like her “tiger mom,” Lauren wasn’t taking no for an answer.

“I was not intimidated by his position. I told him to let me work with him on a path to reinstatement,” she says. “We built a good relationship. He took my phone calls.”

She asked him if the president of the National Football League would have made time to be on a conference call the way these two sports leaders had.

“That awakened him to how important riding is and how much inclusivity it offers,” Lauren says. “Everyone plays. No one sits on the bench or wastes athletic department money. Less than three months later [in September 2020], we were reinstated.

“We all have things that disable us in life,” concludes the former little mermaid, who has since accepted a position as associate director of development with Special Olympics, the leading organization for competitive athletes with intellectual disabilities and their communities.

Lauren competed in the 2022 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event, participating in the para dressage and para jumping demonstrations.

This article about Lauren Reischer, an equestrian who overcame her disability, appeared in the May 2022 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Equestrian with Disability Achieves Great Success appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Each was asked to reflect on what shaped their life’s trajectory and what encouragement they would offer to keep all of us riding forward.

Stacy Westfall

Cowgirl Hall of Famer, first woman to win the Road to the Horse

In 2006, Westfall was the first and only woman invited to compete in (and win) the Road to the Horse Colt Starting competition. That same year, she dedicated her bareback and bridleless win in the Quarter Horse Congress reining freestyle to her late father and, as more of her performances became viral sensations, she won the hearts of general audiences and appeared on The Ellen Degeneres Show. Today, as a renowned female equestrian, she continues showing people how to build clearer lines of communication.

Career choices: I never fit in except when I was with horses. The more you try to fit in, the less you will be YOU. The point of life is to figure out what you bring to the mix.
Advice to younger self: Your ideas are only half-grown. Some dreams are horses that stand up and run right after they’re born. Others are caterpillars that need a chrysalis before their butterfly. Just because people don’t understand doesn’t make a bad idea. You just need time.

Trailblazing lesson: My favorite book growing up, The Black Stallion, starts with a horse, a sinking ship and getting stranded on a desert island, and ends with a horse and green grass. Stop thinking that when you “get it right,” it will all be green grass. Sometimes you don’t appreciate the grass until you’ve been stranded on the island.

Patricia E. Kelly

Founder, Ebony Horsewomen, Inc. (EHI)

Since 1984, EHI has provided culturally competent, Eagala-style equine-assisted therapy and psychotherapy to veterans and urban families; a Junior Mounted Patrol Unit, Park Rangers and community ambassadors; and a Saturday Saddle Club in partnership with the University of Connecticut.

Kelly is an inductee into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame and the National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum Hall of Fame, and a CNN Top 10 Hero. This female equestrian has also appeared on The Queen Latifah Show and The Dr. Oz Show.

Then and now: There have always been African Americans in the horse industry; however, they (we) were not recognized. Today, I see more competing, and hope our involvement demonstrates our ability, and right, to be recognized. At EHI, we emphasize culturally competent equine therapy, because it’s crucial to recognize some issues require specificity. People from different backgrounds often deal with traumas that cross many intersections.

2020 hindsight: I see the start of a change and willingness to take a hard look at diversity and inclusion. The horse industry is largely dictated by money, which is a social construct, with built-in racial exclusions and biases. I’ve seen false starts at equality fizzle out. So we shall see.

Temple Grandin, Ph.D.

Author, animal behaviorist, neurodiversity activist; American Association for the Advancement of Science fellow; Time Magazine 100 Heroes; and an inductee into the National Women’s Hall of Fame, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum Hall of Great Westerners.

Grandin is perhaps best known as a designer and proponent of humane livestock handling facilities and a professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University, but she is equally passionate about promoting greater understanding of those on the autism and neurodiversity spectrums. This female equestrian trailblazer was the focus of the semi-biographical HBO film Temple Grandin starring Claire Danes, which won seven Emmys, including “Outstanding TV Movie.”

Career choices: I was always interested in science. My grandfather was the co-inventor of the autopilot for airplanes. When I was little, he answered endless science questions. My mother nurtured my interest in art and encouraged me to try new things.

Advice to younger self: Work hard and become good at a specialized skill that other people need and value. I learned to work hard when I cleaned horse stalls in high school.

Then and now: At my age (73), one of the most important things I can do is to encourage students. Many students are really interested in animal behavior, and they want to improve the treatment of pets, horses and farm animals.

Anne Kursinski

Five-time Olympian and two-time silver medalist, U.S. Olympic Committee Female Equestrian Athlete of the Year, two-time Pan American Games gold medalist, two-time American Horse Show Association Horsewoman of the Year, Show Jumping Hall of Fame inductee, and the 2018 Women in Sports Coach of the Year

Yes, Kursinski has won nearly every major equestrian competition there is to win, but mentorship, not medal winning, found her at the forefront of the #metoo movement as a clear voice for female equestrian athlete advocacy.

Then and now: When you’re successful, it’s inevitable to be seen as a role model. I hope I’ve been a good one. Rider head injuries in the 1980s made me one of the first to wear a chin strap. Before it was cool to worry about TBI [traumatic brain injury], I spoke up about head protection.

Then, even though I was OK with my life and past, when I heard the news [about the USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal], a voice inside said I had to speak up. Times have changed.

2020 hindsight: In a weird way, the last year has been good for us. A lot of sports totally closed down, but horses allowed us to stay grounded.

Patti Colbert

Creator of the Extreme Mustang Makeover, American Horse Publications Equine Industry Vision Award winner, National Cowgirl Hall of Fame Sawyer Award recipient

Blending equine tradition with innovative engagement, the Extreme Mustang Makeover, presented by the Mustang Heritage Foundation, gives approved trainers 100-120 days to take unhandled horses “from wild to mild.” They are then available for adoption or purchase via public bid.

Career choices: I do what I do because it’s so freaking fun to come up with something that flips everyone out.

Then and now: My favorite TV show was Extreme Home Makeover, which took a home with no value, a family with a story, and some professional builders, and changed lives. I thought we could do that with Mustangs, and holy s**t, it worked! Close to 7,000 wild horses were adopted during my time with the Mustang Heritage Foundation.

2020 hindsight: With people or horses, if you move your feet, the activity stimulates your brain, and you feel better. In 2020, I reminded myself daily to move my feet.

Lynn Palm

Trainer of four American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) Superhorses, AQHA Professional Horsewoman of the Year, Women’s Sports Foundation Equestrian of the Year

The world fell in love with Palm’s bridleless exhibitions on the legendary Rugged Lark, including at the 1996 Olympics, and few can match this female equestrian’s record as an all-around trainer, showman, exhibitor and entrepreneur.

On career choices: I’m blessed to make a living with horses. I do what I do because I love horses and their wellbeing. I train for the longevity of the horse.

Then and now: I am on a mission with AQHA to reward registered Quarter Horses competing in U.S. Eventing Association-recognized events with AQHA points, the same way they do with registered Quarter Horses in U.S. Dressage Federation-approved competitions.

Trailblazing advice: My mother recognized my passion and talents and always supported me. My mentor, Ms. Steele, gave me a special gift for my high school graduation and signed the card, “To a future great star, with admiration.” That took me to my dreams.

Linda Tellington-Jones, Ph.D.(H)

Founder of Tellington TTouch Training, Massage Therapy Hall of Fame inductee, American Riding Instructor Association Lifetime Achievement Award

This female equestrian’s forward-thinking approach, “Change the Posture, Change the Behavior,” has always been ahead of its time. Tellington-Jones has written 23 books on TTouch, and was recognized by The Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run as a Torch-Bearer (a global relay since 1987 embodying a universal aspiration for peace) for her devotion to a heart-based method that nurtures a peaceful connection between animals and people.

Career choices: On my 30th birthday in 1967 (I’m 83 and happy to share my age because we all need role models), I got an astrological psychoanalysis, one of the first on a computer, and it predicted my destiny was to develop a form of communication that would spread around the world. Communication is the heart-to-heart connection using TTouch.

I have spent a lifetime avoiding the label of guru. I just show up and listen and do my best to make a difference in a positive way. I’ve been cited as a pioneer in interspecies communication; interspecies connection is how I see it.

Then and now: My grandfather, Will Caywood, trained racehorses in Russia and in 1905, accepted the prestigious Tsar Nicholas award as leading trainer. He never entered a horse in a race unless it told him it was feeling fit enough to win. And we think of animal communication as something new!

Debbie Roberts Loucks

CEO, Monty & Pat Roberts Inc. (MPRI)

Home is where the horse is for the daughter of world famous “horse whisperer” Monty Roberts. Since 2002, Roberts Loucks’ marketing and business acumen have grown her father’s brand into a global leadership organization. She launched the first-of-its-kind Equus Online University and the international symposium on the transformative nature of horses known as The Movement. Now, this female equestrian works on the Monty Roberts Mustang & Transition Horse Program, identifying how horses have multiple careers over their lifetime, and reframing “rescue” as transition.

Career choices: I was blessed with the aptitude to understand and interpret for horses (and for Monty Roberts). The last 20 years have been invested in the future of concepts in non-violent training that work with the nature of flight animals rather than using force.
Then and now: In 2002, when we self-published From My Hands to Yours, it was unheard of to retain rights to media and distribution. Media was the future. It could empower people to study techniques they felt were right for their horse. By 2004, we began a video library to teach Join-Up training. The trouble was the internet was not fast or widely used enough yet to launch it. In 2009, technology advanced enough to build our first interactive site, Monty’s Online University.

In 2013, HorsemanshipRadio.com, our podcast on the Horse Radio Network, offered a new way to deliver conversations with industry leaders that was different from video because you could pop in ear buds and listen while driving or working. We knew this was an underserved audience. Now, with a few awards under our belt, we’re learning how to stay even better connected.

Bernice Ende

Author, Lady Long Rider: Alone Across America; subject of the film, Lady Long Rider: How far one woman went to find herself

Four of the reasons Ende rides are to encourage female leadership, to discover, to learn and to grow. After 30,000 miles and nearly two decades traversing America on horseback, this female equestrian was inducted into the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame in November 2020. The Long Riders Guild recognizes her as an “outstanding ambassador for long-distance exploration on horseback” and hails her as the first person to ride coast-to-coast and back again in a single trek.

Career choices: I’ve never experienced life without a horse. I think I came out from my mother’s belly loving horses.

Advice: Life without fear is freedom.

Then and now: I’d like to think we are developing a higher consciousness. Look at where we are with gender equality. Look at the progress made by women of color. They are the ones changing everything. Holy cow, I am so encouraged by it all!

Trailblazing mentorship: My mom had a love of the horizon, as did my Aunt Linda, who loved horses and traveled the world. She made it so interesting to me to hear about different languages and ideas.

Jean Abernethy

Equestrian artist, Western Writers of America and American Horse Publictations award recipient

This female equestrian and talented illustrator is the creator of Fergus the Horse, her hooved protagonist with a wry sensibility who has been winning fans among riders and readers for two decades.

Career choices: If you’re going to make a living doing something, find something you’re good at, something you enjoy. Then at least one person will be pleased.

Advice to your younger self: Travel more. Don’t be so hesitant to explore.

Then and now: I drew generic horses in my first years cartooning. When I created Fergus, I had to speak through him to develop his character. Then he needed pasture mates for conversation. Twenty years ago, this played into our deepening understanding of equine language, psychology and complexity.

2020 hindsight: We know that WWII started in 1941 and ended in 1945, but in 1943, people didn’t know that. Have faith that change will come. And exercise your abs with a good laugh as often as you can.

Laura Hillenbrand

Best-selling author; myalgic encephalomyelitis (M.E.) advocate

Even non-horse people fell in love with the hero of Hillenbrand’s first bestseller, Seabiscuit: An American Legend. The film adaptation, Seabiscuit, was nominated for Best Picture of 2003 at the 76th Academy Awards.

At 19, this female equestrian was stricken with chronic fatigue syndrome, yet persevered as an author and advocate for what is understood today as myalgic encephalomyelitis. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identify ME/CFS as a disabling and complex illness whose sufferers experience overwhelming fatigue that is not improved by rest and can include problems with thinking and concentrating, pain and dizziness.

Trailblazing advice: The closest thing I had as a female role model was the character of Margaret Houlihan, played by Loretta Swit on the television show M*A*S*H. It began airing when I was 2 or so and stayed on the air until I entered my teens. In my girlhood, females were not always applauded for wanting to pursue careers. My mother was a journalist of great skill, but when she got pregnant with her first child, she was fired. She could do nothing about it, because back then, it was perfectly legal to fire a woman for getting pregnant. Journalism was still largely a man’s world.

Margaret Houlihan was not a journalist, but she was so moving to me. She was a military officer pursuing a career in a world completely dominated by men who could not see beyond her sexuality. Yet she persevered, and she was very strong and very, very good at what she did.

I grew up wanting to be like Margaret—certain of my worth, dauntless, devoted. For her, sexism was the supreme struggle; for me, it turned out to be my health. As I fought to have a career in spite of shattered health, perhaps something of her was in me. A few years ago, Loretta and I became friends. She is very much like Margaret, and she is so full of wisdom. It was such a joy to be able to tell her how her role had informed my life.

In remembrance: Jane Savoie

Rider, author, Olympic coach

Savoie was in the process of scheduling an interview for this article when, on January 4, 2021, she lost her five-year battle with multiple myeloma. This three-time National Dressage Freestyle Champion danced through life in the ballroom as well as on the dressage court and invited us along.

This female equestrian found her truest calling in teaching, from coaching Olympic teams and instructing amateurs to presenting motivational talks. She published her first book, That Winning Feeling! in 1992. Her last, Dressage Between the Jumps, was released in 2020, the same year she released her first novel, Second Chances.

Savoie, who knew she had been recognized among our trailblazers, once said “there’s no expiration date on a dream.”

Thank you, female equestrians, for choosing to be what no one has seen before.

This article female equestrian trailblazers appeared in the May 2021 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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