Horse Story

Dear , It is just a quick story if you have a minute. About the daughter of a friend of mine from the Southwest. Living with her divorced mother she needed money for college tuition and was competing horses to get it. Desperate to win, doing well, in full contention, a career ending injury happened to her seasoned campaigner. But she kept on with a new young competitive horse and they traveled all over the place. He was out of control though. So she was riding poorly, white knuckled and tense. In the best of conditions that makes staying in top form nearly impossible. Competing on the Rocky Mountain circuit is a family commitment like no other I have seen. They live on the road for nearly the whole season. The distance between each competition is far flung and can take days to get to. At one of the grounds they turned their horses out in a field with friends. The other family had a young man helping from Mongolia. He was earning money for school too, taking classes at the University of Arizona. One of his duties was bringing in the horses. When they left for the next competition there was a terrifying thunderstorm bearing down. The thunderstorms around the mountains are dramatic but this was a whopper. Pulling a big horse trailer with living quarters was tough in that storm. The wind was whipping, the sky was yellow-black, the rain was dumping like full muck buckets of water being tipped over. It was a harrowing trip for humans and horses both. By the next venue the storm was past. Everyone was exhausted yet they had to show on. She had to compete no matter what. Her skittish young horse having just had the most terrifying trailer ride of its life faced her squarely and menacingly. Being hauled along a highway in a rocketing trailer surrounded by booming thunderclaps and electric bright lightening flashes made his behavior dangerous. Yet she desperately needed to succeed. When the groom of her friends came by and saw her struggling he stopped to help. Suddenly the horse began to settle. She asked him about this, secretly wishing he could ride instead of her. It was her horse he had hopped on in the field to bring the others in at the last place and she couldn’t believe it when she saw that. She asked about it. How had her horse been that calm for him? He mentions the horses back, talks about her position, and seat and balance. “A nice

horse who needs a different saddle” he says, ‘if you want him to be your next big horse’. All she can think about is the end of this summer. Her dream, to get back to friends at school, secure that tuition is paid is waning. She would rather work at school, but can only make enough to buy books there. Yet it is hardly work, more like hanging with friends, not at all nail biting challenging. Plus the job is in a supportive collegial environment. Instead she has to travel with her mother to compete horses, hard to do in her stressed-out state of mind, and win. She thinks she would do just about anything. In a flash she decides if he can help her, she will split the purses at these year end competitions. He agrees and goes to his van to get his saddle. It is a “WOW Competitor” the modular saddle that can be altered to fit her horse. With the component parts changed to meet her needs, she goes on to succeed. It turns into a win for everyone. A well fitted WOW can untangle so many misunderstandings between a human and her horse. I am not pretending to be the wonderful Mongolian whose very birthright is the back of a horse. But I can deeply appreciate it along with the many wonderful ways a WOW makes situations better. Any saddle connects us with our horse. When it is a WOW that has been properly fitted it gives greater confidence and freedom that strengthens the bond with our horse.

Joan Detlefsen