By Lindy Thompson
On a cloudy September morning in 2012, I jumped in the truck with my good friend Meredith, and we took off to go pick up my new pony. I’d found a Craigslist advertisement a couple of weeks earlier for a young, unstarted Haflinger gelding that needed a new home. I was looking for an inexpensive project that I could flip in order to fund a nicer horse, and this little gelding was behaviorally too much for his current owner, so she was willing to give him to a dressage home.
My name is Lindy Thompson, and I started riding dressage when I was 12 years old. I had to take a break from riding when I went to university — I was an NCAA Division 1 runner, and “horseback riding” was one of those things the NCAA doesn’t want you participating in due to the risk of injury. Though painful to take the break, being a full-time student-athlete didn’t really allow for time to ride. Fast forward to meeting my now-husband in Colorado several years later, and the riding bug returned! We didn’t have a lot of money, and he didn’t come from a horsey background, but I managed to convince him that a “free pony” was an excellent idea.
I started Beau on my own but quickly sought the help of a local cowboy named Rod. Beau was not an easy start, and when Rod returned him to me, he warned that “this one may never not buck!” I called a local dressage trainer, Petra Warlimont, and explained the situation. She told me to bring him over, and we’d make a plan.
Petra and I have spent the last 11 years navigating Beau’s skeptical personality and explosive talent. On his very best days, he was challenging (and often frustrating), and on his worst days, he was downright dangerous. Petra and I decided that Beau wouldn’t be a horse we could sell to anyone, much less a kid, so I had some decisions to make about what I wanted to do. We proceeded to work on him together — me in the saddle and her on the ground, holding my hand through the early years.
In December 2014, my husband and I moved back to Michigan, where we bought a farm, and because Beau was still so unpredictable, I decided to leave him with Petra for the better part of the first year we lived in Michigan. I traveled back and forth to keep riding him. In the fall of 2015, we brought Beau and his buddy, Hot Rod, home to our farm in Northern Michigan. We spent just under seven years living, working, and training from that farm, all the while doing video lessons with Petra and sending Beau back to Colorado for the winters for training.
I managed to train him up to Prix St. Georges (PSG) during our time in Michigan, and in November 2022, my husband and I decided to move back to Colorado for his work. I was going to be able to have daily support and coaching for the first time in eight years! Petra and I went to work, and Beau and I debuted at Intermediate 1 (I1) in May 2023. It was a light show season for us, and I almost didn’t take him to Regionals. Still, I decided to go to the Great American Insurance Group/USDF Region 4 Championships in Iowa, and it paid off. Beau and I were Reserve Champions in both the Adult Amateur PSG and the Adult Amateur I1. I didn’t expect to qualify for the US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan® this year, as our I1 work was still feeling pretty green. I knew I had to make a quick decision, so I started researching what it would cost to transport him from Colorado to Kentucky (the trip from Michigan was always a quick, easy trip!).
I made my decision based on something we, as equestrians, always have in the back of our minds — we never know when our last ride will be with our special equine partners. It’s an honor for any of us to get an invitation to the US Dressage Finals, but to compete at the FEI Levels on a Haflinger who had put me through the wringer for 11 years? That was an opportunity that I did not want to miss.
Through the highest highs and the lowest lows, Beau and I have built a partnership over the last 11 years, and nothing illustrated that better than our two incredible championship rides in the Alltech Arena this year. My feral little pony showed up with the poise and focus of the seasoned dressage partner he has become, and he gave me two of the best tests that we’ve had in our 11 years. What was my favorite part of Finals this year? The moment after our final salute in the I1 championship. I’ve never been so proud of us as a team.
Recalling those moments, watching the replays of the live stream with Kathy Connelly talking about “lots of sparkle” and “a lovely package of dressage delight,” I’ve been reflecting on our partnership and what’s contributed to a free, feral Haflinger pony placing third in the AA I1 Championship class and fourth in the AA PSG Championship class – education, tenacity, and love.
Dressage is a craft that takes dedication to a lifetime of education — few of us will ever master this art form of a sport. As an adult amateur who holds a full-time job that demands quite a bit of travel, I’ve been dedicated to Beau’s and my development on the side. I believe that the key to our success has been buying into one program and sticking with it, even when the desired outcome was hard to imagine. I have also been incredibly fortunate to find a coach who has taught me her program; I will always be able to lean on the direction and structure that she has instilled in me and my understanding of horse training. I believe in the program, and I’ve trusted the process. I’ve also made a conscious effort to allow Beau to be my teacher. It has not always been easy, but Petra wisely reminds me, “I could not have purchased a better professor.” Beau has made me into the rider I am today by reminding me, and many others, that even an “off-breed” little pony can offer us a solid educational foundation.
This sport is hard to do and even harder to be good at — developing a good seat, feel, and an understanding of the tangible development in ourselves and our horses is physically, mentally, and emotionally demanding. Then, add a pony bred to pull a cart into the mix, and sometimes tenacity (or stubbornness!) is all you have. I have a metaphor that I like to use when I describe riding Beau: It’s like riding a beach-cruiser bike on a mountain bike trail. Is it possible? Yes. Does it feel like it’s harder than it should be? Absolutely. Is it fun? Not all the time. I’ve had to be tenacious, stubborn even. More times than I remember, I have had to quit training on Friday and show up on Saturday morning, ready to get back to work. Deep down, I’ve believed in Beau and myself from the beginning. I’ve had a goal set that I’ve kept my eyes on, even when I want to quit.
Love makes the world go round! It also is the reason we ride dressage — we love our horses and the journey with them. Because this sport is hard, and our horses don’t always show up the way we want them to, we must remind ourselves why we do it: love. With love comes the threat of heartache, letdown, and disappointment, but it will also deliver gratitude, peace, and joy. We are all incredibly fortunate to love and be loved by a horse, and with that partnership comes the friendships we build with like-minded folks around us. Our love bonds us, and when we hit a roadblock, disappointment, or heartache, we must rely on our community to hold us up and remind us that our love for the horses and sport keeps us going. If we can practice gratitude — for our horses, communities, and the sport — peace and joy will follow. I credit my community and the practice of gratitude with getting Beau and me through over a decade of highs and lows.
Dressage is a special thing we get to do with our horses — and the lessons we learn along the way are life lessons! Education and tenacity got Beau and I to Finals; love and dedication got us unbelievable, incredible results. I’m thankful for my non-traditional journey and dance partner, I’m thankful for my teachers and my community, and I’m thankful for this sport that has made it all possible.
