An Anchor in the Storm

The amazing Andalusian horse! We are celebrating them as our February Breed of the Month on YourDressage!

Dressage riders who choose Andalusians as their mounts are eligible for special awards through the Adequan®/USDF All-Breeds Awards program, as the International Andalusian & Lusitano Horse Association is a participating organization.

Here, a Region 3 rider shares the story of the PRE colt she bought and imported after an accident left her unable to continue her career as a hunter jumper, and the new goals she’s chasing with him as an aspiring para-dressage team!

By Elizabeth Welch

Baltico BRH is 16.3hh, 2018 PRE gelding. I purchased him in January of 2022 off of a video as a 3-year-old stallion, and imported him from Spain in October 2022. It has been quite a journey purchasing this horse and getting to where I am now.  

I am a hunter/jumper trainer and own a small boutique farm in South Carolina. In September 2020, I had a life-changing accident as a result of falling off a client’s horse. I suffered a tibial plateau fracture to my left knee, meaning I sheared off the top of my tibia and broke my fibula off at my knee joint. To add to the difficulty of this injury, I woke up from my first surgery with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), which is a rare, incurable nerve disease. I spent about a year in a wheelchair, did around 14 months of physical therapy, and had three surgeries. Unfortunately, I never regained my range of motion in my knee, which has left me with a disability in my left leg.  

I am still teaching my hunter/jumpers clients, but I am now a dressage and aspiring para-dressage rider. I first decided to get back on a horse about five months after my initial accident and surgery, which was at the beginning of 2021. Being unable to ride with stirrups is what inspired my decision to pursue para-dressage. I reached out to a local trainer who had experience in the para world and began taking lessons. This trainer is also the one who first connected me with Baltico’s breeder, Enrique de Benito. She had met him at a show and now follows him on social media. I started looking at his Facebook page and began thinking about purchasing a horse that could be a potential para-dressage horse. Initially, I didn’t pursue anything because I assumed his horses would be out of my budget. I was then connected to another dressage trainer in North Carolina who had a horse for sale that was bred by Enrique. Unfortunately, I missed out on the opportunity to try that horse, but the trainer encouraged me to reach out to Enrique and discuss my situation and budget.  

Enrique was wonderful to communicate with and work with. The majority of his horses that were in my budget were young prospects. He sent me lots of videos of different horses that would potentially suit my needs. Considering my new challenges, I confess I was hesitant to purchase a young horse, with minimal training, off video in another country. I decided that I would take a leap of faith and picked a horse I liked. My biggest criteria at that point were that the horse had to pass a full pre-purchase exam (PPE) and have good radiographs. Clearly, if I imported the horse and then I couldn’t ride or manage it, I would have to be able to send him to a trainer to be sold. Of the horses Enrique sent to me, Baltico appealed to me the most. He had a bit more of a sport horse-type look and feel, which suited me coming from the hunter/jumper world. Baltico passed his PPE with flying colors, and I bought him!  

In the meantime, I was working on getting my FEI para classification. I had decided to leave Baltico in Spain for some additional training because I was still unsure of how my para classification would pan out, and I figured it would benefit the horse, and me, for him to receive some additional training. It was a bit of a lengthy process, but I was finally approved and given a Grade V para classification in June of 2022. Now that I have received my classification, I have two years to do a riding observation phase, which must be done while competing at a Concours Para-Equestrian Dressage International (CPEDI) show in my Grade V category.  

I began riding with a new trainer in June of 2022. I rode some of her horses until Baltico arrived in October of 2022. I was a bit concerned about hopping on a young horse that had just arrived after being imported. Prior to my injury, I wouldn’t have thought twice about just getting on, but things are different now. I had a girl, who had been riding and jumping some of my client’s horses, give Baltico a quick lunge and hop on him first to see how he would be. It was the most uneventful first ride on a young horse in a new environment I have ever seen! I got on after she gave him a quick hack around, and he was just lovely. He has the most amazing canter! Having a horse that is comfortable to sit on is of utmost importance now. I struggle to ride anything that is too jarring for my knee. Even though my knee doesn’t love them, I can now ride with stirrups after riding without them for about one and a half years. I jokingly say that I have done my lifetime of “No Stirrup November,” so I am exempt from that now! 

In February 2023, we began showing. This was Baltico’s first time showing and my first time showing in any sort of recognized dressage show. Baltico proved yet again what a responsible and well-behaved young horse he is. We jumped right into USDF-recognized shows and competed at Training and First Levels for all of 2023. We qualified for the Great American Insurance Group/USDF Regional Dressage Championships at Training Level. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the scores we needed to be in the ribbons at Regionals, but I was excited to have made it that far and enjoyed the experience! We also ended the year as the Adequan®/USDF All-Breeds Awards Training Level Open Reserve Champion for the United States PRE Association (USPRE)! Through our local horse show association, the South Carolina Dressage and Combined Training Association (SCDCTA), we ended up Reserve Champion in both Training Level and First Level!  

2023 was quite a year! New horse; first time showing in recognized dressage competitions for me and my horse; first year back showing since my accident. I am quite excited for our future! For 2024, we plan on moving up and competing at Second Level, and we will compete in our first CPEDI in June.  

Baltico has been such a blessing in so many ways. He has, without a doubt, helped heal me both physically and mentally. He is very sweet and personable, and he has that old-soul personality. He tries immensely hard to be pleasing every time I get on for a ride. I have felt safe riding and handling him from the first day he arrived at my farm. My future goals are to continue learning and moving up the levels in able-bodied dressage to the best of my ability, begin competing in para-dressage, and hopefully, be able to compete internationally. I would very much love to be able to inspire others with physical disabilities and difficulties, and it would be an honor to represent Team USA!