Sherman The Little Engine That Could

By Jessica Warmington

Our story starts in 2015 – March specifically. I have been riding since I was a child, growing up on our family’s farm, but I had been out of the saddle for a couple of years. My friend Heather invited me out to her farm to clean up and exercise some hairy, out-of-shape ponies. One of the ponies Heather offered me to ride was Sherman, a young, green-broke Haflinger gelding whom she had recently acquired. I had been attracted to Haflingers since my first encounter with one well over 20 years ago and was very excited to work with the breed again.

From my understanding, Sherman came from an auction. He had been purchased to be a trail horse for a horseback Gettysburg tour program. That job didn’t work out for him, and he was fired for being “too opinionated.” Heather traded her Draft horse, who would make a fabulous trail horse, for Sherman, hoping he would become a lesson and camp pony. 

I began working with Sherman and rode him every weekend for several months, falling in love with him. I often joked with Heather, saying that I wanted to buy him, to which she would reply, “He’s not for sale.” I never thought I’d ever get my own horse, and was just being silly. 

Then, one day, things changed. Sherman wasn’t working out as a lesson horse, being as smart and easily bored as he was. So, Heather changed her mind about selling him to me. I nonchalantly mentioned this to my husband in a dinner-time conversation. 

The next day, my husband, PJ, was waiting for me in the kitchen when I got home from work. He said, “I think we should do it.” To which I replied, “Do what?” PJ said he thought we should buy Sherman! He said he had noticed how happy I had been these last few months of working with him and thought we could make it work. I cried tears of joy, shock, and excitement – I couldn’t believe it! We purchased Sherman that weekend.

We will celebrate nine years together in August, but our journey hasn’t always been easy. There have been many times I felt completely lost, frustrated, and like I wanted to give up. I consider myself an advanced beginner rider, which, paired with a green horse, may not have been the smartest decision I have ever made. Sherman’s training has pretty much been through me riding in lessons with instructors, with limited competition experience until recently.

Our relationship really blossomed under the care of our current trainer, Jane Mast. She has never doubted us! She began training Sherman (and still does on occasion) and figured him out. After putting some buttons on him, she taught me to speak his language. As a result, we are both much happier and more relaxed. Sherman is sounder and more flexible than ever.

Finding the right environment was pivotal in the development of our partnership. We have now trained and competed in hunters, jumpers, eventing, hunter paces, and even a trail obstacle course, but our passion is dressage.

When Sherman first enters the arena, I imagine many people forming a first-glance opinion of him. Don’t let his heavy draft-type build fool you, though! He is very capable of carrying himself lightly – the challenge lies in my piloting him to that type of movement. The lofty flowing gaits that come easily to the typical warmbloods don’t to horses like Sherman. 

Ah, but don’t tell him he can’t do it! He still surprises me all the time. He has made me a better rider because of how technical and direct I must be in order to achieve correct and proper carriage and movement. I equate Sherman and I doing dressage to a linebacker doing ballet – difficult, but pretty incredible, and amazing when we pull it off! 

I am very proud of our accomplishments together, but if I had to pick an instance I was most proud of, it would be the amateur dressage show at the Devon Horse Show and County Fair facility in 2022. Here, we earned third place in a very large and competitive class. Getting to do a victory lap around the illustrious Dixon Oval with a respectable, hard-earned placing was an electrifying feeling, and Sherman totally knew he was in there to show off! 

Overall, it’s been rewarding to get out and show off Sherman and his abilities, and to open people’s eyes, minds, and hearts! I think it’s very important for people to train and show their non-traditional breeds in dressage. This type of work benefits any horse, and seeing non-traditional breeds in the dressage ring gives underdogs hope and inspiration. Not everyone can afford expensive, well-bred horses, and the horses that need loving, supportive homes the most are horses like Sherman. 

If someone asked me about Haflingers as dressage horses, I would say they take a dedicated person with a sense of humor – they are the clowns of the horse world. They are smart, somewhat stubborn, powerful, athletic, “little engines that could.” Once you bond with one, they are your ride or die for life.