By Aurora Warford
My name is Aurora Warford, and my Welsh Pony is Cappadocia’s Captain Catapult.
I first sat on a horse at the age of six months, then my grandmother taught me on western horses until I was eight. Any free time I had, I could always be found with the horses. We didn’t have anything fancy, just a few western and trail horses on a private farm in Kentucky.
When I turned eight, my parents found a place that offered riding lessons and asked me if I wanted to start formally learning to ride. Without hesitation, I agreed, and I began saddle seat lessons at Signature Stables, learning under Sarah Hoover and Mackenzie Johnson. Their lesson program had produced a long line of incredible riders and horses.
By the time I was nine, I was consistently placing third in large competition classes. Weekly lessons had instilled a good foundation in both riding and training, and riding in a lesson program meant that I got to ride a wide variety of horses, from experienced schoolmasters to green and young horses.
When I turned twelve, I decided that I wanted to leave the saddle seat discipline and take up jumping and dressage. I found a local hunter/jumper barn and rode there for about a year. Then, I found an international eventing trainer who offered lessons, and I decided to start taking lessons there.
I had big dreams, and I was very determined and worked hard to make them happen. Ever since learning to post the trot, I have known I wanted to do this for the rest of my life, and make a career out of it.
The first time my trainer pulled out Cappadocia’s Captain Catapult, affectionately known as Cappy, I was hesitant. I was used to riding big Saddlebreds and western horses. However, I gave Cappy a try, and instantly felt a connection between us.
It wasn’t easy adjusting to a pony, but I didn’t give up. About four months into our partnership, we were schooling 2’3” over fences. That summer, we completed our first Combined Test, performing a USDF Introductory Test A and a ground poles course. We had decided to go that low since it was my first ever eventing show and Cappy was still very green.
The dressage phase went well, and we scored a 33.8 (equivalent to 66.20%). It started storming in the middle of our stadium round, causing Cappy to spook, throwing me at the last pole. Fourteen-year-old me was very devastated.
That was definitely a lesson I’ll remember. It didn’t shake my confidence, though. Green behavior wasn’t a problem for me, since I had grown up riding Saddlebreds who tended to spook at everything.
That winter, we focused on building a good dressage and jumping foundation. I fell off Cappy five times that winter. The worst fall was onto a huge rock beside the arena, leaving me with a bruised rib. Determined, I always got back on. Falling off didn’t scare me one bit, and by April of 2022, we were jumping up to 3’ consistently.
In late April, I had the worst fall of my life. We had decided to jump a 2’9” gate with filler, and the first time over it, Cappy over jumped. On our second attempt, he didn’t have enough power and crashed into it, knocking it down, and resulting in me falling off. We were both uninjured, but we were both shaken.
I got back on, but with both of our confidences having been shaken, my trainer got on him to give him the confidence to canter and get over the fence.
A few weeks later, we completed a confidence-boosting jumper show, finishing as grand champion. We also went cross country schooling, and Cappy was perfect.
A week later, we did our first-ever mini-trial at Flying Cross Farm, performing USDF Intro Test B, and we went clear in our stadium round. We were sitting in third with a 35.9 (64.100%) in dressage. As we were competing in the Baby Starter division, the cross country obstacles were 18”-2’; in height. In the middle of cross country, we caught a bad stride, and I fell on the landing.
This fall didn’t help my confidence and I was devastated. That summer, depending on my confidence that day, we would jump anywhere from baby cross rails to 2’7” at home.
In June, we successfully completed our second mini-trial, finishing in the top five, and in July we successfully completed a USEA-sanctioned Combined Test at Starter, finishing second with a double clear to our name.
In the combined test, it was storming again during our stadium round, and it was like we were getting a do-over. We galloped around our course, even tackling the same jump that had defeated us last time. We jumped the gate that had previously destroyed my confidence perfectly. We had earned our redemption.
The following spring, I was partnered with a 3* schoolmaster to learn the ropes of the upper levels. In dressage, I was learning leg yields, flying changes, and walk-canter and halt-canter transitions. Every now and then I rode Cappy, teaching him leg yields and working on flatwork. At this point I wasn’t jumping Cappy at all, due to the fact he had developed some medical issues.
In August, my schoolmaster partner went lame and had to be retired. I was devastated, and decided to take Cappy to Flying Cross Farm again for a USEA Beginner Novice dressage test class. I had only ridden the test twice at home before competing, and we earned a score of 62.941%. I was very happy with this, given that we didn’t have nearly enough practice time.
After that competition, I moved on to training and producing my own horses from the ground up for eventing. Still, though, I trusted Cappy with my life and any free time I would get, I could always be found in his stall. He is one-in-a-million, and will always have a special place in my heart.
Cappy taught me so many riding and life lessons. Now that I am an adult, I have a full time job at a barn in Kentucky, where I am the head trainer and teach lessons. I will always remember and use what Cappy taught me, and I wouldn’t be the rider I am today without his influence. I hope to one day have a lesson pony like him in my program, and to find a personal horse like him. As I continue to pursue my dreams of international competition, I will always remember where I came from, and I am grateful that Cappy was such a big part of my journey.
