By Kimberly Taylor
My journey with riding started as a young girl on a farm in Iowa, when my Dad purchased a big Paint cutting horse for his cattle from the stockyards in Omaha, Nebraska.
When AzuruDee wasn’t working cows, I would ride him down the gravel roads with the other neighborhood girls and their horses, to a nearby lake. We would pack a snack lunch, and spend the day riding our horses and swimming in the lake.
The only rule was that I had to be home before sunset. I spent many lazy summer days on our farm’s cutting horse. With graduation came marriage and a baby girl, so I had to take a break from horses.
My husband, who was in the Air Force, was stationed in Turkey, so off we went with our young family. The base there had a stable with horses, and our daughter, who was in grade school by this point, took an interest in riding, so we leased two horses.
This reignited my deep love of horses, while my daughter took to riding like she’d been born on a horse. But the drive to become a better rider came from another girl at the barn, who rode so elegantly. She said that in the US, she had a horse she showed. At that moment, I decided that once we got back to the USA, I was going to take lessons and learn how to really ride.
When we returned stateside, my husband was stationed in Colorado Springs, and I bought an Arabian. I explored western pleasure, jumping, and even saddle seat. The barn I was boarding at brought in a clinician named Tom Poulin. I took two lessons with him, and was the only one riding an Arabian, amongst a big crowd of warmbloods. But Mr. Poulin treated me, someone who knew nothing of dressage, with respect and guidance. We concluded the weekend with a little schooling show, and I even got a ribbon. That was a turning point for me.
Then, when my husband was sent to Florida, we moved again. This move allowed me to upgrade to a fancier horse, and try my hand at recognized competitions.
I began riding a spicy black Georgian Grande mare named Flying W Farms Princess Star on Fire, whom I trained to Second Level. Together, we even won the Adult Amateur Training Level All-Breeds Award from the International Georgian Grande Horse Registry, Inc. in 2007!
My husband’s work then sent us to Washington state, where I showed and took lessons with Kari McClain and Jennifer Williams. I was really starting to improve my skills when my husband’s work took us back to Florida. There, I started taking lessons with Jodie Kelly, and continued competing at recognized shows. We even qualified several times for the Great American/USDF Regional Dressage Championships!
I purchased several different horses until I found a schoolmaster, a Dutch Warmblood gelding named Narkos. With him, I learned how to do tempi changes, and earned my USDF Bronze Medal. That was when I started doing the fun stuff – it became an addiction!
Unfortunately, Narkos had to be retired in 2014, and I went through several horses on my search for a Fourth Level and beyond partner. My goal had become to earn my USDF Silver Medal. So, I began searching for a Prix St. Georges horse.
But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, prices soared. Just like toilet paper flying off the shelves, horses were sold as quickly as they were listed.
Luck was with me, though. A friend of a friend told me that Trayce Doubek had a mare in Tryon, North Carolina, that might be a good fit for me. We were headed up that way to see our grandchildren, so I scheduled an appointment to try her. Radiance HVH was bred by High Valley Hanoverians, and I fell in love instantly.
We rode tempi changes, performed half-passes… all of the fun stuff. Then, to top it off, we went for a trail ride in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. Needless to say, I purchased her.
But when Radiance arrived at my farm in Florida, my happy little mare wasn’t happy anymore. She seemed to be asking, “Where are my people? This isn’t my home.” It took months of going for walks and spending time with her, but still, she wasn’t bonding with me. We started showing, but it was sometimes a rocky journey.
I had started to have trouble with my hips, and I thought to myself that I wasn’t going to hold up long enough to earn my Silver Medal. We was at a clinic and I was trying to learn how to count tempi changes. I was riding a line of three tempis, when something popped, pulled, and then snapped. I had to stop the lesson. Riding back to the trailer I was in so much pain, I wasn’t sure how I was going to dismount. I rolled off Radiance’s back and somehow drove home.
I saw a doctor who told me that my hip joint was bone on bone. Immediately, I scheduled my first hip replacement.
I decided to keep Radiance at home while I recuperated, so I recruited Nadia Moheisen, a local dressage trainer, to come ride her and keep her fit. While I was off, Nadia and Radiance competed at Prix St. Georges in order to keep her show ring ready.
My surgery had complications, and I spent four-and-a-half months in therapy learning to walk again. During that time was when Radiance and I finally bonded. Nadia would ride her up to the house, and I would come out and pet her. Eventually, I was able to groom her. Then Nadia began the long process of legging me up.
Once back, I quickly realized my other hip wasn’t going to hold up, so I scheduled my second hip replacement with a new doctor. This time, the surgery was a success. I was back riding eight weeks post-op, and I told Nadia that I wanted to get back in the show ring. I did some clinics, and even attended an adult dressage camp in the spring, where Elizabeth Poulin, Tom Poulin’s daughter, was an instructor. When they say “life comes full circle,” I can testify to that.
I told Elizabeth about my goals, and on the second day of camp, she said, “Let’s ride the Prix St. Georges test.” And I did!
Four months later, at the 2024 Great American/USDF Region 3 Dressage Championships, held at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Florida, I earned my USDF Silver Medal, in a non-championship class, on a High Valley Hanoverian-bred mare, who said to me that day, way back on our front porch, “I’ll take care of you, you are my person.”
This was my journey, as a double hip replacement gal, earning my USDF Silver Medal. I hope that I can be an inspiration to anyone who is riding in pain. Maybe my story can be a light in a very dark tunnel.
I have dreamt for twenty years of earning my silver medal, and due to horses going lame, not being up for the work, or my hips giving out, it felt like my goal was unreachable. Radiance HVH helped me on my road to recovery, both mentally and physically. Some very special people in my life helped as well. My daughter told me, “Mom, just do it!” Then she purchased my shadbelly for me as a surprise. My husband said, ”We are going.” And off we went, to do something I had not thought attainable.
I am so thankful that I can ride, especially my special mare. Thank you USDF for my Silver Medal!
