In this story, a rider from Region 4 shares how the challenges of aging never diminished her passion for horses, riding, or competing.
By Leslie Ross MacBride
I am Leslie Ross MacBride, a retired Psychologist with two large dressage ponies who is stubbornly determined to survive or die with my boots on. I have a Haflinger gelding, Fritz NHH, and my new mare, a half Arabian, Sharaz II. I personally ride and train my ponies, with the guidance and support of a local trainer, Mindy Price.
My dressage career started after a break from riding due to a catastrophic fox hunting accident, where I fractured my lumbar spine. I had traveled to Virginia to fulfill the bucket list activity of fox hunting after being diagnosed with cancer in 2007. Fox hunting was fun while it lasted.
After recovering from the field accident for five years, I looked for a different breed of horse that I thought would be very sure-footed and smaller than the cross-bred sport horses I raised for twenty-five years. In earlier years, I rode my own breeding stallions, all of which were raised and trained on my farm. Age changes how you manage your life in many ways, but I was determined to bring horses back into my life.
I was drawn to Haflingers because they are mountain horses, as well as closer to the ground. I also favored Welsh Cobs, but I couldn’t find any nearby. After some searching, I bought my very first gelding at a Haflinger sale somewhat impulsively. At first, I could only mount twice and ride for about ten minutes at the walk due to my injuries, and the weakness we all experience when coming back into work after a period of time.
Challenges during riding persisted due to neuropathy and an added second accident that fractured my thoracic spine. I am happy to add that dressage has actually contributed to the return of my body function in a very positive way. I am seventy-two, and without daily riding, I doubt if I would ever be active or functional at all.
Here, I was training Fritz, a barely three-year-old, with audacious determination. I entered my first schooling show at Ray Helmuth’s in Iowa as soon as I was able to complete a test, and we actually won the high point halter with a kindergarten dressage test. I was ecstatic and surprised at our success! This was the first dressage test since my pony club days 55 years ago.
I bought Sharaz two years ago because I felt that I was riding Fritz too much. I saw her and bought her as a birthday gift for myself, never actually having met her in person. I just get a feeling about horses, and I always have.
We have challenges, and she is nearly telepathic. Her reactivity makes it difficult, so her progress has been slower than that of my other horses. I wanted a second horse that was exactly like this, because riding one horse all the time means loss of adaptive training techniques and probably developing bad habits. Haflingers require a demand on core muscles that I truly didn’t have for a second mount, so I purposefully looked for a blood horse. A half-Arabian is a wonderful type in contrast to my athletic-type Haflinger. So far, this works because my trainer, Mindy Price, has expertise with Arabians. I have been with Mindy Price at Mon Cheval in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, for about two years, currently taking two lessons a week.
I have never considered myself a naturally talented rider, but I bring to the table considerable discipline. The level of coaching expertise and my communication with Mindy have been so very valuable, because when I ride, I have an automatic lesson plan and goal due to my previous profession and my disposition. This helps me stay on task with my daily riding plans.
I still struggle with deficits, and I can only mount a horse three times in a day before I have problems and weakness in my legs. Mindy’s coaching is exactly what a rider like me needs because she knows how to correct my position when I cannot feel my feet, or when my legs aren’t functioning due to nerve problems. Riders of my age face physical challenges and very real problems maintaining muscle mass and strength.
I try to share some of my experience with other riders who are frustrated with their weakness or anxiety and fear, because these problems are often related to age and loss of hormones, muscle mass, and general functioning, which they simply never understood. My colleague and dear friend, Tammy Lisi, has a project called “Recovering Your Brave,” which addresses the challenges I and others face due to multiple factors. We are developing interventions to help other mature riders.
I experienced my second major medical emergency during my last horse show in September. After my fox hunting accident, I never imagined that I would have a second situation as serious as being crushed under a horse in the hunt field. I was riding to get two final scores to qualify for the Master’s Challenge Awards at Training Level and Second Level. During this show, I experienced severe anemia from a gastrointestinal bleed without knowing it. I managed to compete with both Sharaz and Fritz (each twice in one day), but absolutely couldn’t cope on the second day. I have never shied away from competition. After I pay those fees, by golly, I am in it!
Miraculously, some new friends from Mon Cheval arrived and hauled water as I couldn’t carry buckets, and they even brought me food, considering I was too tired to walk to the food stand. The inspector stopped the pony measuring after I had to sit and rest between trotting my ponies, and she returned after my rides to get official measurements. My dear friends appeared and helped lead Sharaz the length of the barn to the level surface, because I could not walk that far.
Monday morning after this show, I had a major emergency from blood loss and found myself in the emergency room with an overnight hospital stay for blood transfusions.
I truly could not have made up this story, but I sincerely appreciate what my dear ponies have achieved in our first year in the USDF competition. No one is more surprised and pleased than I am.
- Rider Performance Awards
- Second Level with Fritz NHH
- Training Level with Sharaz II
- Master’s Challenge Awards
- Second Level with Fritz NHH
- Training Level with Sharaz II
So, there you have it, a rather unusual story for YourDressage.
Don’t let your age or breed of horse stop you. Who are my heroes? My new friends, Mindy Price and Jody Ely, for their encouragement during my very first clinic on Fritz, and a nod to Amelia Newcomb for her videos that were essential in learning dressage tests after my traumatic brain injury from foxhunting. Last but not least, my dear friend Tammy Lisi, who is a credit to the dressage community in Iowa with her Tamarack shows.
