Heavy Hitters! Throughout the month of December, we are featuring heavy horses and heavy breed crosses!
Did you know that dressage riders who choose a draft cross as their mounts are eligible for special awards through the Adequan®/USDF All-Breeds Awards program, as the Draft Cross Breeders & Owners Association (among several others for heavy breeds!) is a participating organization?
Here, a mom shares how her son’s health issues led them to therapeutic riding where he found his calling, and heart horse, a Fjord mare!
By Olga Sarmento
Seven years ago, when my son Ethan was just seven years old, our world changed with a single phone call. His school called me to say he was having seizures and needed to be taken to the hospital immediately. After a week at the hospital, they determined he was suffering from complications of a strep infection. The aftermath was frightening for a parent.
In the months that followed, Ethan fought through physical therapy. He had to relearn how to walk steadily after losing his sense of balance, he had to rebuild his fine and gross motor skills, and regain language abilities that had regressed that frightening day.
During that difficult time, we were searching for anything that could help him feel more like himself again. One day, I thought of therapeutic riding. Ethan adored animals, and horses are often used to help children recover strength and confidence. So, I signed him up for lessons at our local riding school. That decision ended up changing the course of our lives.
The Beginning of a Bond
Several years later, at the barn, Ethan met Abby. Abby is a registered Norwegian Fjord mare with the classic dun coloring, thick forelock, and a heart as big as her sturdy frame. She was twelve at the time, just like him, and beloved by every child in the lesson program. She was the lesson horse everyone wanted to ride. She was calm, wise, and endlessly patient, which made her very popular.
But from the moment Ethan met her, something clicked. Their bond was immediate and undeniable. Even though he sometimes had to wait weeks to ride her because she was so in demand, he always chose to wait. If the only available lesson spot was two weeks away, he took it without hesitation. Abby was his horse in a way we couldn’t yet explain.
Everyone at the barn noticed it, too. The way this strong, sweet Fjord softened when he touched her; the way Ethan’s posture straightened the moment he sat in her saddle. And slowly, his balance improved. His speech became clearer. His joy bubbled back to the surface.
Every so often, he would ask if we could someday keep Abby. I inquired a couple of times, but she was a cherished horse that they said they would never part with. Still, Ethan never stopped hoping. I would overhear his bedtime prayers, and buried somewhere between his thanks and wishes was an impossible request: “Maybe someday Abby can be ours.”
A New Life Begins
A few years passed, and the barn closed unexpectedly. It was a difficult moment for our local riding community, but our village of friends came together to help us do something extraordinary: we adopted Abby.
With no horse ownership experience and no real plan, I loaded the horse who had helped give my son his life back onto my friend’s trailer. Ethan was over the moon. And as they stepped into the trailer, heading to our new farm-turned-family, they stepped into this new chapter together.
Finding Their Place in Dressage
Now both fourteen years old, Ethan and Abby have grown into a remarkable team. Though a Norwegian Fjord who has been used as a western lesson horse for most of her life isn’t your stereotypical dressage horse, Abby is willing, intelligent, steady, and incredibly responsive to Ethan’s quiet cues. They ride nearly every day and take regular lessons, discovering they both genuinely enjoy the structure and communication that dressage demands.
This summer, Ethan decided he wanted to try showing. We had watched friends compete, and he dreamed of going down centerline with Abby. Preparing for a dressage show with a teenage boy was its own adventure! Finding clothing and accessories was a challenge for a child who is growing like a weed! He’s quickly approaching 6 feet tall, and our girl is just over 14 hands. But our community stepped in to help once again.
When show day arrived, they were ready. They entered that ring with confidence and heart, and they did beautifully. They had confidence, energy, collection, and, throughout their tests, Ethan had a huge smile. The experience only reinforced Ethan’s desire to continue competing in dressage.
How the Partnership Has Shaped Him
Ethan’s greatest accomplishments with Abby extend far beyond ribbons; beyond transforming a western lesson horse into a dressage dance partner. She has taught him patience, focus, and emotional clarity. She has helped him learn to self-regulate, stay persistent through frustration, and trust his own abilities. The confidence Abby gave him in the saddle has carried into every part of his life: school, friendships, and all other responsibilities.
What Makes Abby So Special
Abby is steady and kind, but also incredibly expressive and comical. She seems to understand Ethan instinctively. She listens to him in ways that feel almost magical, responding to the slightest shift in his body or tone of his voice. Her gentle strength is matched only by her enormous heart. Her most special quality? (Other than being called a “unit” of a horse, thanks to her build and strength). She truly feels and sees Ethan, and he feels and sees her.
A Note to Anyone Searching for a Dressage Partner
To someone considering a draft or draft-cross for dressage, I would say this: don’t let stereotypes limit you. Horses like Abby are powerful, willing, and immensely capable. She has learned to prance lightly, precisely, and responsively, as if she were born doing so. They have incredible work ethics and hearts that make them extraordinary partners. A Fjord like Abby may not look like the typical dressage candidate, but she brings something far more important: steadfastness, reliability, courage, and a deep connection with her boy.
Looking Ahead
As Abby and Ethan continue their dressage journey, their goals are simple and meaningful: keep learning, keep loving the work, and keep growing together. Whether that leads to higher-level tests or simply more joyful rides at the barn, they will take every step side by side.
What started as a hopeful therapy experiment became a profound friendship. Then it became a partnership.
And now it is their story of healing, the answered hopes and prayers of a little boy, and the heart bond shared between that boy and his remarkable Norwegian Fjord mare.
