Sid Brought Me Back

Heavy Hitters! Throughout the month of December, we are featuring heavy breeds and heavy breed crosses!

Did you know that dressage riders who choose a heavy hitter as their mounts are eligible for special awards through theAdequan®/USDF All-Breeds Awards program, as the Draft Cross Breeders & Owners Association (among several others!) is a participating organization!

Here, a rider from Region 2 shares how, even willfully, she could not leave horses in her past, leading her to jump back into the sport and find her draft cross partner, Obsidian.

By Katie Gollnick

I’ve been horse-obsessed for as long as I can remember. When I was two years old, I asked my mom for a gate for my birthday. When she asked why, I told her, “So my horse can wait on me.” Growing up, my family didn’t have the means to buy me a horse, and if I’m honest, I didn’t have much natural talent…but I never let that stop me. 

At 10 years old, I finally wore my parents down, and they put me in my first lessons. I became the resident barn rat, soaking up every bit of knowledge I could. My parents scraped together money for lessons, and I worked off what I could. I went to local schooling shows, only to have my dreams dashed time after time when I would fall off the lesson horse I was riding.

In college, I managed a horse rescue to get my horse fix. One year after graduating, I took a leap of faith and left my steady banking job to become a professional groom for two incredible eventers. That experience taught me invaluable skills, both in horse care and in managing performance horses at a level I never imagined. With free board as a groom, I bought my first horse for $1,500. Jack was athletic and wonderful, but I didn’t have the riding skills or time to do him justice.

In 2016, I left grooming and moved across the country. Jack went on a free lease to some wonderful friends, and eventually, found his forever family, who love him to this day. 

I tried to leave horses behind, because logically, they’re expensive and complicate life. Still, two years later, feeling depressed and searching for what was missing, I started volunteering at a local farm. The horse bug came roaring back. I began looking for a lease horse, which was challenging as a plus-sized rider. I’ve always loved the heavy hitters, big horses who could carry my weight and steal my heart.

That’s when Obsidian, or Sid, came into my life. The horse I never knew I needed, and who gave me more than I could ever repay.

Sid is a Percheron/Appendix cross, nearly 1,700 pounds, and 17.1-hands tall – a true heavy hitter with the sweetest disposition. When I started leasing him, I was at my highest weight, yet somehow, I found more confidence and dedication than ever before. Sid was steady when I needed him, challenged me when I was ready, and became the partner I’d always dreamed of. He knew the basics: walk, trot, canter, and leg yield, but “on the bit” and “impulsion” were foreign concepts.

In 2020, inspired in large part by my desire to be a better rider for Sid, I had weight loss surgery and embarked on a serious health journey. Today, I’m at a healthy weight, and that transformation has given me the ability to ride with more balance, confidence, and joy than I ever imagined.

In March 2022, I bought Sid and moved him to a barn closer to home, a barn run by a USDF Silver Medalist. I told her I wasn’t an everyday rider and had no desire to show again. But with her guidance, Sid and I began our dressage journey. Weekly lessons turned into steady progress. She took me to a USDF-recognized show in May and said, “See? You could do this!” By July, I entered an opportunity class at my first recognized show. We scored a 70% for our First Level Test 2 ride, and I was hooked (that score still stands as our best ever score, and it didn’t officially count!).

The structure and progression of the national level tests fascinated me. They weren’t just scores; they were a roadmap for training. Sid and I set goals: First Level Rider Performance Award, Second Level Rider Performance Award, and eventually, we earned my USDF Bronze Medal together in 2024. Sid isn’t naturally gifted in dressage; he’s heavy and not built for collection, but he works hard every day. Teaching him flying changes was a frustrating, winter-long challenge, but by spring 2024, they started to come together, slowly but surely.

Every success we’ve had is thanks to the years of experience leading up to this point. Dressage keeps us humble. I was never the top of any class, so competing against myself for personal bests and USDF milestones is deeply satisfying. Sid requires careful management: medical, dietary, and strength/exercise, which I obsess over. My time as a professional groom gave me the skills to keep him thriving, and I truly believe he wouldn’t be where he is without that foundation.

In 2025, we debuted at Fourth Level and earned our first two Silver Medal scores. Will we ever be super competitive? No. My lack of natural talent and his lack of natural build mean we’ll never dominate the leaderboard. But we have fun. I cherish the partnership we’ve built, and my goal now is to earn that Silver Medal. Beyond that, I’ll keep going as long as Sid is willing. He’s surprised me every step of the way so far – I won’t count him out until he says so.

Someday, I hope to use the skills and lessons I’ve learned from Sid to be competitive with another horse (I have a three-year-old mare who might be that horse), and if that happens, it will all be thanks to Sid. He taught me never to underestimate myself, that with perseverance, grit, and determination, I can achieve what I set my mind to. 

I will forever owe the rider I am now to Sid. He has shown me that I can accomplish goals and be a better rider than I even hoped to dream of becoming – when I bought him in 2022, earning my Bronze Medal had never even crossed my mind as a possibility. He lit the path, gave me courage, and showed me the way.