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 the Adequan®/USDF All-Breeds Awards program, as the Draft Cross Breeders & Owners Association (among several others!) is a participating organization!
Here, a rider from Region 6 tells us about Gannicus, a draft cross whom she helped transition from dancing in the circus to dancing in the sandbox!
By Nissa Lindstrom
Gannicus came to me after an acquaintance heard I was looking for a trail horse, and said she knew of one who would be perfect. I had given up riding for 20 years after riding hunter/jumpers and low-level dressage as a child and adult, but a recent move to a property with endless riding opportunities sparked my horse interest again. I’ve always liked a chunky draft-type, and Gannicus, with his size five shoe, was my kind of horse.
In retrospect, Gannicus and I were an unlikely match. At the time, he was owned by and performed in a horse-centric circus based in Florida, and he was still a stallion at eight years of age. Still, based on photos, videos, and a good feeling, I decided to take a chance on him and arranged to have him gelded and shipped to Oregon after he recovered.
Shipping turned out to be quite the ordeal, with freezing weather and an auto accident along the way. Luckily, he was a seasoned traveler from the circus tours! Eventually, he arrived, and honestly, it was love at first sight. Gannicus proved to be a good, dependable trail horse for the first few months, but with winter approaching, I moved to a general boarding facility with an indoor, and that is where the dressage dream slowly came back.
Gannicus is naturally compact and uphill, and I could feel the potential he had. A chance encounter with a dressage trainer, who had come to look at a horse for sale where we boarded, was my golden opportunity, and that is how we teamed up with Ashley Bertell. Ashley understood Gannicus’s sensitive nature right away and turned out to be perfect for us both. Once Gannicus and I started training with Ashley, we began to make forward progress. It is amazing to me that this chance encounter has led to so much!
Gannicus is nothing but a kind and generous soul, but he did come with some quirks and sensitivities, perhaps from his former circus career. Even though he was very rideable, he was not well educated, and this led to occasional moments of inability to turn, blowing through half halts, or reverting to tricks he knew from his circus days, but slowly and steadily, we both improved.
At first I wasn’t sure I wanted to show myself, but I wanted to see Ganni show. His first year out, Gannicus was the USDF Region 6 Year-End Training Level champion under the guidance of Ashley. Eventually, I worked up the courage and began showing him also, and earned my first level scores toward my bronze medal.
Gannicus has been well-received by judges and the dressage community, and is the perfect example that dressage is for every horse. With Gannicus, I have attended clinics and symposiums, and we even did a photo shoot for Kerrits that was super fun! Without Gannicus, I would have missed out on so many opportunities, friendships, and experiences, and I am beyond grateful to him. There was a time when I had given up all my horse dreams, and now, I have a second chance with a very special horse.
You can bet we will be working hard over the winter getting ready to show at Second Level next year, and we don’t plan to stop. Gannicus will let us know how far he wants go. Regardless of where this journey takes us, Gannicus has a home for life with me.
Wonderful story!