By Lauren Fritz
This article received first place in the 2025 GMO Newsletter Awards for first person experience articles for GMOs with fewer than 75 members. It appeared in the Columbia Dressage and Combined Training Association newsletter, Direct Rein, February 2025.
I was the recipient of the first Liz Hotckiss Memorial Fund Scholarship. At the time of applying for the scholarship, I was at a point with my young horse that I felt I was never going to feel “ready”. Ready is such a relative term with horses. What exactly what going to convince me that we were ready? Do we ever feel ready? What exactly is ready?
I bought Vander as a yearling, expecting that I would let him grow and continue to ride my mare, Jux, in the meantime. I also planned to send him off to a proper professional to be started for a period of time. Plans are tricky with horses. Jux had a soft tissue tear in a hind limb, then a serious sand colic while rehabbing, and ultimately an incident with a pasture mate ound her sidelined long-term. This drained the funds meant for Vander to be professionally started, but also put him in the position as my only riding horse much earlier than planned (2023).
Coming into 2024 I was feeling overwhelmed: stuck between my goals for the year and the reality of how rides were going. I was 6 months into riding Vander at the time that applications for the scholarship fund were due. We were barely cantering, balance was not our strong point. And while Vander had hauled to several places through his earliest years, we had very few off-site riding experiences under our belts.
I applied for the scholarship on a whim. I was both lucky and honored to be selected as I know many deserving members also applied. I took the scholarship as a sign that it was time to push our comfort level much earlier than planned. Time to throw the “ready” requirement out the window. I also knew that I really wanted to use the scholarship funds to ride in a clinic at Liz’s old farm, Stony Hill. It felt fitting that the farm that I once called home and where I found my love for dressage was the same farm that I did my first off-site clinic with my young horse. We signed up to ride with David Wightman in April 2024.
Vander hauled like a pro, tied to the trailer like a seasoned show horse, but the clinic ride itself was… messy. He was overwhelmed with the mirrors and environment in general. He’s not great in arena traffic, known for his “shark” like attacks on any poor horse that unknowingly steps inside his bubble. Just as soon as we would get going and start to relax, the horse in the mirror would make a face and we would have to start over.
David was kind but firm. There were no excuses. We were to stick to the exercise at hand and if we had any bobbles, continue back to the exercise. While it was not easy, we found a new level in the trot, developed a stronger connection, and I found the “grit” that I needed to believe in myself and ride through anything that my young horse may throw in a new environment.
If it weren’t for the scholarship fund, I certainly would have used any number of excuses and delayed our progress as a team. Money, winter fitness, new environment, auditors, cold, young horse, the list goes on. The scholarship was a pivotal point for us as a team. I left the clinic feeling empowered. I was motivated to do better the next time, and to make the next time sooner rather than later and to not continue to wait until I felt “ready”. We went on to participate in 18 more clinics in 2024. The feeling I have that Liz was a part of this was the most special part.
