The Tenacious Thoroughbred! Throughout the month of May, we are featuring Thoroughbreds and Thoroughbred crosses.
Did you know… Dressage riders who compete with a member of this speedy breed are eligible for special awards through the Adequan®/USDF All-Breeds Awards program, as The Jockey Club is a participating organization!
In this story, learn how a Region 7 rider harnessed the healing power of dressage to help her off-track event prospect maintain, and even improve, her kissing spine diagnosis.
By Kassie Pagaling
Thank you so much for taking an interest in my wonderful Thoroughbred mare, Gracie, “Bertrando’s Gal.”
Gracie is a 2018 mare that I bought as a four-year-old off-track Thoroughbred (OTTB). I have always loved Thoroughbreds, but growing up, my Hunter trainers always steered my parents and me away from them. I told myself that someday, when I am an adult, and can make my own decisions, I will have my dream horse: a dark bay, four-year-old Thoroughbred mare, 16 hands or taller, and we will become eventers.
I found Gracie (exactly 16 hands, by the way) online around my 40th birthday. She had already left the track and was learning basic handling and under saddle work. I intentionally did not enlist the help of a trainer for purchasing, because of my experiences as a child. Gracie was the first horse I went to look at, and I immediately knew she was the one. She showed off that raw Thoroughbred athleticism, and a willingness to work with me, but she had a bit of a mischievous aloofness to her, which told me she wouldn’t just give anything away for free. I knew I would have to EARN it with her, and I really, really liked that.
Her owner at the time liked how we responded to each other, and thought we would be a good match. She offered to sell her to me on the spot, even though more people were scheduled to come look at her. Trying to be responsible, I said I would let her know, and left. However, on the drive home, I talked to my mom, who asked me, “How would you feel if those other people buy her?” I had a flood of emotion, hung up, and called the seller to close the deal.
I didn’t have any tack yet, because I wanted to meet with a fitter and have it all done properly. So while we waited for that appointment, I was able to ride her bareback with a halter. I was SO LUCKY to have brought her home to the same barn as FEI-level trainer and coach, Alex Greer. She told me she coaches a lot of eventers, and could help me build a solid foundation of dressage, which would be needed not only in an eventing context, but also to help Gracie learn how to move her body correctly, use her topline, and be supple and soft, something that is notoriously hard for Thoroughbreds.
After watching her go a few times, Alex told me that Gracie is an elegant mover, and that the judges would really like her! Alex surprised me with her enthusiasm for Gracie, never once telling me I needed a different horse, or a different breed. Alex’s motto is “Horses First, Always,” and I could tell that she really lives that. We clicked immediately, and I knew Gracie and I were in good hands.
We began our dressage journey with questions like “Where’s X?” And riding ovals, with zero understanding of what a 20-meter circle actually looks like. It was a steep learning curve for both Gracie and me, who, in addition to being a young horse with a lot of energy, also had asymmetries that needed effective riding to help adjust.
Alex never pressured me to give her the ride, and so far, I have done all the riding myself with Gracie. Alex’s coaching is so fine-tuned that we were able to make considerable progress, despite both of us being new to dressage.
However, four months into our training, Gracie began showing severe signs of discomfort during work. She was diagnosed with kissing spine. She had compressed vertebrae at the base of her withers, and right in front of her croup.
This was devastating news, especially for an eventing prospect. I was heartbroken, but luckily Alex’s coaching abilities aren’t limited to riding. She was able to coach me through this difficult time, where I was deeply questioning if I was what was best for Gracie. I felt unworthy of my beautiful mare, whom I was so deeply in love with.
We tried many different modalities to relieve her pain. What ultimately worked best for pain and inflammation ended up being annual injections along her spine. After those first injections, and a couple of months of rehab, we were able to start ridden work again.
This is where the power of dressage as physical therapy really showed up. We doubled down on her core-specific strengthening work. As her rider, I had to be accountable and step fully into the challenge of building her strength to keep her working over her topline and engaging her hindquarters. This type of riding is very difficult when you are new to the sport, and riding a green horse who isn’t built uphill. However, her recovery and maintenance depended on me, so I had to be the absolute best rider I could be for her; to be worthy of her.
Luckily, we have a coach who believes in us, and she did not let me fail.
With the pain managed, and correct movement under saddle, we finally went down our first centerline just shy of two years after purchase, in June of 2024.
And we brought home blue ribbons on both days of that show! I was in raw disbelief and shock. I couldn’t believe we had actually done it – gone from “where’s X?” to an actual recognized show, where we won, twice!!! We excitedly entered our next show, and a few weeks later, we WON OVERALL HIGH POINT with a 71.9% on Training Level Test 1, a Thoroughbred, against actual warmbloods bred for the sport.
We qualified for the Great American/USDF Region 7 Dressage Championships & California Dressage Society (CDS) Championship Show shortly after, and within three months of our first-ever dressage show, we were headed to the Los Angeles Equestrian Center, where we won the Robert Walker Trophy, awarded to the Thoroughbred with the highest score for a single ride in a CDS Horse of the Year Class.
We have kept up with Gracie’s back injections, being mindful to get them done before she is symptomatic. During her last set of X-rays, we were shocked to see that the kissing spine had partially reversed! There was no sign of kissing spine in front of her croup. It was completely gone! And while it is still present in the vertebrae at the base of her withers, it has not progressed.
We owe all of this to correct dressage work! Ensuring she is working over her topline, not inverted, engaging her core, carrying weight behind, and is supple. The consistent emphasis on these dressage principles of correct alignment and movement actually created space between several vertebrae that were once rubbing.
Dressage has truly benefited her in its purest intention as physical therapy. The horses who benefit the most from dressage are the ones for whom it is hardest. Their conformation works directly against what is considered desirable for a dressage prospect, and yet, their bodies are the ones who often need it the most.
Now, in the spring of 2026, we have already qualified for our third trip to Regional Championships, are doing a First Level Freestyle, and moving into Second Level. We have also begun living our dream as eventers, and are actively competing in both sports.
The foundation in dressage has resulted in Gracie having a beautiful bascule shape when jumping. In our jump phases, she is able to move fully through her topline, without resistance, and demonstrates a lot of lift in her core. The level of body awareness and engagement she is able to access is a direct result of intentional, correct dressage.
The consistent hard work has made our dreams a reality, and none of it happened by chance. Every single day has been a choice to ride correctly, to hold myself in self carriage, and by extension, help Gracie to move correctly into self carriage as well. We have such immense gratitude to Alex for guiding us on this journey.
