The Journey of a Horse

Heidi & Andy, 2001

Eleven years ago, for whatever strange reason, I decided that I wanted to event. A former dressage queen who had somewhat lost my direction in where to go with my equestrian endeavors, I felt intrigued by the world of three day eventing. I looked around and found a local eventing barn to take lessons at with my little arabian gelding I had at the time.  Having never really considered an alternative breed, but quickly realizing that a thoroughbred was what you truly needed for this fun new sport I was jumping in to, I went out looking for a thoroughbred of my own.  And so that is how I came to own a big bay horse, registered with the Jockey Club as “Beachin”.    For a few days I called him Beachin around the barn, but when people started to think I was cursing at him I had to quickly come up with a new name.  I don’t remember how, exactly, I came up with it, but pretty soon he became known as Andy, and he was the horse that I would learn to event with.

Andy was just one of those “OTTBs”, an average thoroughbred that showed no speed on the racetrack.  He had stood around in a field for a few years and didn’t know much of anything when I got him.  But Andy had a heart of gold, a genuine willingness to please and an ability to figure out the job at hand, even if he didn’t have the best direction.  I wasn’t a beginner rider at the time but I certainly had no experience over fences, so I can guarantee I didn’t do Andy any favors when I was teaching him how to jump.  My knowledge at the time pretty much consisted of “I should point him at the fence and kick to make sure he goes” and sure enough, Andy somehow figured out how to go over those

Competing at Abbe Ranch, 2002

fences, whether I got him there well or not!  Together we learned how to jump stadium fences, we got really brave and jumped logs out in a field, and soon we were attempting ditches and banks and going through water obstacles.

Andy safely packed me around my first couple years of eventing.  I barely knew the rules, much less the complexities of a coffin canter or a half halt, but Andy went out on every course, faithful and reliable, even though a lot of times the whole thing was brand new to him too.  He was not a stopper, he was not spooky, he went down to the fences and got himself over, even when I was out of balance or underpowered.  He never balked, he never bolted, he just showed up for the job at hand.

My last ride on Andy

After a couple years teaching me the ropes, I then leased Andy to a younger rider at the barn and this time Andy shared his wisdom with this new rider and once again jumped around the courses honestly and safely, allowing his new rider to figure things out and be successful doing it.  When his rider then moved on to his own horse, and I had moved on to a new horse, I could no longer afford to have the two horses and I regretfully offered Andy for sale, hoping he could continue on teaching someone else.  He found a home with a lovely young girl who wanted to use him for dressage, and so I sent Andy on his way, hoping for the best, as we all do when we sell a horse on.

Over the years, occasionally I would see a local ad for Andy.  I tried to follow his progress through owners – once I saw an ad that listed him as “Free to a good home” and offered to take him, even though it meant shipping him out to Virginia, but the girl told me she had just found someone to take him and assured me it was to a good home.  I asked her to please pass my information along, but a couple of years passed and I lost track of him once more.

Andy, age 17 - in Wyoming

That was up until the other day, when I was pleasantly surprised to get an email from someone in Cheyenne, Wyoming, saying she had just purchased a lovely bay gelding named Beachin, and after doing some research on the internet, had come across my website and the information on Andy.  I was so happy to hear from her, and to hear that she promised to give him a home for the rest of his life as a dressage and hacking horse.  She had lost her own horse last fall in an accident and by some stroke of fate she found herself with Andy.  We swapped stories of Andy and put pieces of his history together.  Somehow he ended up with the name “Stanley”, but after talking to me, she began to call him Andy and he seemed to respond to it, so she said he may return to his original name!

Andy is now 17 years old and has been a part of many peoples lives.  I am amazed at how one special horse can touch the hearts of so many, at different times in their lives.  Just look at the stories of Black Beauty or War Horse and you know that Andy’s story is just one of many!

As a professional whose life involves watching horses come and go, it is so rewarding to be a part of a story like this one.  I know not everybody is able to stay in touch with their former mounts – quite often they get sold on and lost amongst the many noble equines out there.  I guess I am truly lucky to know the whereabouts of several of my most special eventing partners:  Andy, now living a well-loved life in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Leo – now about to compete at the Intermediate level with his young rider, and Gemini – who is living in Connecticut and wrapped up his competition season last year by jumping clean at a CCI*.  There are many more out there that I have ridden and owned in the past, and there are some I have lost track of and may not ever hear of again, but I can but hope that they are becoming a special part of someone else’s life and giving that special joy that every horse owner knows.