I adopted Nick at three years old. He had been started as a team roper. His background is a little fuzzy, but I found out that he had roughly five owners before he came to me. It was immediately obvious that he hadn’t had the best start to life. He was incredibly head-shy, among other physical scars on his body. My intention for Nick was to make him into a hunter and eventually show in rated.

With the help of my trainer (and a lot of patience) we taught him how to carry himself, how to jump, and do lead changes. There is no doubt in my mind that Nick is my “right horse.” He has been able to carry through the levels of horse shows and remain competitive. I feel so lucky to have found him. We have shown at some top shows such as Blue Rock, the Vermont Summer Festival, and the Pennsylvania National Horse Show. It is incredible to me that this horse, at only three years old, had already been given up on and taken to auction. Now, 12 years later, Nick has taught me so much, and we’re both still going strong.