Their victories in the dressage ring were hard won. Photo by Stacy Lynn Photo
Bring on the silver!
After conquering their first go at 4th Level Dressage at The Garden State Classic last weekend, with a dazzling display of high-scoring pirouettes and lead changes, Sue Gallagher and her off-track Thoroughbred Kaytee Mountain are gearing up to climb even higher.
The duo will practice hard this winter and in the springtime start pointing toward another 4th Level Dressage test, followed by two Prix St. George tests, and hopefully will be well on their way to earning enough points in the USDF ranking system to earn a silver medal.
The pair earned a score of 63.3 in a 4th Level Test Oct. 13, achieving high scores of 7s in pirouette and lead changes, Gallagher says. And to her utter amazement, a judge commented that her feisty Thoroughbred gave her a “very cooperative ride.”
“Never in my life have I received a comment like that! Kaytee has never been called a cooperative ride!” she says. “But, he was so reliable in the test that he actually took me by surprise. I could just ride the test. I wasn’t worrying about him spooking.”
Kaytee Mountain and Sue Gallagher perform a dressage test earlier this year. Photo by Stacy Lynn Photo
Kaytee Mountain and Sue Gallagher head to Fourth Level dressage Oct. 12. Photo by Stacy Lynn Photo
In the windy outdoor arena, Kaytee stayed focused, and with supple movements gave one of his best performances. “By the time we were doing the extended trot across the diagonal, in the last movement of the test, I had a grin ear-to-ear,” she says. “He just felt great!”
Following this achievement, Gallagher and her horse will hunker down in New Jersey this winter, practice hard, and attend a few schooling shows so that by spring, they are ready for their next 4th Level.
Their victory was hard won. Please see an earlier article in Off-TrackThoroughbreds.comabout the years of training and patience that went in to transforming a horse who once trotted with a sewing needle gait, to a fluid, brave mover.
“Tee has come a long way from galloping around a track. I can’t wait to see what he can do over the next couple of years as we continue to practice perfecting those basics, build strength and as a result help him become even more settled and relaxed in his work,” Gallagher says in the earlier article. “He is truly a wonderful boy, who strangely enough, has taught me so much about the dressage discipline.”
love the two stories profiling this pair. as the owner of another hot TB, i am inspired by their success and perseverence. seems a lot of stories are about the calm, brave easygoing, easy training TB’s, but those of us with the hot, spooky TB’s need these kinds of role models. thanks for the story, and please update it next year.
I would bet that Ms.Gallagher could have taken the bridle off of Kaytee and he would have performed the same way. He clearly knows his job and is doing it to the best of his ability which is growing by the day.
These OTTBs sure surprise us–and GO KAYTEE and SUE!! Silver it is! My OTTB had his moments during dressage tests, going through the motions scared out of his wits. We went to a show without my instructor (who turned into the Coach from Hell–I guess everyone has her own version of “show nerves”) and when we trotted in and halted at X I ALMOST leaned down to see what horse I had ridden in on–because he was “steady Eddie” and happy to do the test. Whether there are “external circumstances” or it’s just the internal machinery getting set for the day, there is NOTHING like a good dressage test–and the ear-to-ear smile says it all. Good post, Susan!
OMG! I’ve got chills. What a wonderful representative of this breed and their incredible athleticism. And serious KUDOS to Sue for her patience and wisdom.
Yesssss! Silver, indeed!