Kissing a Monster, she finds her prince

Her fear of riding gone, Lisa and Monster enjoy a romp. Photo by Allie Conrad

Her fear of riding gone, Lisa Gubenia and Monster enjoy a romp. Photo by Allie Conrad

Lisa Gubenia was done.

Scrambling to her feet, brushing off the dirt, the 46-year-old mother of two wept as she announced to her friend Allie Conrad that the fall she had just taken, from the back of her ex-racehorse who had simply “exploded” on a trail ride, was like a final call to hang up her tack. She had to quit riding.

“I loved this horse, and I tried so hard to make it work, but I constantly got bucked off,” Gubenia says of an OTTB who she owned for three years, and who was eventually euthanized after being deemed dangerous. “I was on a trail ride with Allie when it happened and by this point, I’d become terrified of riding. I told Allie I was done. I couldn’t get on another horse, I was just too paranoid.”

But her friend Allie Conrad, the executive director of Thoroughbred re-homing organization CANTER Mid Atlantic, and of whom it is often said possesses a “sixth sense” when it comes to matching prospective owners with horses, would not hear of it. Conrad couldn’t let her walk away from a pastime she enjoyed so much.

“First, Allie stuck me on a mare and trail rode with me. I was so scared — of everything. We just went for walks in the woods and I was afraid the whole time.”

But once she dismounted after yet another uneventful ride, Gubenia felt better about herself, proud that she’d Kiss a Monster
Barn name: Monster
Sire: Meadow Monster
Dam: Kiss Me Cat
Foal date: April 27, 2007
confronted her fear and got back in the saddle.

And then in March 2013, a horse named Monster arrived on Conrad’s farm.

Looking like a gypsy with a shaggy coat and mane gone wild, Kiss A Monster wasn’t anyone’s idea of a perfect horse. But Conrad sized him up as an ideal fit for Gubenia.

Soon after his arrival, on a trail ride together one day, Conrad arranged for Monster to tag along, ridden by a friend, as the three women set out for a leisurely hack through the woods.

“It was a sunny, cold day in March this year and Allie and her friend Suzanne asked me to trot up ahead, and I could hear them talking,” Gubenia says. “The next thing I know, they asked me to try Monster.”

After a little convincing, she mounted up and immediately felt all her muscles tense, and her legs get “grippy” in the saddle. Then they started walking. And after 10 minutes, a feeling of calm enveloped her like a warm hug from a good friend.

Enjoying a picture-perfect life together. Photo by Allie Conrad

Enjoying a picture-perfect life together. Photo by Allie Conrad

“I looked at my friends and said, ‘I haven’t been this relaxed on a horse like this in years!’ ”

Little by little Monster and Gubenia got a feel for each other as they took lessons and gradually built up from walking to trotting and cantering.

And while Monster had been no saint in the past with other riders, for Gubenia he tolerated her tendency to grip too much, and hang too heavily on the reins.

With past riders, including Conrad, Monster had acted up a bit. Gubenia only learned this detail later when she was shown video of a feisty horse giving others a hard time.

But for Gubenia, he was a saint. Especially so one day on the trails when an Eastern fox squirrel literally flew from the trees and landed on his back.

“It scared us both! This little black and white animal jumped from the top of the trees onto his back, and it really startled him,” she says. “He jumped and then moved to the side, but I could tell that he was keeping it together for me, and he made sure he kept me on his back.”

After losing a horse she loved, and losing her confidence along with him, Monster turned out to be her perfect match.

“He’s my horse of a lifetime,” she says. “I know he has my back and takes care of me.”

9 responses to “Kissing a Monster, she finds her prince”

  1. Janice Scott

    I have a son of Meadow Monster also “Monster Dinner” my Kismet sweet disposition and willing nature with a bit of fire thrown in to keep me on my toes.Thank you “Rusty” for calling me back after I initially turned him down.

    1. Janice Scott

      Kismet has been retired for 3 1/2 years from Charles Town and he also was a Canter Mid. Atlantic horse offered for sale by trainer in 2013.

  2. Barbara Griffith

    Please remember that your senators are home from their DC offices for the holiday so please call their local offices to ask if they are having a town hall meeting.
    If they are not ask if you can get in to see them to ask if they will cosponsor S.541. Keep in mind that it is the Senators that is refusing to cosponsor the very bill that will stop US horses from being slaughtered. There are 162 cosponsors in the House of Representatives the Senate barely has 30 most of them supported S.541 when it was first introduced. You will hear comments such as “S.541 would remove the horse owners right to sell their livestock” which was what I was told in a letter from one of the senators that was on a committee. Don’t let what they say to you throw you, stick to your commitment to get your point across then follow up with some phone calls to their local offices while the senator is still in town. Along with Emails and calls to their DC offices when they get back stay on their necks. Check to see if any of your senators are up for reelection in 2014 and 2016.

  3. Nancy George

    Great story!!

  4. cheri vaughan

    Wonderful story of comeback!

  5. SpotOn

    Awesome! Love the ones that really go out of their way to make sure “we” are ok

  6. Edie

    Love this – I am all verklempt!
    I too have a ‘once in a lifetime horse’ – best feeling ever!!

    Merry Christmas Lisa & Monster <3

  7. Alplily

    Congratulations on finding your perfect match and overcoming your fear. I, too, have an OTTB who takes very, very good care of me. When it works, it is the best partnership you’ll ever find. Happy trails to you both!

  8. dad

    That’s my girl!

Leave a Reply to Nancy George Cancel reply