United States Eventing Association

Now On Course: Patience Pays Off for Nazila Hejazi & Her 20-Year-Old Missouri Fox Trotter

Nazila Hejazi and her 20-year-old Missouri Fox Trotter mare, Tessa, may have made for an unconventional pair at the USEA Area VI Championships, held in October at Galway Downs (Temecula, California) but they didn’t let that hold them back. It’s uncommon to see a horse in their twenties still competing in eventing, and even more rare for a gaited horse to compete in a jumping sport.

Apparently, no one told Hejazi and Tessa that. Together, the pair galloped through the timers at the end of their show jumping round to become champions of the Area VI Senior Beginner Novice division. Together, Hejazi and Tessa are an excellent reminder to not let anything hold you back—let alone what is considered conventional.

Hejazi grew up in Iran, where she started show jumping at the age of 17.

“In Iran, it's a sport that has been respected for centuries. It’s a sport where men and women can compete with each other, even though it's an Islamic country,” Hejazi said. “I had the passion [for horses] since I was born, but my family was middle class. I never thought that I could ride a horse. I thought it was for kings and queens.”

After going to medical school in Iran, Hejazi got married and moved to the United States in 2000. While here, she completed her medical residency and fellowship. Today, she works as a physician.

“I did my residency and fellowship in Chicago and California, found a job, and got pregnant with my child. During all this time, I was just leasing a horse and being in touch with the sport, but I was never able to have my own horse," she said.

Finally, at the age of 45, her dream came true. While she may have been dreaming of a horse of her own since she was a child, Hejazi says she doesn’t regret the long wait. “For younger people out there, be patient. I understand everybody has the passion, but finding the right time to own a horse prevents a lot of hassle. There are medical bills, your family situation, your career, and all that. So that's the thing. Just be patient. Work hard towards your goal. Once it comes at the right time, it's more joyful than rushing to get a horse.”

In Iran, Hejazi says there is really only jumping; dressage wasn’t available to her when she was growing up, let alone eventing. While she came to the sport late in life, first being introduced to it at 45, she has developed a deep love for eventing.

“I love eventing. It just puts puts dressage and jumping together. You add in conditioning, and everything comes together,” Hejazi said. “When you’re galloping, there’s a sense of freedom and all that. It's what horses used to do, you know?”

Her love for eventing extends into the community that surrounds it, where she says she feels welcomed with open arms.

“The one other thing I love about eventing are the people, the personality, and culture," she noted. "When you enter the show grounds, you can tell people are there to help each other. And there is this camaraderie—I really see it in eventers, and really enjoy it when I go to shows.”

The eventing community has also welcomed Tessa into the fold. While she’s not gaited, Hejazi says occasionally some trainers will see something in her gait that tells them she has the genetic ability to gait. Despite her age, Hejazi says she has no plans of retiring her.

“She's 20, and she is doing great. I know we all have this mental background that, ‘OK, the horse has to retire at a certain age’ and all that. But these days, with science and advances in nutrition, that’s not true. The lifespan of people is increasing, and it’s the same for horses,” Hejazi said. “The older they get, the more experienced they are. The partnership is built better. Tessa and I, I just look at the jump, and she knows, ‘OK, that's where you want to go. Let's do it.’ It's just a thing that comes with time. But, at the same time, the older they get, of course, there’s a lot of maintenance and more work. But if you put the time and care in, it pays back. They give back with their experience and knowledge, whereas the younger horses won't.”

The mare had a unique start to life. She was adopted by her previous owner, Anne Edwards, from a charity auction when she was just a filly.

“The breeder of these Fox Trotters sold one of the fillies to help a girl with osteosarcoma," said Hejazi. "They brought the filly to the little girl’s school, where Tessa’s previous owner is a teacher. So she immediately jumped on the opportunity. She got the $1,000 filly and sold her to me when she was 13.”

Hejazi describes her relationship with Tessa as a beautiful journey. “After six months of looking at horses on the internet—and my trainer rejecting all of them—I brought this horse to the barn and my trainer, Carmela Richards, said, ‘If you don't want this horse, I'm gonna get it right away.’ It has been a beautiful journey. I tell people, it's just a game of luck. There has to be some God or somebody out there loving you so you can find the best horse.”

Tessa and Hejazi learned the ins and outs of the sport of eventing together. They took to the sport like a duck to water, winning their first event together.

“At our first show, I had no idea—what is this, speed limit? What is this 350 per meter per second? I had no idea about any of these things," said Hejazi. "I just sat on the horse, and she was buddy sour with another horse. I was just sitting on her and doing nothing and just hoping. Because she was buddy sour she was neighing at every jump. I said, ‘Let's just finish this.’ She did the speed by herself. It was one of those events where you have to make it closest to the optimum speed. Anyhow, she got the blue ribbon, and that picture is still on our living room wall. It's something that I could never forget.”

In the seven years that she’s had Tessa, Hejazi says that one thing she’s learned from her mare is respect, in every sense of the word. “The best thing I learned from Tessa is to respect her," she said. "In the beginning, I was afraid of her. Then I learned to be a leader. Now I'm starting to become her sister, and I'm really respecting her like a sister. The way you treat your sister, that's how I'm treating her these days. She has emotions, she has feelings. She’s not a machine.”

Their close partnership was on full display at the USEA Area VI Championships at Galway Downs. Adding just four faults to their dressage score of 28.4 in the Senior Beginner Novice Championship, they finished the weekend as champions in every sense of the word.

“That was our best dressage score ever,” Hejazi said. “We have never gotten a 28 before. We are usually around 32 to 35 on a good day. So, I jumped up and down when I heard we got a 28. This was Tessa’s first time being in that [championship] environment. She didn’t even look at the decorations in show jumping. She was amazing.”

Reflecting back on her long journey to Championships, Hejazi said that when she first started riding as a 17-year-old in Iran, she would have never thought she’d end up an eventing champion, more than 7,500 miles away from the country where she first sat on a horse.

“I was always thinking of owning a horse and having a horse and jumping, just regular jumping, and having my own property. But that was the max I was thinking of—the max of my dreams,” Hejazi said. “Dream big, but be patient. You will get there, right?”