United States Eventing Association

I met my now 6-year-old mare as a 3-year-old filly. I wasn't aware of her rough start in life, but I knew she was special.

I had just started taking lessons from Chelsey Sawtell (Sawtell Eventing) at Blackfriar Farm in Kingston Springs, Tennessee. One day, I witnessed Chelsey's working student fling open a stall door and squeal, "Andee!" She threw her arms around the neck of a bay mare lying down in the stall. Rather than get up, Andee lay there, cuddling like a puppy. "I've never seen a horse act like that," I said. To which the young woman replied, "She's for sale, you should buy her."

I had no intention of buying a horse. My only plan was to take up riding again. I had been away from the horses for over twenty years. I was raised in the hunter/jumper ring, but walked away as a teenager when my family moved from New York to Michigan and we were forced to donate our beloved OTTB to the State University of New York's equestrian program.

But, I couldn't stop thinking about Andee. I found myself visiting the barn on non-lesson days to be with her. She would gallop from the far side of her paddock to see me, and we would snuggle at the fence line. Soon Chelsey gave me permission to groom her in her stall. I would brush her, and Andee would close her eyes, hang her lower lip, and even drool. When I would attempt to leave, she would make faces at me until I returned to her stall for more petting. I didn't know why, but this big affectionate filly and I needed each other.

Logistically it didn't make sense. I didn't really have the money, I was a kid the last time I trained a horse, and I stood a meager 5'2" to her imposing 17.1h. But I knew I had to be her mom. After telling my husband I couldn't imagine life without her, we stepped way outside of our comfort zone, and told Chelsey we would buy her.

That's when I learned that Andee was an orphan. Chelsey told me the story of four Thoroughbred mares that belonged to a young heiress in upstate New York who was cut off by her attorneys for burning through her trust too quickly. When she stopped paying her trainer, her trainer stopped feeding and caring for the mares and sent them to auction. A woman from Tennessee was at that auction. She was determined to save at least one of the mares, and the mare she bid on and won had a young foal. She transported both horses to Tennessee, but the mother died soon after arrival. Now an orphan, Andee was placed with a companion goat named Pepperoni and put up for sale. This ad caught Chelsey's eye. Thankfully she saw something in Andee and brought her home to Blackfriar Farm.

A little over two years later, I bought Andee as an unbroken 3-year-old, not knowing how she would be under tack. I had an inkling she would be fancy, but even if she wasn't, she was my girl.

I started Andee 60 days under saddle with Chelsey. Three years later, she is still in training with Chelsey, which has proven to be the smartest decision I have ever made for any horse.

Considering Andee's life circumstances and her careful nature, we knew we had to bring her along slowly and properly to build her confidence and create a solid foundation for the future. Our goal has always been to advance her while making her feel safe and retaining her quiet disposition.

Within a year, we were riding Andee in local dressage schooling shows, myself included. I won my first blue ribbon on her when she was only four years old. A four-year-old and an adult amateur learning an entirely new discipline together, all thanks to our trainer.

Chelsey is masterful at starting young horses. She has taken her own mare (Maiden France) from a baby to a 2* competition horse. She has several young up-and-coming event horses at Blackfriar Farm, in addition to Andee, who are learning and performing beautifully under her direction.

Now a happy and healthy 6-year-old, Andee made her Beginner Novice debut (under her show name, Nightwatch II) at MayDaze Horse Trials 2015 at The Kentucky Horse Park. She placed second in her class, finishing on a dressage score of 30.3. This past weekend, in her second show, she won her Beginner Novice division, finishing on a dressage score of 27. If her first two shows are any indication, she is loving her life as an event horse.

Meanwhile, I'm still working on dressage. My mare has far eclipsed me in learning the sport of eventing. But, that's okay. The most important thing is that we're together.