Team #588 Beth Nicholson and Rico

Team #588: Beth Nicholson and Rico
From: Boulder, Colorado
Ages: 77.5 & 22.5
Combined Age: 100
Test: First Level Test 1
Date: September 8, 2022

I have always loved horses. But despite a supportive husband and three daughters who also love horses, they were rarely in my life.  All this changed when I met a horseman at a wedding dinner in Boston, and he insisted that I come out to the Walden Pond area and ride his new horse.  Eventually, I agreed to give it a try.  What Bill hadn’t told me was that Chief was a 17.3-hands-high former Grand Prix jumping horse.  Dressage lessons commenced and I got used to riding in an English saddle. 

In 2005, we moved west to Boulder, Colorado.  Chief had reminded me just how much I wanted to have horses in my life.  At the age of 60, I finally bought a horse of my own.  My wonderful trainer, Karen Whitman, helped me improve and move ahead with new horses as one thing or another would happen.  I have learned that life with horses is highly unpredictable!

My current horse, Rico, is a Danish Warmblood who became my schoolmaster after a very impressive dressage career.  He always does his best and tolerates my mistakes unless I tighten my knees – he hates that.  He is a master of lead changes and makes me so happy when once in a while we can lay down a line of two tempis.  But most of the time we work on all the basics and just have a good day, which we always do.

Rico and I would like to give a big thank you to all our supporters at Nighthawk Equestrian Center, to Karen Whitman, our tireless trainer, to Janet Foy for judging our Ride a Test, and to The Dressage Foundation for making the Century Club ride a dream come true for so many of us.