Team #658: Patrick Strupe and Flying Solo
Team #658: Patrick Strupe and Flying Solo
From: Waverly Hall, Georgia
Ages: 72 & 28
Combined Age: 100
Test: Introductory Level Test A
Date: June 10, 2023
On June 10, 2023, Patrick Strupe (Pat) and Flying Solo (Solo) completed their Century Club ride together at Sandra and Jean Carnet’s beautiful Oxer Farm in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Pat’s riding career began around the age of nine, riding ponies bareback with his childhood friend, Denny Campbell. In 1977, Pat moved from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Waverly Hall, Georgia, with his wife, Maxine (Max). Pat and Max hunted with the Midland Fox Hounds and evented in Georgia throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Pat and Max’s son, John, also enjoyed riding and participated in Pony Club and lessons with Allina Bell at Meadowbrook Training Center. Pat served as an outrider and Max and Allina as organized race officials and horse-related activities from 1985 through 2001 for the Steeplechase at Callaway Gardens. Pat still attends the Steeplechase each year and enjoys watching the Maxine Strupe Perpetual Pony Race, a race named in memory of Max who passed in 2002.
After stepping away from riding for nearly two decades, Pat returned to the saddle in 2018 after reconnecting with Allina at her Spring Creek Farm in Waverly Hall. Pat shifted his focus from eventing and foxhunting to dressage. Partnering with Spring Creek Farm’s Oldenburg gelding Dakota, Pat showed through First Level at Poplar Place Farm. In 2023, the stars aligned for Pat to add a Century Club ride to his riding resume.
Pat completed his Century Club ride with Solo, his daughter-in-law Elizabeth’s beloved Connemara pony. Elizabeth first met Solo when he was a plucky, spitfire of a five-year-old, and the pair have been best friends and competition partners ever since. Throughout his career, Solo has adventured in many different disciplines. Much like Pat, Solo spent his early years campaigning as a show jumper and eventer and has more recently transitioned to a dressage focus. At 28 years young, Solo still enjoys learning and has embraced his new title as dressage wonder pony and Century Club partner.
