Team #729 Robert Sullivan and A Pretty Penny

Team #729: Robert Sullivan and A Pretty Penny
From: Rochester, New York
Ages: 75 & 27
Combined Age: 102
Test: Introductory Level Test A

It has been a long ride to get to the opportunity to join the Century Club. I am not a ribbon chaser, but a person who enjoys the experience. I think this will be my first real ribbon.  

I started with horses about 30 years ago when my daughter stated she wanted to learn to ride. For the first 15 years, I clapped, smiled, and wrote checks. 15 years ago, I started getting on my daughter’s old lesson horse, Jimmy, because he was retiring. I think he wanted to retire because I found myself on the ground a lot.  

My daughter went to college, and I had a horse with nothing to do. Caliente, my daughter’s second horse, got smarter as she aged. I thought Cali would be good for me, but I was wrong. We knew she did not like cows, but I was surprised that she did not like bikes. I stayed on her, but to do so safely, I would need to become a better rider. Someone even stated, “you need to do dressage to be a better rider!” 

I started taking dressage lessons on Young Flag, an offspring of Abdullah. After a year of dressage lessons, I went to a schooling show and found myself in the warmup ring with twenty other riders; it was scary. I did my first official dressage test and the judge said, “you two look good, but your geometry is bad.” 

All I wanted to do was trail riding. I found myself trying to ride a chestnut mare, Trouble. Riding Trouble was interesting. I did not stay on all the time, but my riding improved.  

Next on my riding path was an off the track Thoroughbred. I knew the horse, but I was unsure if we would get along. Barroom Brawler was a good guy. He had some issues, but dressage was good for us. I tried not to push his buttons, which allowed us to have a few good years. We were planning to do the Century Club ride in 2022. Brawler’s age caught up with him, so the ride was off. 

I had to take some time off between horses to deal with two bouts of cancer. For me, just riding to get the correct lead is challenging work. Now doing lessons is hard because I have hearing loss from the time I spent in the Army. It’s a good thing my trainer has a loud voice or she has me use a listening device, which has made lessons much more productive. 

I completed my Century Club ride on Penny. I knew her a long time ago and I did not like her back then. When I got a chance to ride her, she was a changed girl at 27 years wise. 

Many thanks to Sandy Hider for facilitating the re-introduction to Penny and coaching me to complete my Century Club ride. I appreciate Anne Gohlke for letting me borrow Penny to practice and to complete this accomplishment. Penny deserves all the carrots for putting up with me. Thank you to Cobblestone Equestrian for supporting and hosting my ride. Lastly, thank you to all the horses, barn friends, trainers, and my family for supporting my riding career.