Team #737 Alice Leeds and Nout

Team #737: Alice Leeds and Nout
From: Abingdon, Maryland
Ages: 80 & 20
Combined Age: 100
Test: Introductory Level Test B

I do not come from a “horsey” family, so I do not know how or when my obsession with all things equine started. I clearly remember reading my children’s copy of Black Beauty by Anna Sewell until it was in tatters. Later there was the series of Black Stallion books by Walter Farley. So, while there was no actual horse in my life, the picture of my ideal horse was clear: He would be a magnificent black horse! (Although I would have been happy with any kind of horse.) 

After living out of the area for a while, I returned to Harford County, Maryland, in 2005. I had taken some riding lessons in Florida and knew that I wanted to continue them here. I found Olney Farm, in Joppa, MD, and promptly signed up for lessons. In short order I began leasing and then co-owning a Saddlebred cross gelding and later also owned a mostly Saddlebred mare. Due to old age frailties and illnesses, neither of these wonderful horses was with me by the summer of 2021. 

Life without a horse did not suit me at all and soon my instructor and friend, Mary Pat Meagher, and I started searching for the next perfect horse for me. We saw several but none were the right one for me. There was a Friesen gelding for sale not too far from us, and so on a very hot fall day we went to try out Nout von Ster. He was magnificent looking. He had not been worked for a while and we were riding him in a small field with a bit of an incline, so he let us know he wanted some breaks. Still, he was willing to trot on with a bit of encouragement, had more “whoa” than “go” which was a necessity for me, and was easy to work with. And he was pretty bomb proof – another necessity. A second ride the following day confirmed for me that he was the horse I should have.  

And so, I became the owner of a wonderful black Friesen gelding! Elegant, majestic, smart, cooperative, and willing. He was a bit rusty on some of his dressage training, but quickly rebounded. Now and then he tends to throw in a little surprise to show me something that he has remembered he can do. Sometimes I have to laugh because of what he does and how good it is to ride him.  

While he is always well behaved, he is also a true character. Once a person with limited riding experience got on him and Nout quickly decided the best thing to do was walk back to the barn with him. I call Nout my “puppy dog” because he will follow me around without a lead. To his way of thinking, I belong to him; he will “lead” me from his favorite spot in his field to the gate, no lead necessary. Sometimes he stops by the path to the stream to see if I want a drink.  

For 2024, I decided that Nout and I should do our Century Club Ride. I am not interested in competing so that was a big decision for me. At the urging of Mary Pat, I entered the farm’s schooling show in mid-February to get some experience showing. Then in mid-March I rode my Century Club Ride, again at Olney Farm. Nervous and feeling slightly under the weather from allergies, I knew that I could trust my partner to get me through the two tests, and he did! In fact, the judge remarked on the harmony that exists between us.  

Nout is indeed the actualization of that ideal black horse that I pictured I should have when I was a child. Color aside, it is the special bond that Nout and I have that makes him the horse of a lifetime for me. I am so grateful that I could do my Century Club Ride on him. 

I am grateful for all the help I received from Tean Nout (Mary Pat, Shannon, and Adrianna). Thanks also to The Dressage Foundation and its Century Club for such a wonderful experience.  

Alice and Nout with Ami Howard (Century Club Team #109) and Mary Pat Meagher