8 SIDELINES NOVEMBER 2012
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
By Jenny Johnson
It all began at the age of fve with a pony ride that little
Cayce did not want to end. But it did and she never saw
“Freckles” again. Fast-forward 50 years. At the age of
55, Cayce Black, of Jupiter, Florida, was retired from
teaching and decided it was time to fnd the horse of
her dreams. A friend told her about a two year old Paint
named Impressive Moon, a.k.a. Flame. When Cayce saw
him, she instantly fell in love. Even though his owners
were asking twice the amount of money that she wanted
to spend, he was so gorgeous that Cayce bought him
anyway.
Flame was a total package; he and Cayce did it all.
They rode and showed in Western, English, halter,
showmanship, jumping and driving. Cayce said, “I became
interested in dressage over 25 years ago when I started
attending the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington,
Florida. The Wellington area had just started building up
and I started to see more and more dressage.” Cayce
credits Jeanette Sassoon for really igniting her interest
in dressage. She said, “After Jeanette’s horse Valiant
became blind, I watched them perform a 4th Level
Freestyle and I cried the whole time. The trust between
the two was unbelievable and it was just a magical
moment. My heart just pounds when I watch freestyles.”
In 2004, Hurricanes Jeanne and Frances came back
to back. As Cayce was packing up to leave the area, she
decided to take Flame to her daughter’s open pasture,
because she thought it would be safer for him to be free.
Sometime during the storm, Flame stepped in a hole, and
pulled a tendon that never healed. From that point on,
she was unable to ride him, so he spent his time with his
best horse friend, Cayce’s mini named Flash. Flame was
with Cayce for 32 years and recently died at the age of
34.
Since she was unable to ride Flame, Cayce purchased
a six year old Paint, Liquid Asset (Eli). Eli quickly flled the
role as another all around partner for Cayce. As a member
of Jupiter Horsemen’s Association and Twin Rivers
Saddle Club, Cayce shows Eli in Western and English
classes and has recently started Western dressage with
him.
Cayce and Eli recently made history for The Dressage
Foundation’s Century Club, as the frst Western dressage
team to join the club! The ride took place on July 14, 2012,
at the Jupiter Horsemen’s Association arena in Jupiter,
Florida. Judge Libby Anderson gave the team a score of
79.52% and said they were a beautifully presented pair!
“We rode our Century Club test in memory of Flame and it
was a wonderful moment in my life,” said Cayce.
Cayce has lived a wonderfully varied life. In her 86
years, she has been a pilot (a B-17 was her favorite
plane to fy!) and was a physical education teacher for 33
years. Cayce still attends the class reunions of some of
the 9,000 kids she taught during her teaching career. She
said that going to the reunions “ is frosting on my cake of
life!” She also plays golf and tennis, swims and loves to
e
Cayce Black and Eli will go down in history as the frst Western
dressage team to join The Dressage Foundation’s Century Club.
dance, in addition to her “full-time job” of caring for her horses.
Cayce’s advice to seniors for staying active and healthy is to buy
a horse! She said, “If you can’t buy a horse, go shovel manure! It is
wonderful exercise and I do all my heavy thinking when I muck out a
stall.” Congratulations to Cayce and Eli for becoming the frst Western
dressage Century Club team. There’s sure to be many years of “heavy
thinking” time ahead!
The Dressage Foundation’s Century Club is a program designed to
honor senior dressage riders and their senior horses. To become a
member the ages of the horse and rider must add up to at least 100 years
and they must ride any level dressage test before a judge or dressage
professional. For more information on the Dressage Foundation, please
visit www.dressagefoundation.org.
The
Flame
Burns Brightly for Senior Rider