24 SIDELINES DECEMBER 2012
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
By Jenny Johnson
When Norm Brown volunteered to help rejuvenate
the Estes Park Colorado Arabian Horse Show in
2011, he didn’t realize that he would become one
of the star attractions. At that same time, dressage
wasn’t even on Jim Snook’s riding radar; yet in
2012, he would also steal the spotlight at the Estes
Park Show. Both men, whom had never sat in a
dressage saddle, mustered up the courage to ride
for membership in The Dressage Foundation’s
Century Club, proving that it is never too late for
“old dogs” to learn “new tricks!”
Norm grew up on a farm in Pennsylvania, where
workhorses were used in the felds. He did not
have extensive riding experience, but was always
involved in agriculture. After receiving his Masters
Degree from Colorado State University, he worked
for the extension offce.
Norm married into an Arabian horse-owning
family, meaning that he then spent countless hours
caring for the horses and working with them on the ground.
However, Norm rarely sat in the saddle.
Norm’s daughter, Trisha, showed and trained the horses that
Norm spent so much time caring for and she became an FEI-level
dressage rider. When Trisha heard about the Century Club, she
mentioned it to her father, who initially shied away from the idea.
Finally, Norm agreed to do a Century Club ride and the lessons
began. Trisha gently coached her father, who had to learn to post
the trot and memorize his test. Norm’s riding partner was their
home-bred Arabian, Amie Phoenix+. Phoenix was Trisha’s very
successful dressage mount for many years and is now a lesson
horse. He still loves to work and gets depressed when he’s not
ridden regularly!
Norm and Phoenix became Century Club Team #88 on July 2,
2011, in front of a crowd at the Estes Park Arabian Horse Show.
The buzz surrounding this momentous occasion reached the ears
of Jim Snook, one of Norm’s friends and fellow horseman.
Jim has been a fxture in the Colorado horse world for many
years. Unlike Norm, Jim has logged countless hours in the saddle.
As a child, he spent summer days on the back of his part draft
mare, and as a teenager, he herded sheep on a self trained
buckskin mare. He continued to work with horses for most of his
adult life, training racehorses and Arabians on his Colorado ranch.
Jim is a Board Member of the Colorado Horse Development
Authority (as is Norm) and is a ten year member of the Rocky
Mountain Round-Up Riders. In all his years, Jim’s cowboy boots
had never seen the likes of a dressage saddle. During one of
the CHDA meetings, Norm told Jim about the Century Club and
suggested that he join. Jim had ridden cutting horses at Estes
Park in the past, and really liked the idea of going back to the area.
When Jim agreed to ride for the Century Club, Trisha brought
out good ol’ Phoenix to help another beginner join the club. At age
29, Phoenix was as patient as ever, helping Jim learn the ins and
outs of his frst dressage test.
The day of his ride, Trisha gave Jim the test directions on
e
Norm Brown and
Phoenix join “the
club” – with the
gorgeous Colorado
scenery as a
backdrop.
paper. He said that the longer he looked at it, the more confused
he became! A dressage test is much different from the reining
patterns he had performed in the past. After watching the frst rider
in the arena, Jim said the test then became perfectly clear and he
was ready. He and Phoenix became Century Club Team #112 on
June 30, 2012.
Two Colorado horsemen and one wonderful Arabian have
reminded us that we are never too old to learn a new “trick” or
achieve a new goal.
Jenny Johnson is the Administrative Director at The Dressage Foundation in
Lincoln, Nebraska. In addition to her full-time job, she also has the full-time job of
being a wife, a mom to three children, and “mom” to her 20-year-old Quarter Horse
that she’s owned for 19 years.
Two Colorado Horsemen -
One Amazing Horse
Jim Snook and
Phoenix – up to
new tricks!
Photo by Kathleen
Bryan