40 SIDELINES JANUARY 2013
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
Hilary on Icecapades
Photo by CMJ
Charlie on Kates Squad Car
Photo by Howie Schatzberg
“I love the new hunter derbies,” admitted
Hilary. “They’re new to the Quarter Horse
world this year, but they’ve been well received.
The horses all jumped really well, the crowd
went “wow” at the handy rounds. It wasn’t
scary like the jumper classes. I think that the
hunters can change. That outside, diagonal,
outside, diagonal can get boring. When we go
on the summer circuit, we usually have mostly
warmbloods, and maybe two Quarter Horses,
but a good Quarter Horse can compete in
any performance hunter class. They look like
nice warmbloods. I have been involved with
importing horses from Germany for many
years. We have a mixed clientele. I’m also a
sucker for the unique horses – might be an
off-the-track-Thoroughbred that jumps well
but it didn’t cost $100,000.”
The Carrels’ favorite horse was an ex-
racehorse with some paint blood. Casino
Express passed away last year, but his history
with the Carrels will never be forgotten. “All of
my family rode him – my sons Spencer and
Seth, but only in Classics and Mini-Prix,” said
Hilary. “He was the fastest fault-free horse out
there. He was unbeatable. He loved to jump.
He liked the crowd and knew when it was
important. He was all about heart. The horses
have to have talent, but jumpers have to have
that heart. It has to be their idea to jump. You
can train them, but you can’t make them love
jumping.”
The more the Carrels talked about their
training philosophy and how important it is for
their amateur and junior riders to have fun, the
clearer the picture emerged of Colts Unlimited.
It was easy to understand why people trust
them with horses who start to stop or need
a change of pace. “We hack them out, take
them up into the hills and after some of that,
they go back into the ring and say, ‘that’s not
so hard,’ ” said Hilary.
Horses stay six months to a year at Colts
Unlimited, but several competitive horses
have been with them for 10 years. They take
in horses on training board only, and offer a
cabin for out-of-towners, but fnd they mostly
meet up with owners at the shows. Known
for their honesty, integrity and realistic horse
care, the Carrels live by a principle learned
from Charlie’s father.
“My father was the most amazing horseman,
but he was a man of very few words,” said
Charlie. “He would always say: Figure out
how to make the right thing the easy thing as
far is the horse is concerned.”
At Colts Unlimited, the Carrels are experts
at understanding the equine athlete.
Sidelines staff writer Lauren R. Giannini is
an award-winning writer specializing in stories
and photos about the equestrian world. Crazy
about horses her entire life, she lives in the
horse and hunt country of Virginia. Lauren’s
motto is “write, ride - not necessarily in that
order!”