28 SIDELINES APRIL 2013
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
By Shari Wolke
I adopted my 1999 dark bay, 16.2 hand Thoroughbred gelding,
Lord Kenmer, in the late fall of 2007 from New Vocations
Racehorse adoption program, then based in Middleville, Ohio.
“Kenny” had raced 33 times over a four-year period (from 2002
to 2006), winning only once. He is the son of the famous stakes
winner Lord Avie, and a grandson of Mr. Prospector. Kenny is the
spitting image of his daddy Lord Avie, who just recently passed
away at the age of 34.
Kenny had been adopted a year prior to when I had adopted
him, in the fall of 2006, by a dressage trainer who, according to the
folks at New Vocations, sent him back stating that he was unsafe
and wouldn’t stop bucking. The staff at New Vocations said that
with an experienced rider he might be rehabbed but that I should
understand that if he didn’t he would be best as a pasture pet only.
My good friend Colleen Coatsworth went with me to visit New
Vocations and said that he was the best suited off the track
Thoroughbred we had seen thus far for dressage. Colleen noticed
his balanced movement, his kind eye and sensitivity to touch.
We both saw that he had a rhythmic, balanced canter, a natural
overstride in the walk, and a decent trot. He did, however, buck in
the “interview.”
The rider at New Vocations made him jump a few crossrails,
and his response was to jump the rail and then buck, which was
fne with me as I was looking primarily for a dressage horse. At
Shari and Kenny competing at 4
th
Level at the Waterloo
Hunt Club in Grass Lake, Michigan – proving that time and
commitment can result in a truly rewarding journey.
All photos courtesy of Shari Wolke, unless noted
Olympic Dressage rider Jan Ebeling said Kenny should be able
to show Prix St. Georges – not bad for a horse once destined to
be a pasture pet.
A Rewarding Journey:
From Pasture Pet To Dressage Star
e
Horse Rescue
Shari and Kenny show off their 4
th
Level moves at Dressage at
Copper Creek Farm in Williamston, Michigan.
Photo by 3
rd
Shutter
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