60 SIDELINES JUNE 2013
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
By Carole Nuckton
Starting in 1949 with a little mare named Lady, I’ve had a total
of 18 horses, counting those that belonged to my daughters,
Brenda and Jenny. I was a good horse show mommy as well as
a competitor. One time I was asked to give out the ribbons when
Brenda was riding in a very large English class and I got to hand
her the blue!
My longest non-horsey period was from 1975 to 1996, although
the girls had horses part of that time. When the girls’ father and
I divorced, the girls and I moved to Davis, California. I went back
to school, became an agricultural economist and worked at U.C.
Davis. In 1977, I met Fred, who also bonded with my girls and
taught them to drive and ski.
Having driven Brenda up to Louis and Clark College a number of
times, Fred and I fell in love with Oregon and in 1992 we built our
house there. Among the new friends we met in Bend, a few were
horse enthusiasts. One afternoon several of us rented horses and
went for a trail ride, while our guys prepared a barbeque. I was
hooked and had to have a horse.
A good friend needed to sell one of her horses and I ended up
with a lovely 14.2 hand black Arabian, S.K. Serr Zebulun; Zeb for
short. We were a team for exactly 15 years. The frst half of that
time we rode and showed Western and I hung our many ribbons
all around my study. I also sport a big silver belt buckle we won in
Burns, Oregon.
As both of my daughters were interested in dressage, Zeb
and I switched and began dressage lessons. While we didn’t
earn nearly as many ribbons, dressage was fun, as there was
always
something
to work on between
lessons. I joined the
Central Oregon Chapter
of the Oregon Dressage
Society (COCODS) and
showed Zeb in all the
local dressage “league”
shows. We were doing
relatively well, but in
2005, Zeb became lame
and was diagnosed with
severe tendonitis. For the
next two years Zeb lived
out in the pasture.
On one of my many
visits to Zeb, I noticed
that he was walking freely
and wondered if I could
carefully
rejuvenate
him. With instruction
from Jenny and our vet,
I walked him daily in
straight lines at frst in
hand; then riding, adding
a little at a time - the trot
and, fnally, the canter.
We all agreed he was ft
e
enough to do a fve-minute Training Level test. So in 2008, when
I was 73 and Zeb was 27, we rode in the COCODS recognized
show at Brasada Ranch, outside of Bend and successfully
became Century Club Team #52. There was a big party at the
barn to celebrate and as Zeb always anticipated a good party with
its tortilla chips, grapes, etc., he stuck out his tongue.
However, the story doesn’t end there. Zeb and I went on for
the next several years, showing First Level Test 1 and 2 and
starting to train at Second Level. But after Zeb turned 30 in 2011,
he stiffened up and it was time for him to retire. When he went
on to greener pastures, I, having reached the ripe old age of 76,
decided my riding days were over.
About the writer: In addition to Carole Nuckton’s long-time horse hobby, she is a
writer and editor. Since she and Zeb did their Century Ride in 2008, Carole has had
the fun “job” of editing all the bios turned in by the Century Club riders. This year she
has edited 73 bios and is looking forward to doing Team #126.
Zeb was quite the party
animal!
Carole and Zeb – partners for 15 years.
Photos courtesy of Carole Nuckton
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.