24 SIDELINES SEPTEMBER 2013
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
By Jenny Johnson
Not many of us know horses who were born in 1978 and are still
alive, much less still in the show ring. This month we introduce you
to one such horse – a very special guy named General Lee. He
and Kathy Knappitsch, of Fairview, Texas, were recently inducted
into the Century Club and General holds the title of the oldest
horse to join the club. Because of General’s advanced age, we
should also recognize that Kathy, at the tender age of 65, is the
youngest rider to be a Century Club member!
Name:
General Lee
Birthdate:
February 1, 1978 (currently 35-years-old)
Breed:
Arabian/Thoroughbred
Birthplace:
Hollywood, Florida
Owner:
Erica Elias of Wylie, Texas
Noteworthy Achievement:
Joining The Dressage Foundation’s
Century Club as the oldest horse to-date.
Favorite Game:
Bobbing for apples. At a barn party several years
ago, General schooled the other horses in the fine art of bobbing
for apples. By submerging his entire mouth and nose into the wa-
ter and biting into an apple, he was able to win in a single try.
How he spends his time:
Now in semi-retirement, General still
enjoys giving lessons to children as young as four-years-old who
are just learning to ride.
In his younger years:
General has always been very talented
and versatile. He has participated in barrel racing, hunter/jumper,
Western pleasure and dressage. Always a willing partner, Gen-
eral happily complies with whatever is asked of him.
Favorite Drink:
Soda straight from the can.
How he met his owner, Erica:
It was 1984 and General was six-
years-old. His owner at the time was going to college and could
not keep him. A nine-year-old Erica went to visit General and soon
received him as a birthday present.
Why General is so fond of his owner:
When Erica was young,
she and General spent their time showing in English and Western
classes and riding the trails. Even though she attended college
e
and could not take General, he remained on the family’s property
until Erica graduated and could spend time with him again. The
pair moved to South Carolina following college and have been
together ever since. Erica said, “General has been a huge part of
my life. A lot of my friends who had horses gave them up or sold
them when their interests changed or other things like boyfriends
became more important. Not I!” That dedication to their partner-
ship is why General feels so lucky to have Erica.
About General’s Century Club teammate:
Kathy Knappitsch
grew up riding Western until she had to learn to ride “English style”
to jump her horses properly. The desire to learn English eventu-
ally led her to Vienna, Austria and riding with Bereiters from the
Spanish Riding School. While living in Europe, she was also ac-
cepted as an American to ride with the Cadre Noir in Saumur,
France. Years later, after living, riding, and showing all over Eu-
rope, Kathy and her husband settled in Fairview, Texas, where
she turned her father’s old Thoroughbred farm into a dressage
training facility. General has been living at Kathy’s Lime Ridge
Farm for the past 10 years.
About the writer: Jenny Johnson is the Administrative Director at The Dressage
Foundation in Lincoln, Nebraska. In addition to that 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 who she’s owned for 19 years.
General Lee: Soldiering on at 35
Erica and General at his 30th birthday party in 2008.
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.
Kathy and General’s Century Club
ride on June 15, 2013. Kathy was
65-years-old and General a mere 35!
