22 SIDELINES NOVEMBER 2013
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
Jamie and Nicole in the early days,
taking lessons on their ponies.
Photos by Tom Doolittle
e
The Doolittle Sisters:
Doing Great Things
By Sheryl Kursar
Y
ou could hear a pin drop when 15-year-old Nicole
Doolittle rode her horse, Tops, into the show jumping
ring this past summer at the North American Junior
and Young Rider Championships (NAJYRC). She was in first
place after a great cross-country ride the day before, but she
needed to put in a clear round or Area 3 would lose the team
gold.
Her parents, Tom and Suzanne, and older sister, Jamie,
were there cheering as she cleared the last jump to secure
team and individual gold medals. In a year filled with loss
and heartache, it was a triumphant moment for the Doolittle
family. Nicole’s medals were redemption for the previous year’s
NAJYRC when her horse was injured and she had to withdraw.
Jamie, Nicole’s 18-year-old sister, was named to the team just
two weeks earlier and received team bronze in junior dressage.
The Early Years
The Doolittle sister’s success is marked by determination, hard
work and family. After a move brought
them to Charlotte, North Carolina, their
father Tom came across a house for sale
where they could have a horse. He and
Suzanne looked at it on a whim and,
even though they hadn’t owned a horse
in 20 years, by midnight they had an
accepted offer on the property. Dream
Catcher Equestrian was born.
Jamie learned to ride at five-years-
old. She started riding on what she described as the “cutest,
prettiest, demon pony,” aptly named Princess. They added a
small pony, Brownie, and several others to the mix. Nicole was
content to spend hours with Brownie, mostly wanting to play
with him and pick his feet. They quickly outgrew their property
and bought more acreage only a mile away.
Dream Catcher Equestrian grew into a successful hunter and
jumper facility, offering lessons with 17 school horses. One day,
they met an eventer and Suzanne, Jamie and Nicole became
infatuated with the sport and over the next year they sold most
of their lesson horses in order to focus more on eventing.
An Introduction to Eventing
Jamie’s first event horse, Maggie, who she named A Dream
Come True, changed everything for her – but it wasn’t a smooth
start. Jamie’s first ride scared her to death and it took a lot
of convincing to give Maggie another shot. But when Jamie
jumped Maggie out on the cross-country field, “It was an
amazing feeling. Nothing fazed her. She was fast and honest.”
Months later, Suzanne enrolled the girls in a summer camp
run by Olympic eventing superstars David and Karen O’Connor.
“We were so new to the sport,” said Suzanne. “We knew who
the O’Connors were, but not really how accomplished they
were.”
Jamie was 12, but Nicole was only nine and too young for the
camp. “I called Karen and begged her to
let me bring Nicole,” Suzanne said. “It
took some convincing, but Nicole was
allowed to come with her pony, Dilly
Dally.”
During one exercise, Nicole was
excluded from jumping a combination
and started to cry. “It wasn’t because
she couldn’t do it,” Suzanne said. “She
cried because she knew she could and
wanted to.”
“I was a very competitive child,” Nicole added. “I was very
shy, but I wanted to do well.”
On the last day of camp, David told Suzanne, “I’d love to
The Doolittle sister’s
success is marked by
determination, hard
work and family.
Continued on page 24
