18 SIDELINES FEBRUARY 2014
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
By Lindsay McCall
In 1997, Kelby Barranco was born with the odds stacked
against him. Just after giving birth, his mother Monica was given
the diagnoses that her son Kelby had Microcephaly. This was
discovered when the doctors tested and measured Kelby’s head
size. One hemisphere of his brain was very small while the other
side was fully developed. That test result would be accompanied
at eight-and-a-half months with a diagnosis of cerebral palsy.
At three-and-a-half years of age, Kelby was enrolled in equine
therapy. Monica sought out a barn in Delray Beach, Florida where
Kelby began to ride during the week. Monica recalled, “Riding
really improved his strength. He was basically unable to walk or
talk until he started riding.”
Noticing Kelby’s love for riding, Monica purchased a horse for
him. Kelby rode and showed aboard his first horse Princess for 10
years before the mare passed away in 2011 at age 35.
Back in 2006, Standardbred harness trotter Emma’s Pearl
was born in Florida. Emma’s Pearl was deemed a dummy foal,
meaning while in the womb she was deprived of the oxygen
needed to arrive in the world normally. She arrived with a club foot
and the diagnoses of anhydrosis, which is the inability to sweat.
Despite all the odds being against her, she was a successful trotter
and made a young career out of her track life. Luanna Beeson, her
owner and trainer, believed in the mare who eventually race-timed
at her best ever 1:58.3 in her last run.
While searching for the perfect horse for Kelby in 2011 after his
mare Princess passed away, the Barrancos were introduced, by
their farrier Joe White, to Emma’s Pearl. Owner Luanna Beeson
was happy that Emma’s Pearl could be such a great fit for the
Barrancos and Kelby fell in love with the five-year-old immediately.
Unfortunately, the horse had never been trained under saddle. That
didn’t stop Monica’s determination to create a new partnership for
her son and Emma’s Pearl.
For years, Monica has worked many of the international
horse shows in Wellington, Florida. During that time, Kelby had
volunteered alongside his mom. Kelby has created relationships
with equestrians like Italian grand prix rider Silva Rizzo, who he
says is his favorite rider. His volunteer roles have included ring
steward, traffic manager and horse quarantine management.
According to the USDF, Kelby logged more than 750 hours of
volunteering in 2013 at Wellington Classic Dressage, Gold Coast
Dressage and International Horse Sport shows.
With a network of equestrians at Monica’s fingertips in
Wellington and a need for a trainer that would be the perfect fit
for Emma’s Pearl, Monica got an idea. She talked with one of her
favorite riders named
Jules Anderson. She
asked Jules if she could
work with Emma’s
Pearl. Months later,
Jules showed Emma’s
Pearl as the first-ever
e
Standardbred to be entered at the Gold Coast Dressage Show.
The past 16 years have been full of challenges and triumphs for
Kelby. Most recently a triumph occurred – Kelby earned the USDF
Youth Volunteer of the Year Award, sponsored by the USDF Youth
Programs Advisory Subcommittee. Kelby will be presented with
a perpetual trophy, donated by the Akin family of Warwick, New
York, in honor of Lendon Gray, which is permanently on display in
the Roemer/USDF Hall of Fame.
In 2013, Emma’s Pearl and Kelby have been working hard
together with dressage trainer Robyn Weston. Kelby is currently
nationally recognized as a para-dressage rider but he will be
formally classified at the 2014 Adequan Global Dressage Festival
CPEDI3* in Wellington. He is planning to enter and compete in the
Grade II Para-Equestrian Dressage competition. While the odds
may have been stacked against Kelby and Emma’s Pearl from the
beginning, this horse and rider team continues to conquer it all.
About the writer: Lindsay McCall is a lifelong hunter/jumper rider
originally from
Ohio. She is a talented photographer and makes it her career to advocate for the
equestrian sport through photojournalism. Lindsay and her family own many horses
in multiple disciplines and she enjoys spending her free time with her husband,
horses and Labrador Retrievers.
Beating The Odds
Kelby with his favorite equestrian – Italian grand prix rider Silva
Rizzo.
Photo courtesy of Monica Barranco
Kelby, his mom Monica
Barranco and Emma’s
Pearl.
Photo by Lindsay McCall
Kelby and Emma’s
Pearl have both
beaten the odds!
Photo by Lindsay McCall
