80 SIDELINES FEBRUARY 2014
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
Continued on page 70
Kassie with Becca Bella, an Al-Marah mare: they won the
National Champioship Half-Arabian Training Level JR horse.
Photo Courtesy of Al-Marah Arabians
ride much out there – I rode my horse that I brought and a horse
I bought for $1, but he was really green and difficult to work with,”
she recalled. “Mostly, I stayed in the barn, doing chores and horse
care. It made me appreciate competing and working with my
parents. I learned a lot, of course, and Shannon taught me how to
polish myself up better.”
Rest assured, Kassie still has several Warmbloods in her life,
in addition to the Arabians, and continues to work with longtime
trainer and mentor Cathy Morelli. She spent a fair amount of time
with Cathy in Georgia in 2012 and the summer of 2013, reporting
that Aramo, her eight-year-old Dutch Warmblood, who could be a
bit challenging, was coming along great.
“All last year Arie scored in the mid-70s and he went to nationals
with me and was third in the country at Third Level Freestyle,”
said Kassie. “He’s schooling Prix St. Georges and I hope to do
Developing Young Horse with him. He’s from Olympic bloodlines,
Flemming and Krack C – 18 hands, huge, and a really hot horse.
I’m pretty tall, so we’re a good match.”
Moving to Georgia, however, put Kassie back on the radar.
“Once people knew I was there, my name carried me enough
that I got pretty busy,” she said. “I was running a 10-stall barn,
cleaning all my stalls, feeding and riding 10 horses a day as well.
I competed a bit less, but I never stopped riding.”
It’s in her blood. Kassie is growing into herself, finding her
groove. While riding and training will always be a major element in
her life, she thinks about having children and a family of her own.
“I have a steady job, health insurance, and I get to ride and
compete and focus on my career,” Kassie said. “I’ll be showing
a lot more this year. I want to learn reining – my boss says that’s
completely possible. I want to get more into jumping. I loved it
when I was younger. I want to get into cross-sport. I have to
concentrate on the dressage, of course, that’s my job. There are
so many different things you can do with Arabs: western trail,
reining, western pleasure as well as the English divisions. To be
honest, Arabs are a nice family breed. Someday, my whole family
will ride and compete with me.”
Continued from page 68
Kelly in the winner’s circle at The Capital Challenge horse show.
Photo by The Book LLC
one person. Knowing I have another shot makes it easier on me
and the animals.”
In developing the herd of winners that Kelley has showcased in
the hunters, Kelley looks for horses with both ability and desire.
Ability, for a hunter, means not only athletic talent but also looking
like they belong in the hunter ring, having a winning presence
and the kind of good looks that will set the right stage when the
horse walks into the ring. Desire means not only the will to win, but
also the innate desire to be careful, handy and jump well. When
evaluating a new horse, Kelley and her team try to imagine the
horse winning in the ring at a big show.
Don’t let all this talk about results fool you into thinking that
Kelley is completely all business, however. Although most of us
only see her mounts braided and groomed to perfection, Kelley
has a barn full of big personalities. Her equine partner, Taken, for
example, turns out to be a bit of a brat! According to Kelley, “Taken
won’t go
anywhere
without a carrot.” Kelley laughs and says, “It
all started when I first got him. We showed him the week after we
bought him, and he was just off the plane from Europe. He had
never been to a horse show before, let alone jogged. I grabbed a
carrot, and now he’s decided he just won’t go anywhere without
one!” Quotable, whose barn name is Richie, will eat anything, and
is particularly fond of donuts. Kelley says he “Lives for the show
ring, and knows the crowd loves him.” Kelley says that Mythical,
who was recently sold and will be appearing in the junior ring in the
future, is “the the sweetest, kindest horse I’ve ever had in my barn.
You can send a small child in his stall with a bucket of carrots.” It’s
nice to know that even these famous animals appreciate a little
spoiling now and again.
Kelley’s advice for aspiring hunter riders and derby competitors
is, like her training philosophy and her program, quite simple:
“Keep working!” Kelley attributes part of her strength as a rider
today to the fact that as a junior rider she would ride anything she
was offered, and respected those riders who came before her in
this sport and taught her what they knew. The lessons learned
from this experience are basic, but valuable: “Appreciate the
animals, develop a strong work ethic, be a horseman above all
else and keep the passion.”
About the writer: Marissa has been a fan of all things horses since before she
could walk. She and her horse, Tucker, live in New Jersey and take very good
care of each other. For video features and more on this story, visit her Tucker the
Wunderkind blog on the Sidelines website.
