84 SIDELINES FEBRUARY 2014
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
The Natural, the first jumper to earn a million dollars. When he
was injured, his rider moved on. The Natural’s owners, Paul and
Robin Greenwood, didn’t have to look far to replace Katherine.
They already knew that Alice could ride. Paul had given her one
of his amateur horses, Tarco: a hot, nervous, flat jumper, which
never bodes well for keeping painted rails on shallow cups.
“I found a way with Tarco – he ended up being my first grand
prix horse and I gained a tremendous amount of experience with
him that prepared me for the chance of my lifetime,” Alice said.
“I thought surely The Natural would go to Conrad Homfeld or
Michael Matz. Much to my shock, Paul and his wife Robin decided
to give him to me.”
The Natural put Alice on the international map. She realized
another dream by training with Conrad Homfeld and Joe Fargis
and said, “Certainly, I made some mistakes due to my youth, but
we had some very nice success – getting to meet Queen Elizabeth
by winning the first Queen Elizabeth II Cup in Calgary, among
other grand prix wins during our three years together.”
Thanks to Paul, Alice also had a college career. “He was always
like a father figure to me, so when he offered me a job, he insisted
that I go to school as well,” she said. “This was the greatest gift I
had ever received. I started at Fairfield University and transferred
to New York University. I went to school at night and all day
Mondays for five years. I was constantly sleep-deprived, and the
commute from Old Salem Farm to downtown Manhattan was
brutal.”
After graduation Alice decided to start her own business. “I had
worked at Old Salem Farm for seven or eight years and it was
there that I found my feet as a teacher,” she recalled. “I wanted
more freedom to travel around the world.”
Travel Perks
A few years earlier Alice’s mother Pat bred a horse that she
thought would go grand prix. CEO, by Debbie Dolan’s VIP,
became a mother-daughter project, which succeeded against all
odds. “CEO was born in a coma and somehow survived, but the
minute he opened his eyes, it was clear that he hated people,”
Alice recalled. “I think he was negatively imprinted by his traumatic
birth. He was the spookiest animal, but I worked with him because
it meant so much to my mother.”
Alice had bought a four-year-old with some owners, and
Crackerjack proved very helpful, leading CEO everywhere. “I even
used Crackerjack on the landing side of CEO’s first water jump,
because CEO would go wherever Crackerjack went,” Alice said. “I
started riding with Katie Prudent in Florida when Crackerjack was
eight and CEO was seven. Crackerjack was the superstar young
horse of the circuit and CEO was just starting to jump his first
official courses. Katie and Henri were very patient with CEO, but
they didn’t think he would turn out to be anything special.”
One year later, CEO, now eight, was fifth in the CSIO La Baule
1.50meter grand prix. At nine he jumped clear in the Paris Bercy
Alice and CEO in the Derby of La Baule. “For a horse
that was a super water jumper, but terrified to step in a
puddle, I was amazed at his trust in me to jump in to this
lake for me. It was a moment my mother and I will never
forget,” Alice said.
Photo Jean Morel
Alice and Queen Elizabeth after Alice won
the Queen Elizabeth II Cup
in Calgary 1990 with The Natural.
Photo by Tish Quirk
Continued on page 86
Alice with support staff at the UAE National Day festivities: (left
to right) Marwa Mohammed Salem, Alice and Alia Al Marri.
