110 SIDELINES MARCH 2014
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
e
Never Too Old
By Jenny Johnson
Every horse-crazy little girl dreams of her
“perfect” horse and some are lucky enough to find
that mount early in their riding careers. Such is
the case of Mary Jane Scott of West Palm Beach,
Florida, who owned what she calls her “all-time
best horse” as a young rider. But what happens
when that horse crosses the rainbow bridge and
the search for a new partner is filled with horses
that are complicated, become injured, or just
aren’t the right fit? The idea of perfection can
change over time, as Mary Jane discovered.
Mary Jane began riding as a toddler, sitting
in the front of the saddle with her father. She
started formal lessons when she was six, using
a Western bridle and English saddle, eventually
showing Saddle Seat Equitation throughout high
school. Mary Jane discovered early in her life that
Arabians were her dream horses. Their classical
beauty, their intelligence and, most of all, their
people pleasing personalities were her ideal.
She bought her first Arabian after college, a
two-year-old chestnut colt, Shaml. She broke,
trained and eventually showed Shaml on the
Arabian circuit in New Jersey and Pennsylvania to
Gray
The Perfect Shade
Of
Champion Arabian gelding on points in 1963 and 1964. Looking
back, Shaml, who was her all-time best horse, probably would
have done well in dressage.
Then, like so many other young riders, work and life took
Mary Jane away from the horses she loved.
Twenty years later when Mary Jane was a successful realtor,
she sold a small farm to customers who owned Arabians. She
said, “That was all I needed. I bought a 12-year-old chestnut
Arabian gelding, Val Vasco, who I showed in local Arabian
shows.”
When Mary Jane moved to Florida in 2000, Val came along
and ended up at Centerline Farm, a dressage barn in Wellington.
Unfortunately, Val had to be put down on his 24th birthday.
Now thoroughly devoted to the Arabian breed, it wasn’t long
before Mary Jane began the search for her next horse and
purchased Raff-Sam Hannah, an 8-year-old chestnut Arabian
mare that had only been trail ridden. Bruce Patti was the resident
dressage trainer at Centerline Farm. Bruce (who Mary Jane
says is one of the world’s “Great Guys”), traded dressage
lessons for the evening feeding of his own horses. Mary Jane
considered dressage to be “boring” but she needed help with
Hannah’s training, so she participated.
Mary Jane said, “I was a little skeptical, but dressage was the
only discipline at Centerline Farm, so Hannah and I began our
lessons. I felt as if I had never ridden before.”
It didn’t take long before Mary Jane was hooked on dressage.
She and Hannah began to enter competitions, starting at the
intro level. One memorable show moment came when Mary Jane
and Hannah, who rode in the pouring rain, were told by the judge
that their free walk was the most wavering free walk she had
ever seen. Mary Jane explained, “Most Arabians don’t like water,
and Hannah was typical. She was merely avoiding puddles!”
Hannah was retired to motherhood when she tore an angular
ligament. Mary Jane’s search for her next horse began, with a
specific Arabian “look” in mind. “I searched for Arabians that were
15 hands or over.
No grays
,” emphasized Mary Jane.
First there was Johari, a half-Arabian mare with wonderful
Flyer enjoys his flowers following his
Century Club ride with Mary Jane.
All photos courtesy of Mary Jane Scott
