By Jessica Grutkowski
Portraits by Melissa Fuller
As a young girl, Allyson Walker Hartfield pressed up against the chain-link fence to watch the racehorses on the track. Growing up in Fort Erie, a coastal town in Ontario, Canada, just west of Buffalo, New York, Allyson went with her parents to the track in between weekend soccer matches.
“One day, our family friend came to watch my soccer tournament,” Allyson said. “She knew I loved horses and offered to show me where her daughter rode.” It was a Western pleasure barn, full of horses with troubled pasts. “That’s where my passion for rehabilitation began,” Allyson said. “I rode Western for years and loved every minute.”
Like most young horse-obsessed girls, Allyson found herself weaving an equestrian theme into all of her school projects. In third grade, she befriended a boy named Josh, whose father raced horses. “He brought me tons of magazines and crazy horse paraphernalia,” she said.
Allyson’s friendship with Josh continued into high school. “When I was 15, Josh’s father, Jack, got me my first job as a hot walker,” Allyson said. “He picked me up every morning at 4:30 a.m.”
By the time she was a young teen, Allyson already had the drive and work ethic needed to succeed in the horse world. “I wanted to learn everything from anyone who would teach me,” she said. Trainer Johanna Hoetzendorfer was instrumental in helping her master crucial skills. “I practiced wrapping 10 times a day until it was perfect,” Allyson said. “Johanna gave me so much of her time; I’m eternally grateful.”
A New Discipline
Allyson considered becoming a professional after high school, but her parents made her promise to go to college. “I applied for a grant through the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Pr
otective Association towards continued education to retain my license on the track while studying,” she said.
During her first year at Brock University, a public university in Saint Catherine’s, Ontario, Allyson was introduced to English intercollegiate riding through the Ontario University Equestrian Organization. “I had no English riding experience but figured, Why not?” she said. “I borrowed anything I could, from anyone who would let me.”
The team’s first meet was in Geneva, New York. “I didn’t know what to expect, but I was good at following directions,” Allyson said. By directions, she meant the announcer calling for the riders to show at the walk, trot and canter. “I was fourth in my first flat class, and by my senior year, I was president of the team.”
After graduation, Allyson was free to pursue her passion. Her first job after college was working for Fort Erie track’s media department. “I planned events, advertising campaigns, and even had a television show,” she said.
When she wasn’t working, she rode as much as possible. “I freelanced for multiple trainers, all of whom were patient. I think I fell off daily!” she said. “One told me that if I survived the summer, she would get me a job working for Roger Attfield, a two-time Canadian and U.S. Horse Racing Halls of Fame inductee.”
A Terrible Winter
After an amazing summer in Fort Erie, Allyson’s wish was granted: She would work for Roger at Payson Park in Indiantown, Florida. But before she could cross the border, she broke her right arm in a riding accident. “After riding in a Christmas parade, my friend bragged her horse was faster. We decided to race, but my horse took an unexpected turn,” Allyson said. “Ironically, I had just bought a manual car.”
Like a true equestrian, Allyson wasn’t about to let an injury prevent her from this opportunity. “I was too scared to tell anyone, so I kept it a secret,” she said. “My father drove me to Florida, and when we got to Fort Lauderdale, he cut off my cast. He made me figure out the car myself.”
The tough love worked; she only stalled twice. However, she wasn’t able to fudge her injury in the eyes of her new employer. Feeling disheartened, Allyson went home to get back into top riding shape. “It was a terrible winter,” she said.
One of Roger’s assistants suggested she come back to Florida if she wanted a second chance. “I would have hated me,” she joked. When she returned to Payson Park, she made a big impression. “Not surprisingly, I was the ‘most improved’ rider they had ever seen. The bar had been set quite low, given they hadn’t seen me ride with two working arms,” Allyson said.
After redeeming herself, Allyson got the opportunity to travel to California with several promising young racehorses: Lady Zuzu, Take Charge Brandi and Mr Z, who went on to run in the Kentucky Derby. After her time in California, Allyson settled in Ocala, Florida, where she learned to break babies on the track. One opportunity led to another, and Allyson found herself on the sales side working at horse auctions. Exhausted and missing riding, Allyson went back to work for Roger after bumping into him at a 2-year-old sale in Lexington, Kentucky.
Love Off the Track
Six years later, Allyson was ready for a change of scene. She moved back to Florida and joined a local CrossFit gym, where the members were like family. “I was at a dinner party with our crew and met a guy named Anthony through a mutual friend,” she said. “He arrived late and left early. I said to myself, That’s my human!”
Shortly after they met, the global COVID-19 pandemic hit. “Mandatory COVID testing made it difficult to staff the tracks and we lost some great people,” Allyson said. “When our gym closed, we set up equipment in Anthony’s garage. I moved in and never left.” Allyson expected they would tire of each other, but they never did.
By 2021, the happy couple was engaged. Allyson moved to Jensen Beach, Florida, where Anthony worked as a real estate agent. Sean, a photographer for Anthony’s agency, offered to gift them with an engagement photo shoot. They decided on a paddle-board theme to highlight their shared love of fitness and the outdoors. “Sean brought a friend to help, who was also an ordained minister,” Allyson said. “I ordered a little white wrap dress online and we got married that Friday.”
One of Anthony’s colleagues, Rene Diclemente, invited Allyson to her barn. Rene offered her the opportunity to ride one of her dressage mares for fun. “I had never
ridden dressage, and frankly, I didn’t have any interest,” she said. “I didn’t think it was for me.”
Reluctantly, Allyson went to Rene’s barn and met her trainer, Debbie Hill, of Debbie Hill Dressage in Palm City, Florida. Little did she know that this visit would change the course of her career forever. “Debbie is one of the kindest, most genuine humans I have ever met,” Allyson said. She began grooming for Debbie in exchange for a weekly lesson on one of Rene’s mares.
Debbie saw natural talent in Allyson and sought permission for her to lesson on client horses as a way to ‘fast track’ her progress. “I was riding a new horse every week,” she said. “I started to understand the allure when I could experience movements like tempi changes and piaffes.”
As she improved, Allyson got rides on younger and higher-level horses. She went on to work for Grand Prix rider and trainer Heather Bender, owner of Treasure Coast Dressage in Palm City, Florida. “I was riding for six to seven barns a week in exchange for lessons,” she said. “I was fortunate to ride for so many talented trainers.”
Marrying Her Passions
Her time at the barn paid off, and Allyson took on her own clients, some of whom had off-the-track Thoroughbreds (OTTBs). “Iwas able to marry my love of the breed with my new-found interest in dressage,” she said. “I took my first client horse to a dressage schooling show and scored a 74%. It was so rewarding.”
On the heels of her success locally, Allyson decided to tackle another one of her career goals: to compete in the Retired Racehorse Project (RRP). “I have an enormous 17.2-hand OTTB named Hype who never raced,” she said. “He always breezed well and had the right build for dressage so I decided to go for it.”
In a stroke of bad luck, Hype developed a severe case of laminitis. “At one point we thought we may have to put him down,” Allyson said. “Thankfully, Hype started to improve and we made a slow comeback.” The recovery process was long and stressful, but Allyson was blown away by the support she received from the Florida dressage community. “I was overwhelmed by everyone who offered to help.”
After a long recovery, the vet gave Hype the green light to compete. “We were in good shape but hadn
’t finalized our freestyle routine. We went with a timely Ken and Barbie theme and finished fourth overall!”
The RRP garners about 400 entries each year. “You can choose from 10 disciplines, and we chose to focus on dressage and freestyle,” she said. “I would love to compete in the hunter portion one day. It’s a wonderful program that demonstrates how much this breed has to contribute to our sport.”
Allyson recently took a full-time riding and training position at Summerwood Stables in Palm City, Florida. “It’s a wonderful facility that supports a young horse’s development in any direction,” Allyson said.
At Summerwood, Allyson enjoys teaching, and spending time on the trails with her clients and colleagues. She considers herself lucky to have several promising OTTB dressage prospects. “Some have shown potential from the start, whereas others take more time to settle into their off-track life,” Allyson said. “Training against a lot of muscle memory can provide secondary challenges. What I would look for in a racehorse is not what I’d look for in a dressage horse.”
Allyson is working with some of her clients toward qualifying for the Thoroughbred Incentive Program (TIP) in Kentucky. “We have a few amateurs with OTTBs hoping to show at TIP,” she said. Like the RRP, the TIP was created to encourage the retraining of Thoroughbreds in other disciplines at the end of their racing careers.
When Allyson isn’t at the barn, she is with her husband and their two dogs. And she continues to love her life working with Thoroughbreds, a love for the breed that began as a child.
Follow Allyson on Instagram @allysonkarlie and on Facebook at AllysonKWalker
Photos by Melissa Fuller, melissafullerphotography33.mypixieset.com
