Heather Wu: Connemara Ponies and Eventing Dreams

By Sarah Welk Baynum

Portraits by Sara Farrell

 

Before Heather Wu ever dreamed of galloping a cross-country course or building her horse-centered career from the ground up, a single pony ride sparked a lifelong love affair with horses.

“The first time I rode a horse was during a pony ride on a vacation in California when I was 3,” Heather said. “My mom still has the photo—the pony looked half-asleep, but I had the biggest smile on my face. From that moment on, horses were everything to me.”

During Heather’s childhood in Connecticut, her parents encouraged her to try everything—gymnastics, piano, T-ball—but nothing captured her heart like horses. “Our neighbor Lisa had a small barn, and my mom told me if I was serious about riding, I had to prove it,” Heather said. “Every day, I mucked stalls, fed, groomed—whatever it took. I just wanted to live and breathe horses.”

Eventually, Heather’s parents bought Josie, a spicy little Appendix mare, for the whole family to ride. “She was the classic fiery red mare—some days I’d spend the whole day at the barn and still couldn’t catch her. I’d walk home in tears, but Josie taught me so much. We mostly trail rode and did a little Gymkhana. I didn’t know anything about showing or riding English—I just rode for fun. I didn’t have the right tack or training when I was young to pursue jumping, but I was determined. I’d hop on Josie bareback, drag logs through the woods and build crossrails between trees.”

Connemara Ponies

Later, in high school, Heather bought a Quarter Horse/Arabian named Stranger, who stayed with her even after college. Around the same time, she also discovered what would become her lifelong passion—eventing and Connemara ponies.

“I started out cleaning stalls at an eventing barn and learning about this amazing sport,” Heather said. “Then, I got the chance to groom at events for my boss and her Connemara-Dutch Warmblood cross—it was such an eye-opening experience.”

Heather didn’t start showing herself until college. “My first real show was a Long Stirrup class at a local 4-H event during my freshman year,” she said. “I was the one old kid in a ring full of little kids.”

After earning her degree in Animal Sciences at the University of Connecticut in 2013, Heather decided to pursue her dream of competing in eventing. “Stranger wasn’t exactly made for eventing,” she said. “At our first schooling event, I showed up in a navy pinstripe jacket, hot pink ratcatcher shirt and greenish tan breeches—a style from 20 years ago, all from a consignment shop. Our dressage was rough, but he tried his heart out over the jumps. That day, I knew I wanted to do this sport.”

But when it came to her career, Heather wasn’t quite sure which path she wanted to follow. “I wasn’t sure what to do after college—everyone else was heading to vet school, and I knew that wasn’t for me,” she said. “I ended up managing a dog rescue at the barn for four years, but deep down, I wanted to work with horses.”

Then one day at the barn, an unexpected opportunity in the horse world came along—an older gentleman who competed in combined driving was looking for a groom and navigator. “At that point, I thought, Why not try something new?” Heather said. “I’d never even put on a harness before, but I told him, ‘If you’re willing to teach me, I’m in.”

It was an incredible learning experience for Heather, spending winters in Ocala competing in driving events—and even convincing her boss to let her bring her two Connemaras along.

Her last winter in Ocala, a Morgan horse, Rowley, who had competed at the World Championships in Europe—where he’d won the marathon phase—proved to be more than her boss wanted to handle. He asked Heather if she’d like to take the reins and compete with him instead.

“With some coaching, I competed at the Carolina Horse Park in April 2019, and we finished second in our first Preliminary Combined Driving Event,” Heather said. “The best part was having my high school sweetheart—now husband—as my navigator on the back of my carriage.”

Lexington Bound

The driving chapter ended when Heather’s husband accepted a position at the University of Kentucky in May 2019. “It just felt like the right time for something different,” Heather said. “And Lexington—it’s the horse capital—so it felt like the right place to land.”

Heather searched for the next step in her career, but nothing quite felt like the right fit. In the middle of that transition, Heather struggled to find a consistently available barefoot trimmer for her horse. “In Kentucky, there are lots of traditional blacksmiths—not many people focus just on barefoot. But it was important to me to have someone who specialized in just that,” she said.

That’s what ultimately pushed Heather to become certified and learn to do barefoot trimming herself. “I said I was only going to trim my own horses, not anyone else’s,” Heather said. “I ran the numbers, and trimming my own horses every four weeks would pay for itself in a couple of years. Once I started practicing, I realized I really enjoyed it. It’s fun—and surprisingly satisfying.”

Before long, Heather turned her newfound skill and passion into a growing business. “I just couldn’t say no to people, and that’s how my business started,” she said. “Before I knew it, it turned into a full-time career. At one point, I had 150 to 200 horses on my books.”

Just as everything seemed to be falling into place, a car accident in 2022 turned her life upside down. “I was driving early one morning to grab breakfast before riding and trimming for the day,” Heather said. “I must’ve misjudged the traffic or the sun was in my eyes—I don’t really remember. I pulled out in front of a box truck traveling at 55 miles per hour. I was in a tiny Honda Fit, and it crumpled like a soda can. They had to pull me out of the car, and the officer on the scene said he was surprised I even survived.”

Heather was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries. “I fractured my skull, my C1, three lumbar vertebrae and four ribs, and shattered the left side of my pelvis,” she said. “They told my husband I wasn’t stable and had multiple internal injuries. Everything changed in an instant.

“They couldn’t do surgery right away because there was so much swelling,” Heather continued. “Thankfully, I blacked out for about three days—I don’t remember the accident or much of anything until after my surgery, and I ended up staying in the hospital for eight days.”

Afterward, they planned to send Heather to a rehabilitation center where she could learn daily functions again. “I’m pretty headstrong, so when they said I needed to go to a rehab center, I told them absolutely not—I needed to go home to my dogs and my horses,” Heather said. “They told me I’d have to prove I could manage on my own, so I did. But after that first week home, reality hit me—life was moving on without me.

“I’d gone from riding six days a week and trimming 75-plus horses to doing absolutely nothing. That was the hardest part—I’m not someone who sits still well. The support from the community was incredible, but I didn’t want to be stuck at home. I couldn’t walk for eight weeks, and it felt like everything about my life had changed.”

Eight weeks later, Heather returned to the orthopedic surgeon to assess the progress of her injuries. “Everything had, thankfully, healed well. I have a lot of permanent metal in my pelvis that kept it all together, and the other broken bones all healed. I was then cleared to start walking again—and it was such a strange feeling.”

Back In The Saddle

Heather began physical therapy and gradually returned to riding. “I rode my pony, Ollie, first—he’s an absolute unicorn. By 12 weeks post-accident, I was back on my competition horse. He can be spicy at times, but it’s like he understood I needed him to take care of me.”

Heather set her sights back on showing the following year. “I started jumping again and quickly realized my balance and strength were lacking,” she said. “I fell off several times—it was tough getting back into it.”

Heather also eased back into trimming horses again, starting with her horses and those well-behaved horses of her clients. “I’d trim one or two a day—nothing like the 25 or 30 horses I used to do. After I got hurt, I realized I didn’t want to spend my life working nonstop. I was trimming five days a week and had very limited time to ride my horses. The accident was a wake-up call—it reminded me I don’t have to work 60-plus hours a week. Now, I work a couple of days a week and spend the rest of my time riding, taking lessons and working on the farm.”

Heather’s childhood love for Connemaras has come full circle. “Growing up, I was obsessed with them and how versatile they are—and now we have five,” she said.

Her first, Ollie, a gentle cremello she bought in 2014, took her through Beginner Novice and now enjoys life as a trail horse and babysitter. In 2021, she added Mia, a buckskin Connemara/Holsteiner cross, who is just starting her competition career.

During a trip to Ireland last summer, Heather and her husband discovered Ashe, a gray Connemara filly they imported with hopes of her becoming their first broodmare. Their newest addition, Arelia—a buckskin Connemara/IDSH and Ollie’s relative—will be her husband, Alvin’s, future riding partner.

In 2015, Heather purchased another eventing project—something with the heart of a Connemara but a bit more gallop. Now, after fully recovering from her accident, Heather is back to doing what she loves—competing with her horses in eventing.

“Finn, a Connemara/Thoroughbred, was the first horse I put every ride on. He’s quirky and full of personality, but he has been one of the most rewarding horses to produce,” she said. “We were competing at Training Level before my car accident. We’re back to competing at Novice Level now but hoping to move back up again soon.”

Heather says she finally feels like she did before the accident. In November 2024, she and Alvin bought a 55-acre farm in Lexington. Heather hopes the farm can become a place that offers events and clinics—eventually, as they develop the property themselves, little by little, in their free time. It’s a place she hopes will one day become a space to support riders like her—just chasing a dream.

“There are rolling hills, a big flat field and a creek running through the middle of the property, so maybe one day we’ll host schooling combined tests or mini horse trials,” Heather said. “There are plenty of recognized events out there, but it’s the grassroots stuff—those little mini trials—where people fall in love with eventing. This sport is so incredible—you’re not just stuck riding around in an arena. You get to go fast, jump, splash through water, feel it hit your face—it makes you feel like a kid again. I still remember competing in eventing on my Quarter Horse/Arabian. I couldn’t afford hundreds to show at facilities like the Kentucky Horse Park back then, but I could scrape together $75 in grooming tips to do a few mini trials each season. That’s where it starts—that’s what I want to support.”

Follow Heather on Instagram @heathermwu7 and @thebarefootirishponies

Photos by Sara Farrell, www.threeredheadsandamoose.com