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Monday, October 30 2017 / Published in General, Sidelines Spotlight

Lily Rhodes: The Bright Side of Life

While Lily has a prosthesis, she doesn’t wear it often and doesn’t ride in it.

By Dani Moritz-Long

It was an unusual scene when Lily Rhodes — bruised, battered and missing her right arm — was wheeled through the emergency room in perfectly good spirits on the heels of a horrific ATV accident. Even at 14, Lily was already looking on the bright side of life.

Lily and Charlie at the Tulsa Expo Center

Laughing as she recalled her uncanny, cool composure during what most would find a traumatic experience, Lily, now almost 17 and a US Equestrian ambassador, said, “One of the first things I said to my mom when I saw her was, ‘I’ll have to do Western pleasure.’”

Quitting riding, of course, wasn’t an option for someone whose life revolved around stride extensions, leg yields and the dedication to perfect rides down center line. “The first thing I wanted to do after the accident was see my horse,” she said. “I knew things would be difficult, but I wasn’t discouraged. It was something that was sad, but there’s no point in being sad about it all the time.”

Lily Rhodes

A Change of Mount
A month after the incident, Lily was back in the saddle and, while she opted to stick with dressage, she quickly realized one component of her equestrian career would have to change.

Lily’s adolescent mount was a Haflinger pony who — unsurprisingly — was a tad heavy on the hands. Though Lily describes the pony, named Pippin, as a safe and sweet horse with “the biggest heart ever,” he wasn’t exactly receptive to the light hand aids Lily would need to employ going forward.

Enter Charlie — a Paint gelding whom Lily describes as one of the best things that’s ever happened to her and, coincidently, something that likely wouldn’t have happened without her accident. Previously a jumper and new to dressage, Lily said, “Charlie is great and agreeable.” Simply put, she said, “He is my heart horse.”

Lily and Charlie schooling dressage

Together, the duo are competing at Training Level working on some of the basics like maintaining the right headset — something Lily jokes Charlie hasn’t quite worked out yet. But while she’ll gladly take her time building a solid foundation, Lily knows Charlie is the perfect horse to advance through the levels with.

The Bright Side
Looking back on life after the accident, Lily is quite the optimist. “I try to look on the bright side of things,” she said. “It really was unfortunate to lose an arm, but there are so many good things that came from this, like Charlie. I wouldn’t have him if this didn’t happen. I wouldn’t have had all the opportunities I’ve had, like partnering with US Equestrian.”

So while Lily now struggles with tasks that were once second nature — from writing to hoof picking — she doesn’t waste much time brooding or wondering what life could have been like. “Nothing,” she said, “is going to happen with me sitting in my room and shutting myself off from the world. The only way forward is to get better.”

Lily does have a prosthesis, but doesn’t wear it often or ride in it. “Because I’m missing an elbow, the harness to keep my prosthetic on is very uncomfortable,” she said. “I prefer not to wear it, just because it feels more natural. I’ve adapted well to life with one hand, so I don’t find myself needing my prosthetic. However, I find the technology fascinating, and enjoy experimenting with it!”

Lily and Charlie
Photo by Amy Cortez

Chronicling her Adventures
Luckily for Lily’s 30,000-plus Instagram followers, she’s been sharing her adventures online. From afternoons spent hand grazing to time in the ring, Lily, who’s been known to coin herself on Instagram as “amp-tastic,” chronicles her passion for horses through photographs of her experiences.

“All the time, I’ll just happen to get a cute picture of Charlie and I’ll post about how cute he is and how much I love him,” she said of her channel, which almost exclusively features photos of the Paint gelding.

But her Instagram account is much more than fan service for fellow Paint enthusiasts. It’s also the platform she uses as an ambassador for US Equestrian’s “Discover the Joy of Horse Sports” campaign — in which social-savvy ambassadors promote the reasons they love the sport. Needless to say, the star of Lily’s page, Charlie, tops her list.

Lily giving Charlie a pat while competing at their first show together.

Para-Goals
When asked about the future and whether the Para-Olympics might be on the docket, Lily burst out laughing. “The Para-Olympics would be a dream, but I’m not to that level yet and Charlie isn’t yet either.”

What she does plan on pursuing, however, is riding on a college team and one day becoming a para-equestrian trainer. “Even if I didn’t have the same disability as someone, I might be able to relate more with them,” she said.

But for now, she’ll simply enjoy the pleasures of riding and the exhilaration of advancing one step at a time because, amputee or not, horses are life for Lily Rhodes — and nothing can take that joy away from her.

Photos by Kelly Fonk, unless noted otherwise

 

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Tagged under: dani moritz, dressage, Lily Rhodes, para-dressage, us equestrian ambassador

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Breeding season is underway at Iron Spring Farm! W Breeding season is underway at Iron Spring Farm! We're proud to offer exceptional modern Sporthorse stallions, with wonderful temperaments and quality gaits to North American breeders.
 
Among our stallions are Cum Laude and Kaiman. Cum Laude (Apache x Weltmeyer) is a winning FEI horse and sire of quality dressage horses, breed show champions, and offspring scoring 9.0s on gaits.
 
Kaiman (Dark Pleasure x Gribaldi) earned high scores at his stallion testing and in the young horse classes. He's also the sire of a Licensed Oldenburg stallion. Kaiman's first North American foal crop is arriving now and they are gorgeous!
 
If you're looking for top international bloodlines please check out our 2023 stallion collection, now available fresh, frozen, and by the dose.

Among our stallions are Cum Laude and Kaiman. Cum Laude (Apache x Weltmeyer) is a winning FEI horse and sire of quality dressage horses, breed show champions, and offspring scoring 9.0s on gaits.

Breeding season is underway at Iron Spring Farm! We're proud to offer exceptional modern Sporthorse stallions, with wonderful temperaments and quality gaits to North American breeders.

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@iron_spring_farm 

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❗️George Williams column❗️ The FEI World ❗️George Williams column❗️
The FEI World Cup Final in Omaha is coming up quickly. That means that it’s starting to heat 
up as the end of the qualifying period for both the Western European League (WEL) and the 
North American League (NAL) nears. I started to write this column before the Amsterdam CDI- W, and I was using the FEI Ranking List from January 15 as a reference. As I sit down to finish 
my column, I’m now looking at the results from Amsterdam. While the list of the top contenders 
for the WEL hasn’t changed, they’re definitely moving around on the ranking list. The WEL has 
three more legs, as they’re referred to: Neumünster February 16–19, Goteborg February 23–26, 
and ’s-Hertogenbosch March 9–12, and they could change things dramatically.
Looking at the top 12 athletes from the WEL as they were ranked on January 15, there are five 
from Germany, three from the Netherlands and one each from Great Britain, Denmark

➡️Read Georges's full column by clicking the link in our bio, and never miss an article by subscribing to Sidelines Magazine 🦄 

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Lisa Goldman-Smolen and Ivaro N strike gold in Gre Lisa Goldman-Smolen and Ivaro N strike gold in Great American $300,000 Grand Prix at HITS Ocala!! 🏆🥇

Crowds filled the stands at the HITS Ocala Grand Prix Ring on Sunday afternoon to watch the world’s top athletes compete in the Great American $300,000 Grand Prix. The day concluded with a thrilling five-horse jump-off featuring athletes 
representing four countries. In the end, it was Lisa Goldman-Smolen (USA) and Ivaro N who produced the only double clear effort of the day, claiming one of the biggest wins of her career. Scott Keach (AUS) and Noble De La Chapelle earned the second-place prize with the fastest 4-fault jump-off, while Aaron Vale (USA) and Obi Wan placed third as the day’s pathfinders.

“I'm still on cloud nine, I still can't believe it – I’ve used up all my luck for the year,” smiled Goldman-Smolen after her win. “I've been knocking on the door a long time in these bigger classes. I am so proud of my horse – he gave every ounce of effort.”

Sunday’s Great American $300,000 Grand Prix marked the conclusion of the 2023 HITS Ocala circuit. HITS CCO Joe Norick concluded, “We are so excited about the new HITS, with 2023 as the launch. New footing, many new arenas here, and a lot of our facilities across America are getting a lot of love and new footing. Our partnerships with Worldly Martin and others across America including our footing leader Bart Poles overseeing our operations – it really makes a big difference for us. Today is about Ocala and these three riders sitting next to me who supported us this entire winter. We want to be a proud destination for our exhibitors and our friends. We know we have to provide them a beautiful showplace to work from that's horseman friendly, and that's our go goal. 

Congratulations to all of the riders, horses, owners, and groom who participated in this prestigious class!!! 🎉
📸 @esi_photography 
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It's #STUDSunday and today's featured stallion is. It's #STUDSunday and today's featured stallion is...

 ✨PF'S DIAMO BLUE✨
Diarado-Diamant de Semilly- Chacco Blue
17.0hh, Oldenburg International Hunter Derby/ Jumper Stallion
An outstanding Pedigree- Chacco Blue and Diamant de Semilly
WBFSH/ Rolex top ranking Jumping Sires 2017 thru 2022
Standing at Ryan Pedigo Sport Horses, in California

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You can find ALL of the stallions featured towards the back of the magazine in the equestrian gallery. Keep a look out EVERY Sunday for a new handsome STUD muffin🧁 and don't forget to subscribe to get your very own edition of Sidelines Magazine, the magazine for horse people, about horse people 🦄

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#stallion #horse #horses #horsesofinstagram #equestrian #equine #dressage #pferd #equestrianlife #mare #hengst #horseriding #instahorse #cheval #pferde #equinephotography #horselove #dressagehorse #pony #horselover #caballo #foal #quarterhorse #aqha #arabianhorse #sidelinesmagazine
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