By Kimberly Gatto
Portraits by kristiescholten.org
Madelyn “Maddie” Houser is no stranger to heartache. Within the past year, the FEI dressage rider had to say goodbye to not one but three special horses in her life. “There is a saying that horses will never break your heart, but that is not entirely true,” Maddie said. “When you have to say goodbye to a horse that you love, that is indeed heartbreaking.”
While her grief has been profound at times, Maddie has worked hard to focus on the positive. In memory of her late horse Westco Blue Scottie, aka Blue, she has developed a series of dressage clinics for non-traditional breeds, specifically, Quarter Horses. The response has been overwhelmingly encouraging, with plans for sponsoring regional high-score Quarter Horse awards to come.
Additionally, by sharing the ups and downs of her equestrian journey through her online social media platform, The Blonde & The Bay, Maddie has become an inspiration to others. “My hope is that when someone comes to my account, they leave feeling a bit better about themselves,” she said.
Together with her husband, Barrett—an accomplished team roper—Maddie operates Houser Performance Horses in Boerne, Texas. In addition, both husband and wife work as real estate agents at Kuper Sotheby’s International Realty. “We definitely like to keep busy,” Maddie said.
Early Years
Born in Manhattan, New York, Maddie first began riding at the tender age of 3 under the watchful eye of her mother, Elizabeth. “My mom passed her deep love of horses on to me,” Maddie said. “One of my earliest memories is competing in the leadline class at the 1997 and 1998 Hampton Classic Horse Shows.”
After Maddie’s parents divorced when she was 5 years old, the little girl and her mother left New York for Elizabeth’s home state of Texas. “As soon as we settled in San Antonio, my mom enrolled me in a lesson program at a local hunter-jumper barn,” Maddie said. A couple of years later, Maddie became the proud owner of a strawberry roan Welsh pony named Brightwood.
Like most ponies, Brightwood was full of spunk and attitude. “That pony really taught me how to ride—especially how to stay on,” Maddie said. “I was never really a gifted hunter or jumper rider, but it’s what I grew up knowing.” Realizing this, her mom suggested that Maddie join her in learning dressage.
“I was a stubborn kid and threw a huge fit at the thought of it because, as a typical 12 year old, I saw dressage as boring,” Maddie said. “But after my first dressage lesson, I was completely hooked and never looked back. Of course, my mom had the last laugh.”
As the years passed, Maddie honed her skills by riding whatever mounts were available to her, including her mom’s Trakehner, Henry J. In 2010, she began lessons with Dutch dressage trainer Eva Oldenbroek. “At that point, I didn’t even know what a half halt was,” Maddie said. “Riding with Eva completely changed my life.”
Under Eva’s tutelage, Maddie was paired with Clovis, a 22-year-old schoolmaster she leased for the next couple of years. During this time, she earned her USDF Bronze medal while still a Junior rider. “Clovis was such a great horse. He taught me so much while challenging me in new, exciting ways,” Maddie said. “Without him, I never would have learned the feel or the biomechanics of the more advanced exercises.”
Overcoming Setbacks
After Clovis went on to his new owner in New York, Maddie found herself ready to take the next step in her dressage career. With the help of her family, she was able to purchase a seasoned Junior/Young Riders horse. Though highly talented, the gelding could be quirky. “During our first ride after he arrived in Texas, he dropped his shoulder and dumped me right in the middle of the ring,” Maddie said. “He did have a ton of buttons, which was a huge learning curve, yet we had some great shows during that first season—scoring over 70% at Third and Fourth Level.”
At their second show together, however, a cold front came through, causing the gelding to be especially energetic. “I needed one more score at Fourth Level toward my Silver medal,” Maddie said. “My trainer warmed him up and mentioned he felt a bit tight in the back, but encouraged me to allow him to stretch before going into the show ring.” Maddie didn’t even make it around the warm-up arena once before the horse dropped his shoulder and launched her again. Maddie landed hard on her hip, but also suffered a minor head injury as the horse galloped frantically around the show grounds. While Maddie was later cleared by medical personnel to resume riding, she found that this incident had left her with a significant amount of fear.
“I think I only rode three times that month after my fall,” Maddie said. “My horse was beginning to sense my anxiety, and it kept intensifying each day. My fear reached a point where Eva had to lead me around so I could attempt to get my confidence back.”
In addition to the newfound fear, Maddie found herself the object of social media bullying by several teenaged competitors and their moms regarding her riding abilities. “My belief in myself fell to an all-time low,” Maddie said. “Reading such harsh words was horrible, especially as a teenager myself. We took my horse home, and our partnership did not improve. After another confidence-shaking situation, my family and I decided it was best to part ways with the gelding.”
Plagued by feelings of anxiety and low self-worth, Maddie decided to visit dear friends who owned a farm in Southern California. While she wasn’t necessarily searching for another horse at that time, Maddie became totally smitten with a gorgeous KWPN mare that stood in the crossties of W Farms on her first morning at the barn. “She was so lovely—a blood bay with a striking blaze and hind socks. When I had the chance to swing a leg over her back, I felt this instant wave of calm,” Maddie said. “I can still remember that first moment when I put my hand on her neck and she let out the sweetest sigh.”
The mare, Ulfilia DG—known around the barn as Leah—turned out to be the perfect match for Maddie. “We had our first lesson and my fear just melted; it was indescribable,” Maddie said. “Saying goodbye to Leah when it was time to return to Texas was gut wrenching. But one month later, with the amazing support of my family, Leah was on the trailer heading to her new home with me.”
Once Leah arrived in Texas, Maddie was disappointed to find that her old fears had returned with a vengeance. “I knew Leah was not a dangerous horse; in fact, she was so patient that you could ride her into battle. Yet I was still terribly afraid that something bad would inevitably happen,” Maddie said. “So, we started out very slowly—trotting a circle while my mom stood in the middle was a huge milestone. I didn’t have a structured training program at that time; my main goal was to learn to trust Leah and myself. My mom was so valuable in helping me to regain my confidence in the saddle. Without her, I wouldn’t still be riding.”
Four years later the pair won their regional championships at Intermediate I. After earning her USDF Silver medal, Maddie competed in her first CDI, then completed her first FEI freestyle. Maddie and Leah also competed at the US Dressage Finals in 2018.
The true test came in 2019 when Maddie was to compete in the Prix St. Georges Final at the Region 9 Dressage Championships—in the same arena where she had been thrown years before. “I was apprehensive going into my test, and it became a challenge not to relive those traumatic moments in my head. But Leah was there for me like she always is, and I was able to push through to overcome that fear. We scored a personal best and finished third in a very competitive class, earning us another invitation to the US Dressage Finals. I cried and sobbed into her mane as we returned to our stalls; it was just the most rewarding feeling for me to conquer that fear. Leah is responsible for restoring my riding confidence.”
A New Journey
After Leah’s well-earned retirement, Maddie was in search of another horse. “I didn’t have the funds for another FEI horse, so I figured I’d develop my own,” Maddie said. “I had always loved Quarter Horses; since my husband competes in team roping, I was familiar with them and how most have very good brains. Barrett and I had recently married, and I was living hours away from my trainer. I wanted a horse that I could feel comfortable with while on my own at home.”
In April 2021, Maddie purchased a 9-year-old Quarter Horse named Knight Ryde, aka Ryder. “He had a very good brain and three nice gaits,” Maddie said. “While teaching him to use his body for dressage was extremely challenging, I kept working at it and developing our connection. Our first show was rough—we barely broke 60% at Training Level—but the following year, everything started falling into place and we qualified for Training Level regionals. I was so proud of him! Dressage did not come as easy to him but he really gave me his heart.”
Within two years, the former Western pleasure horse was schooling Third Level movements and even schooling pieces of the FEI work. Maddie could not have been more pleased, or pleasantly surprised. Unfortunately, Ryder soon began showing symptoms of lameness and developed an abscess that took months to heal. While slowly bringing him back into work, Maddie could tell something wasn’t right and after months of diagnostics, a bone scan revealed a bone spur and significant arthritis.
“I did a lot of soul searching and I knew in my heart that the upper level dressage work would be too much for him,” Maddie said. “But he loved having a job, and I was lucky to find an amazing home for Ryder with close friends and their young son at their family farm. It really was a perfect situation for him, but it was so hard for me to let him go. It was even worse because Barrett and I were mourning the loss of our beloved horse Smoke at that same time. Even though Ryder hadn’t died, it was still a loss for me—I was mourning our partnership, our goals and our ambitions. It was so difficult to say goodbye to two special horses back-to-back, with no time to grieve in between. I was devastated, and a bit shocked.”
Photo courtesy of Madelyn Houser
At that time, Maddie’s husband gifted her with his beloved blue roan roping horse. “Blue was 18 with a lot of life left in him, though ready to slow down from the roping pen,” Maddie said. “A Hancock-bred Quarter Horse, Blue showed exceptional talent for dressage and had an incredible brain to boot. As soon as I took over the ride on him, we developed an irreplaceable bond.”
Maddie did all of the dressage training with Blue on her own from home with the occasional virtual lesson. After working together all winter, Maddie and Blue made their competition debut at Training Level in May of 2024, earning scores of 69% and 71% their first time out. “To say we were happy and proud of Blue was an understatement. Barrett and I both became so emotional after the tests,” Maddie said. “Blue was a complete dream, and proved how versatile the Quarter Horse breed can be. I couldn’t have asked for anything better. I was absolutely on cloud nine.”
Two weeks later, Maddie went out to feed and noticed that Blue had not finished his dinner. The days that followed involved emergency colic surgery, and Blue was stable for a week before things took a turn for the worse with bacterial infections. “Blue was in the ICU for 45 days,” Maddie said. “We were so hopeful that he would pull through. The medical expenses were overwhelming, but we were willing to do whatever it took to save him even if it meant stretching ourselves thin. He was that special—and Blue fought so hard.”
On July 8, Maddie received the call she and Barrett had been dreading. Blue’s infection had spread and there was nothing else the Housers or medical staff could do. “On July 9, Barrett and I made the decision to say goodbye to Blue,” Maddie said. “This was our nightmare come true. Blue had become so much more than just a horse to us. He was an integral part of our family; a true blessing in our lives.”
The Housers were not the only ones who had come to love Blue. Through Maddie’s Instagram platform, The Blonde & The Bay, Blue had gained thousands of followers, many of whom offered well wishes and contributed to help offset the horse’s medical fees. “It was truly humbling,” Maddie said. “So many people loved this horse; he had such a positive effect on people. I called him ‘the people’s horse.’
Lessons Learned
In memory of Blue, Maddie has chosen to give back to the equine community. “I have become an advocate for Quarter Horses. I want to show people how much these horses can do,” she said. As part of that role, Maddie organizes and hosts dressage clinics specifically geared toward Quarter Horses and other stock breeds, who are not traditionally thought of as upper-level dressage mounts. The response has been extremely positive. “I love to encourage others so that they can fulfill their dressage goals with stock breeds,” Maddie said. “I want them to know that their journey doesn’t have to look the same as everyone else’s in order to be successful. Success looks different for each of us. That’s the beauty of equestrian sport.”
While her journey has not been easy, Maddie feels that she has learned important lessons about life, love and the enduring power of the horse-human bond over this past year. “I’ll never understand why bad things happen to good people, or why bad things happen to the best horses,” she said. “Allowing ourselves to fully feel the rollercoaster of emotions that tie into all aspects of loss is necessary. Though the cards I have been dealt are not ideal, they also don’t define who I am as an equestrian. Each loss is a stepping stone in my journey as I continue my connection with my horses.”
Maddie also shares her experiences through The Blonde & The Bay, which started in 2015 to share her journey with Leah but expanded into her own lifestyle brand. “My goal for my page was to create an inclusive community of like-minded equestrians while sharing relatable insights from my centerlines,” she said. “But, as I talked about my experiences with taking an ‘untraditional route’ in dressage and the losses of Ryder, Smoke and Blue, it became so much more than that. My followers have turned into my friends.
“Each time I see a comment on The Blonde & The Bay or receive a message from someone who says that my experiences have helped them to move forward or made them feel understood, it further reminds me of the importance in sharing my journey online,” Maddie continued. “I want them to realize that they are not alone: that I have their back.
“And someday—when the time is right—I’d like to find another Quarter Horse to help me fulfill my own dreams; I am sure Blue would want that for me.”
Follow Maddie on Instagram @theblondeandthebay_ or visit theblondeandthebay.com
Photos by Kristie Scholten, kristiescholten.org, unless noted otherwise
