SIGN IN YOUR ACCOUNT TO HAVE ACCESS TO DIFFERENT FEATURES

FORGOT YOUR PASSWORD?

FORGOT YOUR DETAILS?

AAH, WAIT, I REMEMBER NOW!

Sidelines MagazineSidelines Magazine

  • LOGIN
  • Home
  • Current Issue
  • Subscriptions
    • Flipbook
    • Subscribe Options
    • Order Individual & Back Issues
  • Podcast
  • Marketplace
    • Business Ads
    • Directories
      • Barns, Farms, Trainers & Clubs
      • Equestrian Services
      • Real Estate
      • Stallions
      • Tack & Feed Stores
    • Classifieds
    • Horse Trailers for Sale
  • Advertise
  • Blogs
    • Show World
    • What’s Happenin’
  • Partners
  • Contacts
    • Contacts
    • Employment
1
Sunday, November 04 2018 / Published in Weekly Feature

Carli Kirsch: Shining Bright in the Heart of Texas

Carli Kirsch and Casco

By Darlene Ricker

Portraits by Kristie Nichols

If you go to North Houston Horse Park in Houston, Texas, most days you can expect the unexpected. Everything looks the way it would at a top-notch equestrian facility like this, but what you hear in the arena can be surprising — unless you know trainer and grand prix show jumper Carli Kirsch.

On a recent day, she stood in the middle of the arena watching a student warming up for a lesson. Carli called out to her, “Knock, knock.”

Carli describes Casco as her top gun and love of her life. “My unicorn,” she said.

The student looked at her quizzically. After a long pause she came back with the standard response: “Who’s there?”

“Snow.”

“Snow who?”

“Snow use. The horse doesn’t understand what you’re asking for.”

They laughed and the lesson began. While deeply serious about horsemanship, training and competing, Carli has found that moments of levity can engage a student on a different level.

Starting With Support

“You don’t have to be a drill sergeant about things. It can’t be drill after drill after drill,” Carli said. “People don’t just come into my arena and I say, ‘Okay, pick up your irons and let’s go do a couple laps.’ As their coach and mentor, I ask things like how their day was, things that show I genuinely care about them and their horse. Then we get down to the work.”

Carli, 32, learned early on the importance of a supportive atmosphere. When she was 14 or 15 and a working student, a group from the barn went to watch the Queen Elizabeth II Cup, which is part of the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup tour.

“I’m a kid in awe watching my idols and say, ‘I just can’t wait to be here some day and jump a grand prix!’ Everyone — even my trainer — turned and looked at me. They laughed and someone said, ‘You? A grand prix rider? Yeah, right. Your mother will never buy you a grand prix horse.’”

“I was so broken-hearted,” Carli said. “That night I called my mother in tears and said, ‘Mom, I love this sport with all my heart, and they said I’ll never be a grand prix rider.’ My mom told me to not let anything or anyone stop me from going after my dream. She believed in me and has been there every step of the way.”

Looking back, Carli sees the irony. “You know what? Those kids were right about one thing,” she said. “My mom never bought me a grand prix horse. I had to make it. Between my determination, my mom’s knowledge and skill and our teamwork, it happened. We did it together.”

Her mother, Melany Kirsch, an accomplished rider and trainer, is still Carli’s coach and greatest supporter. Melany acquired North Houston Horse Park when her daughter was 2, and they manage it together. She may not have bought Carli a grand prix horse, but, Carli said, her mother made it happen for her.

Carli and Bella at HIPICO
Photo by Mary Neiberg

Her grand prix horse-to-be came to her 12 years ago in an unexpected way. Carli was in Europe with friends helping them try sales horses. She ended up finding what she wasn’t looking for.

“I had no intention of buying a horse because I was in no position to buy a horse whatsoever,” she said. Someone suggested that just for kicks, she should she sit on Casco, a 17.2-hand grey Holsteiner that had 30 days under saddle.

Not long into the ride, Carli realized, “’Oh my gosh, when they say scope, this is what they mean!’ I never understood scope until I felt it.” Her next thought was, I have to have this horse! How do I make it happen? Do I have to sell a kidney?

No, she just had to call Melany. Before she got home from Germany, Carli said, “My mom had sold my car and one of my horses. She did what she needed to do to make it happen.”

Casco, Carli says, has “the heart of a lion. He’s like a Navy Seal: fearless and brave. He’s not the most careful horse, and he might not always jump clean, but he always tries for me. If I said, ‘Let’s go jump through this ring of fire with alligators on one side and sharks on the other,’ he’s going to say, ‘Okay, Mom, let’s go!’”

New Meaning of ‘Win’

It wasn’t always that way, however. Shortly after she got Casco, Carli found out he was “a giant chicken” that was afraid of his own shadow.

“I’ve shed more tears with Casco than probably any other horse ever. I had all these hopes and dreams of him being this big grand prix horse, and instead I had a monster chicken,” she said. “It was impossible to jump around even a meter-10 class on him. He was scared of the world.”

At Casco’s first horse show, Carli said, “He seriously thought he was in outer space. He was such a train wreck.”

Carli, known for her great sense of humor and happy outlook on life, shares a moment of joy with Casco.

Things changed with patience and perseverance. “If you work hard and do right by your horse, he’ll learn to trust you and enjoy his job,” she added.

Their long and winding road together has shaped Carli’s perspective on winning. Everything came into focus at the Del Mar International Horse Show on what she calls the best day of her life, and she even remembers the date: October 22, 2016. “We didn’t win the class. We had five rails down, but we accomplished what we went there to achieve.”

The goal was to make the cut to ride in the World Cup class/qualifer. “Casco went in and jumped that meter-60 class. He did it!” Carli said. “After the class, I was making such a hot fuss about him; you would have thought I had won the Olympic gold. Casco gave 110 percent, and he gets the gold medal for that.”

Still, she acknowledges that winning is a big motivator. “If you’re competing in this sport, you love to win. Winning really is a great feeling, but it isn’t everything,” she said. “You can have other ‘wins.’ Sometimes that means just going double clean and you don’t win, but you’re happy with that. That’s what keeps you going in this sport. If you think ‘win-win-win,’ things get clouded, and sometimes you put too much pressure on yourself. You need to stay focused on the sport and doing your best. Do right by your horse, never give up and you’ll get there.”

Carli admires the perseverance of every top competitor in the sport, calling them all her idols — but particularly Nick Skelton. “I think Nick Skelton is my spirit animal,” she said, suppressing a laugh. “I want to grow up and be Nick Skelton. He’s amazing. Two years ago, he finally won his individual gold medal in his late 50s. It was his seventh Olympic Games. Talk about determination!”

Carli at the Ride and Drive in HIPICO on her late, and much-loved horse, Bella.
Photo by Mary Neiberg

With a Little Luck

In addition to campaigning Casco, Carli is bringing along two young horses, Casino and Mist, 5 and 7, respectively. She says Mist, her mother’s horse, is probably her most talented mount. Casino is special: He is Casco’s cousin. He came to her as a yearling and is now starting to jump a meter-20 and -25.

“He’s so much like Casco and so closely related,” Carli said. “That’s why we got him in the first place.” But how he came to her was a complete fluke.

One day she was gushing over Casco and said to her mother and some friends, “I’m never going to be able to have another Casco. He’s my once-in-a-lifetime horse.” But they weren’t about to let that happen. One of them went online and started typing in Casco’s bloodlines, and Casino came up.

“They found him! He was in the U.S. and for sale. I couldn’t pass the opportunity by,” said Carli, who realized there was no guarantee he would be like Casco. “Sometimes you’ve got to be the risk taker. When you take the risk and it works out, you get to be the hero of the day. And if not, you can own the mistake and say, ‘live and learn.’”

Mistakes, she says, are a big part of the learning curve. “Nobody means to make mistakes. Anytime we get on the back of a horse, we want it to be a good day. That’s why we ride. But horses are not machines. They’re like us; they have good days and bad days. We have to take something from the bad days and let it help us better our skills.”

Still, luck remains a wild card. “Sometimes I come out of the arena thinking, ‘Well, that wasn’t very pretty, but it worked. Maybe I got a little lucky,’” Carli said. “This sport has a lot to do with luck sometimes. You have to stay humble. If you don’t, this sport will do it for you.”

For more information visit nhoustonhorsepark.com

Photos by Kristie Nichols, moonfyrephotography.com, unless noted otherwise

Double D Trailers Info

Share this page:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
Tagged under: Carli Kirsch, Darlene Ricker, houston, kristie nichols, north houston horse park, show jumping

What you can read next

Mary Helen Shaughnessy Knows WIHS From the Ground Up
Polocrosse: King of the One-Horse Sports
Talking About Faith, Books, Horses and Being Married to “Larry, the Cable Guy”

Download Sidelines Digital now from your favorite app store!

Sidelines Magazine - Apple store   Sidelines Magazine - Google Play store   Sidelines Magazine - Amazon store
Update iOS app. Re-download Google Play and Amazon app.

Follow on Instagram!

sidelines_magazine

Sidelines Magazine
Another year is here and 2023 is looking to be an Another year is here and 2023 is looking to be an exciting year for dressage. Because the Paris Olympics are in 2024, we will have the Pan American Games and the European Championships in early September in Riesenbeck, Germany. These two important competitions will determine what other nations will qualify to send a dressage team to the Palace of Versailles.

Read George Williams's take on the exciting year of dressage shows ahead at the link in our bio!

📸 Ruby Tevis #dressage #equestrian #horse #horses #horsesofinstagram #dressagehorse #equestrianlife #showjumping #horseriding #equine #pony #pferd #instahorse #dressur #horselove #eventing #equestrianstyle #cheval #dressagerider #horselife #horselover #pferde #love #riding #jumping #pferdeliebe #horseofinstagram #horsebackriding #paard #dressurpferd
"One day at a driving show, a young man yelled to "One day at a driving show, a young man yelled to me, 'Hey lady, I really like your pony!' The young man was John, and we became a couple and got married," said Margaret Almond of Loafers Lodge.

"In 1985, we registered the Loafers Lodge prefix with the Welsh Pony and Cob Society of America. We hope to continue to breed quality Welsh ponies for all disciplines," Margaret said.

Get to know Margaret and John and their achievements which include being USEF Pony Hunter breeders for many years and breeding multiple winners at Pony Finals, and producing multiple Lifetime Achievement Award winners with the Welsh Pony Cob Society of America. 

Link in bio!

📸 Janice Thompson, Kathryn Southard #horse #horses #horsesofinstagram #equestrian #horseriding #equine #pony #pferd #equestrianlife #horselove #dressage #horselover #instahorse #love #cheval #showjumping #horselife #photography #nature #pferde #horseofinstagram #caballo #riding #horsebackriding #pferdeliebe #caballos #horsepower #horsephotography #instagram #sidelinesmagazine
In dressage and in life, the greatest partnerships In dressage and in life, the greatest partnerships involve a delicate balance of chemistry, passion, sacrifice and respect, and for Lee and Sarah Tubman, that balance has become a way of life. The couple, who operate out of Jeff and Jessica Friedrich’s Donato Farms in Wellington, Florida, boast a long list of individual accomplishments. 

Lee is a highly respected FEI four-star judge, Grand Prix rider and coach whose students have been victorious at small and large tour competitions and Young Rider championships. Sarah’s achievements include an individual dressage gold medal from the 2019 Pan Am Games aboard Summit Farm’s First Apple, with whom she competed successfully in Europe this past summer and was short listed for the 2022 World Equestrian Games. 

Discover the Tubmans' love story down centerline at the link in our bio!

📸 Kristen Scott-Crocker #dressage #equestrian #horse #horses #horsesofinstagram #dressagehorse #equestrianlife #showjumping #horseriding #equine #pony #pferd #instahorse #dressur #horselove #eventing #equestrianstyle #cheval #dressagerider #horselife #horselover #pferde #love #riding #jumping #pferdeliebe #horseofinstagram #horsebackriding #sidelinesmagazine
"Craig and I have been involved in the horse indus "Craig and I have been involved in the horse industry our entire lives," says Patty Larson of Rivervale Farm in Nisland, South Dakota. 

"Our program is based on crossing the Appaloosa stallion BJC Asher Seven with warmblood mares," she said. "Our warmblood mares are mostly daughters of Meisterwind (Trakehner) and Lion King (Hanoverian). Asher has no stock horse breeding, he is Foundation Appaloosa and Thoroughbred. He is 16.3-hands and wears a size 2 shoe. He has several offspring competing in eventing and is also the sire of the Appaloosa Horse Club National Champion 50-mile Endurance Horse RF Abstract, ridden by Jeremy Reynolds. We’ve also produced a few Appaloosa Sport Horses by our warmblood stallion Lion King, out of Appaloosa mares. One of those, RF Let’s Tell Secrets, is the 2022 USDF All Breeds ApHC Champion at Training Level."

Get to know Craig and Patty and their goal to produce the best appaloosa sport horses at the link in our bio!

#appaloosa #horse #horsesofinstagram #horses #appaloosasofinstagram #appaloosahorse #equestrian #painthorse #pony #cavalo #eventer #horseriding #eventing #appaloosas #fazenda #quarterhorse #equine #pferd #vaquejada #appaloosalove #equestrianlife #cavalgada #aphc #instahorse #foal #dressage #caballo #sporthorse #sidelinesmagazine
Load More... Follow on Instagram

From Our Classifieds Ads

  • SOUTHWEST RANCHES EQUINE INSURANCE AGENCY
    Florida’s Premier Equine Insurance Agency All Major Equine Insurance Carriers Personal Service, Great Rates 954-331-8133/Fax 888-331-5717 southwestranchesinsurance.com

    [Read more]

  • NANCY BATCHELOR
    Compass Florida LLC Fellow Equestrian; 21 Years of RE Experience Miami - Ft. Lauderdale Specialist M: 305-903-2850 www.nancybatchelor.com

    [Read more]

Sidelines Articles by Email

Subscribe to Sidelines Magazine Articles by Email

RSS Sidelines Blogs: What’s Happenin’

  • Longines Global Champions Tour of New York Returns to Governors Island
  • A Paris Horse Adventure: Saut Hermes 2022
  • Better Business with Malvern Bank: Michael Meller’s Secrets to Success

RSS Sidelines Blogs: Show World

  • Jung Ends as He Began — On Top — at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by MARS EQUESTRIAN™
  • ROLEX TESTIMONEE DANIEL DEUSSER WINS ROLEX GRAND PRIX AT 2022 DUTCH MASTERS
  • STABLE VIEW IN AIKEN POSTPONING ‘A’ RATED $400,000 H/J CHALLENGE SERIES DUE TO RESTRICTIVE MILEAGE RULE

Category

Recent Posts

  • Vanessa Whitell: Finding the Feeling Through Equine Art

    By Shya Beth What sets dressage rider and artis...
  • A Tale of Two Kiwis: The Wordley Martin Story

    By Amanda Picciotto Feitosa Getting to the top ...
  • Unbridled With Mary Choate

    By Ruby Tevis Mary Choate’s impact within the h...
  • Making Mistakes Is Part of Riding

    By Rob Jacobs I remind my students that human e...
  • The Challenges of Dressage Judging in Eventing 

    By Liz Halliday-Sharp The dressage phase in eve...

Copyright © 1987 - 2021 Sidelines Magazine
Privacy Policy · Returns & Refunds Policy · Hosting by Lucian Web Service
· Login

TOP
Get the Sidelines Scoop — your weekly look behind the scenes.Sign me up!