By Britney Grover
Portraits by Sophia Donohue
Caroline Passarelli’s name frequented the top of pony leaderboards throughout her Junior years. Now, she’s back at the pony ring—this time, as a trainer with Heritage Farm. “My first few big shows when I was a kid, I was just in awe of the top pony kids and the top trainers. I could have watched them all day,” Caroline said. “I was truly in awe. The fact that I get to be a part of such a well-established team now is a real dream come true. I hope I can inspire another little kid coming to the shows for the first time.”
While other kids gravitated toward the jumper ring as they got older, Caroline’s heart has always been with the hunters. “It was just something I knew I loved right away,” she said. “I’ve always had a fascination with getting to watch a beautiful hunter round, knowing how much finesse goes into producing the result you’re seeing in the ring, all while making it look effortless. The hunters are such an art to me and I love nothing more than riding them and watching them. I still get chills when I ride a really good one or get to stand ring-side and observe the best of the sport. I don’t think that will ever change.”
Caroline hasn’t wavered in her passion since she first decided, at 6 years old, that she wanted to be a professional. “There isn’t another thing in the world I’d rather be doing,” she said. “The days are long—so long. But when the day ends and I’m finishing off a horse in the quiet barn, I know it’s all worth it. The horses are my family. I speak their language. I couldn’t live a life without them.”
Ponies & Pearl
Caroline’s early start on horses was thanks to her family: Her mother was a first-generation equestrian and her two older sisters began riding early, showed and worked in the industry. Caroline’s been around horses from the time she came home from the hospital as a newborn, and the family nurtured Caroline’s love for ponies, without pushing. But she didn’t need any. She spent her childhood riding around their family farm and learning horse care under her mother’s and sisters’ tutelage. By the time she was 9 years old, Caroline knew how to bandage and body clip. “It was such a magical experience and I wouldn’t change a minute of it,” she said. “I was a bit of a professional from the minute I started. I took it all so seriously, even as a Short Stirrup kid. It meant everything to me.”
Caroline got her first—and only—hunter pony when she was 9 years old: Little Black Pearl, or Pearl. Pearl was 17 and had developed a reputation as “a bit of a difficult pony” in her small pony career, ending up with Caroline after scaring her young rider. “Pearl is a true testament to how important it is to find your teammate,” Caroline said. “From the moment I sat on her, I worshiped the ground she walked on. She was my soulmate, and I like to think she loved me just as much. We were just an immediate team; a partnership that doesn’t just happen with every animal.”
Pearl’s reputation wasn’t necessarily faulty; Caroline just didn’t mind the unpredictability. Caroline’s unbothered attitude—along with her impressive work ethic—was something trainer Robin Greenwood noticed right away: If Pearl bolted, Caroline just laughed. “What started as shipping Pearl in for a few lessons a week at Robin’s Grand Central Farm in North Salem, New York, blossomed into a lifelong relationship that changed the trajectory of my riding career,” Caroline said. “While Pearl was the only pony of my own, Robin mounted me on so many quality green ponies and really let me assist in their development from barely broke all the way to the show ring.”
When Robin relocated her business to Southern Pines, North Carolina, Caroline and Pearl went, too. Pearl lived at the farm and Caroline traveled down for weeks at a time, thanks to switching to homeschooling in fifth grade. While there, Caroline lived with Robin and her family, becoming like a second daughter to them—and they like a second family to her.
In the beginning, Caroline may have seen it as a disadvantage that she only had one pony, but her time with Robin changed her perspective. “I relied heavily on catch rides throughout my Junior career, which I now believe significantly contributed to my success in the show ring,” Caroline said. “The more opportunities I had to ride unfamiliar ponies or horses, the more comfortable I got at learning to adapt quickly to their style and being able to deliver a winning round.”
Of course, being a young catch rider also came with challenges: Caroline had to learn how to work through the immense pressure she put on herself, worrying about disappointing trainers or owners standing at the in-gate. “I’m not sure people realize how much pressure these young catch riders often have put on them,” she said. “I remember walking into the ring on a top small pony catch ride at Washington, and jumping the wrong first jump. It was crushing! Luckily I was able to tackle my nerves and learned how to settle into each ride, take a deep breath and just ride the pony underneath me in that moment.”
Developing Confidence
Caroline rode several of Robin’s homebred ponies with great success in her four years at Grand Central, culminating in her final year of showing small ponies in 2014. But her time with Pearl meant the most to Caroline. “She grew with me; as I was learning the ropes, she kept me safe and always did her job, and as I began to advance, she stepped up to the plate every single time,” she said. “Her personality was second to none—even after four years of competing together, she could still surprise me by bolting in the under saddle.”
Pearl was 21 years old when she and Caroline finished their career together by winning the stake class at Devon, the WIHS Pony Equitation Final and, most memorably, the Small Pony Championship at Harrisburg. “That whole weekend still feels like a fairytale to me,” Caroline said. “I went into the show knowing my time competing with Pearl was coming to a bittersweet end, and I just remember wanting to put all the pieces together. We ended up winning both jumping classes the first day, which felt completely surreal at the time. That was my first major championship at a final, and I think it lit a fire under me to keep working at this and gave me the confidence to know I belonged there.”
Caroline needed that confidence and drive as she graduated from the small ponies and moved to train with Andre Dignelli and Patricia Griffith at Heritage Farm in Katonah, New York, closer to home. “When I started at Heritage, I really felt like a little fish in a big pond,” Caroline admitted. “So many of the customers had a string of incredible animals; I only ever had one horse of my own. I relied solely on the generosity of riding horses that belonged to Andre or other professional contacts of his. However, I quickly realized that what really mattered to Andre and Patricia and the rest of the team was a student’s drive and dedication. They give 110% to every rider who walks through the door, and I was no exception to that. They knew how badly I wanted it, and the whole team at Heritage is comprised of professionals that were not handed anything as Juniors. They all worked incredibly hard. They were working students. They catch rode. They recognized that fire in me and nurtured it.”
The Heritage team, and Patricia in particular, proved their support of Caroline at Pony Finals 2016. Caroline and Patricia had worked with So Enchanted, aka Lex, that summer, and Lex and Caroline earned Grand Green Pony Champion. The day before Caroline was planning to compete in the USEF Pony Medal Final, however, her pony became unsound. “The way in which Patricia went down every path to find me a pony to ride made me really cognizant of how much she cared and wanted to fight for me,” Caroline said. Caroline rode News Flash for the first time the night before they showed, going early in the posted order—and staying on top of the callback all day to ultimately win the class.
The only horse Caroline ever owned as a Junior came to her through Heritage. “I will always cherish the years spent with my equitation horse, Paloma. She taught me the ropes of the equitation,” Caroline recalled. “The team at Heritage spotted her in the jumper ring, and although young and on the greener side, she quickly became a steadfast partner. Our first year together, we were Reserve Champion at Maclay Regionals, and she brought me to the Medal and Maclay finals. I’ve always thought that there was something special about a mare, that if you get them on your side and work with them, they will do absolutely anything for you. Pearl and Paloma are both a great testament to that statement.”
Caroline also met one of her lifelong best friends at Heritage: Baylee McKeever, whose parents, Erica and Lee of McLain Ward’s Castle Hill Farm, became yet another family to Caroline. Both McLain and the McKeevers helped Caroline in her career by lending a horse last-minute, giving her a place to stay in Florida when she needed it and teaching her about the industry. “I spent many weekends at Castle Hill with all of them, and the way the whole team cares for their animals is like nothing else,” Caroline said. “They’re the kindest, hardest-working horse people I have ever encountered—they’re the epitome of ‘the horse comes first’ and a benchmark of horse care for me. Having their support and knowing they believed in me meant so much, and gave me so much confidence.”
Full Circle
Caroline finished her time as a Junior at Heritage only after racking up accolades such as Best Junior Rider at the 2017 Pennsylvania National Show and the 2018 Junior Hunter Finals Grand 3’3” Championship, and being recruited to ride on the Division 1 equestrian team at Texas A&M. However, her college career—and any time spent away from Heritage—proved to be short lived. Just before spring break her freshman year, Caroline was sent home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “We got the news during break that we wouldn’t be returning and would continue the year from home,” she said. “While packing my apartment in Texas to move back to New York, I texted Andre and asked if there was a place for me to work while I was home. That was it for me—I got a taste of being a part of the team, and I never looked back.”
By the time she’d traveled to her first horse show as part of the Heritage Farm staff, Caroline knew she wanted to continue following her lifelong dream—and her mother, too, realized Caroline wouldn’t be going back to school. “My mom has always been my biggest cheerleader, and her and my entire family’s support is what propelled me to where I am now,” Caroline said. “Family is everything to me.”
Now, Caroline has been a part of the Heritage family for over four years. “To go to work every day at a place that feels like a second home is something that I think is becoming more and more rare in this industry,” she said. “Long before coming to Heritage as a student, I admired the way Patricia was able to not only train the ponies but also the kids. She just has a way of understanding them, pushing them to keep excelling and instilling the belief that with enough grit and dedication, you can go as far as you want. Getting to now be a part of that, and being so involved in developing partnerships of ponies and their riders, is something I relish every day. I don’t think the feeling of aiding in and watching a horse-and-rider team come together into something great will ever get old.”
The Heritage website calls Caroline a “pony specialist,” and her role involves the same shows she attended on the back of a pony herself—and even some of the same four-legged friends. “Every August in Lexington, Kentucky, still brings back so many memories of all the wonderful animals I got to show there, and now being able to attend as a trainer is such a full-circle feeling,” she said. “It’s so special to me to see many of these ponies I showed as a kid still competing with so much success. Standing at the in-gate as a trainer or preparing these same ponies at home is such a gratifying feeling for me. I got to show them as young, green ponies and help launch their careers—and now I get to work with them as they show young kids the ropes, and it makes my heart so full.”
The older ponies Caroline rode are now retired—several in her own backyard at home an hour and 20 minutes away in New York, including Rosmel’s Sun Fairy, the late Super Trooper and, of course, Little Black Pearl. “Now I’ve handed them down to my nieces as glorified pets, and watching them live out their retirement from my bedroom window is such a special feeling; I don’t take a second of it for granted,” Caroline said. “At 31, Pearl can be found giving bareback rides to my nieces or escaping her stall at dinner time.”
Caroline gets to spend time with her family nearly every weekend when she’s not showing with Heritage—and when she is showing, there’s “family” there, too—like Robin Greenwood and her barn manager, Siobhan Latchford. “Robin instilled in me a confidence and love for the sport that I could never repay her for,” Caroline said. “At 23, I still look forward to seeing Robin at the shows, catching up over dinner and reminiscing on what we lovingly dubbed ‘the golden years.’”
And, always, there’s her Heritage family. “It would be remiss of me to not acknowledge how grateful I am for every person at Heritage, from the trainers to the customers, for giving a young employee the chance to both prove myself and find my role,” Caroline said. “I’m hopeful that my story can give another aspiring young rider the belief that with the right team looking out for you, the sky is truly the limit.”
Follow Caroline on Instagram @carolinepass
Photos by Sophia Donohue, www.sophiadonohuephotography.com
