By Laura Scaletti
Portraits by Kacy Brown
An inspirational quote states, “When riding a horse, we leave our fear, troubles and sadness on the ground.” As young girls, identical twins Izzy and Zoe Grutkowski needed an outlet to become less fearful about the world. Horses proved to be just what the doctor ordered in getting the sisters to come out of their shells and begin to take the world by storm.
“They were extremely fearful little girls who were nervous about taking elevators, riding the school bus or being outside around loud lawn mowers. We tried a bunch of different sports to try to get them to be more confident,” said Izzy and Zoe’s mother, Jessica. “I had ridden growing up and wondered if the barn would help them feel brave and more independent.”
Animal lovers at heart—even attending a preschool called Earthplace that had an animal hall with snakes, birds, owls, ravens, ferrets and rabbits—the girls instantly fell in love with riding. Just as Jessica had hoped, horses helped give Izzy and Zoe the wings to fly on their own.
“I love to ride horses of all levels, but having the opportunity to ride a horse that loves and knows its job is super rewarding and a huge confidence boost,” Izzy said. “Being successful on a younger or less-experienced horse also gives me confidence in my riding abilities.”
Saddling Up
The girls saddled up for the first time when they were 7 years old. At the time, they lived in Fairfield, Connecticut, down the road from local lesson barn Salko Farm and the Fairfield County Hunt Club. “We would drive by the horses in the field at Salko, and we were curious about the horse shows that happened on the big field at the Hunt Club. After trying soccer and tennis, which we didn’t love, we tried gymnastics, which we eventually got bored of because we didn’t get to flip as much as we had hoped. Then we asked if we could try horseback riding,” Izzy said.
While Jessica wanted to give the girls the opportunity to ride, she didn’t take it easy on them when it came to choosing when they started their equestrian adventures. “My mom signed us up for a week of summer camp and purposely waited for a super-hot week. She knew it would be a good test to see if we truly liked it,” Zoe said. “We ended up loving it and signing up for more weeks for summer camp, and then we started taking weekly lessons that fall.”
Like most riders getting started in the hunter-jumper world, Izzy and Zoe got their start in the Short Stirrup and ponies doing both hunters and equitation. When not in the show ring, the girls could be found riding their ponies bareback in halters and lead ropes, just enjoying being pony kids.
Izzy and Zoe had a full-circle moment when they were able to compete their first ponies, Simon Says Smooth Move and Oh So Dreamy, at their first local horse show. “Finally we were on that big field at the Fairfield County Hunt Club where we watched from the sidelines for so many years,” Izzy said.
That summer, together with their ponies, they showed at venues including Vermont Summer Festival and HITS Saugerties. It culminated at the end of the summer with the Connecticut Hunter Jumper Association (CHJA) Finals. “At CHJA Finals, I won the Children’s Pony Hunter Classic with my pony Timber. It felt so good to see all my hard work through the year pay off in a class that had so many talented riders and ponies,” Zoe said.
Doubling Down
As the girls were finishing up with their large-pony leases, they moved to Stony Lane in September 2021 to work with Lisa Tomaselli. Lisa was instrumental in helping Izzy and Zoe make the leap from pony kids to horse girls. “When we moved to Stony Lane, Lisa took the time to get to know how my sister and I rode. That helped her learn what kind of horses would be a great match for each of us, so moving to horses wouldn’t be such a hard transition,” Zoe said. “We tried so many horses—of course, I fell in love with almost all of them, but we ended up with my heart horse, FaceTime, aka Goldie.”
Izzy tried a lot of horses, too, but many of them fell through for different reasons. “My first horse, Cyrus, was 17.3 hands. Lisa thought he might be too big for me, but when I saw the video, I knew he was the one. There’s something about a big horse that makes you feel safe,” Izzy said. “He’s done everything from the U25 to the Gladstone Cup, and he brought me from 2’6” ponies to the 3’3” equitation in one year.”
To help increase their competitive trajectory, Izzy and Zoe each acquired a second horse and began doing the jumpers. Determined to help Izzy and Zoe reach their equestrian dreams, the Grutkowski family doubled down by moving from Fairfield, Connecticut, to Southbury in the summer of 2022. “We came up with the Double Down Equestrian for our LLC; it was the perfect name for our journey,” Izzy said.
“When a few of our neighbors put their homes up for sale, we jumped at the opportunity to sell ours at the height of the market. We chose a home near the barn, but Stony Lane moved to a wonderful facility in Ridgefield shortly after we moved,” Jessica said. “Either way, we’re happy here in Southbury and the move supported our girls’ dreams.”
Having Lisa’s support has really helped the girls grow as riders over the past several years. “Lisa’s a real coach and never misses an opportunity to offer a teachable moment. She knows when to push me and has taken the time to understand how I learn best,” Izzy said.
Zoe believes working with Lisa has made each of them better competitors. “Lisa’s currently working to get her judge’s card, so she’s taught us about scoring in the different rings. This helps us understand why certain scores are given,” Zoe said. “She knows our goal is to be professionals, so she creates teaching opportunities about the sport itself whenever possible.”
Sharing the Love
Thanks in part to Izzy and Zoe’s passion for all things equestrian, Jessica has also stepped back into the show ring. “It’s been amazing to be able to share their passion for horses, especially as an adult returning rider. I’m getting the opportunity to compete at venues I never got to participate at when I was their age,” Jessica said.
While it’s not unusual to have a sibling who also competes, it’s less common to have a parent who is actively competing at the same competitions. Both Izzy and Zoe love being able to lean on their mom for support at shows. “I love showing with my mom because she also understands the horse world and how everything works,” Zoe said. “We all support each other at the in-gate and that’s huge. We can talk about the course, what we liked and what we want to work on next time.”
Izzy agrees that it’s beneficial to have a mom who really understands how the sport works. “She’s definitely one of my biggest supporters and has helped me through my best and worst days,” Izzy said. “I try to always do the same for her when she needs my support.”
Izzy and Zoe also feel extremely fortunate to have each other as they navigate the equestrian world. While it definitely comes with the benefits of a built-in support system, it’s not ideal when your competition is your twin. In the ponies, Izzy and Zoe constantly showed against each other. “We were super competitive with each other, but we learned that there is only one winner. You’re either winning or learning,” Izzy said. “What we’ve learned is how to support each other and give each other confidence.”
They decided once they moved to horses, they each wanted to focus on their own goals. Zoe ended up wanting to focus on hunters, and Izzy gravitated to equitation.
Heart Horse
While working to achieve her dreams in the show ring, Zoe has had to deal with her own share of heartbreak. After qualifying for Junior Hunter Finals last spring, her horse, Goldie, went from being a horse who would jump through fire to worried and spooky. “Last April, we took him to an indoor show and he walked in and panicked. That was so out of character that we sent him for a bone scan to see if something was bothering him. At the clinic, one of the vets suspected he might be neurological,” Zoe said. “They thought he may have early EDM, after he tested negative for EPM, and when he started getting worse, I could no longer ride him.”
Things got so bad for Goldie that he was restricted to his stall so he didn’t fall and hurt himself or others. “Our neurologist recommended we send him to the New Bolton Clinic for an evaluation, part of which was a spinal tap to definitively rule out EPM. It was Goldie’s last hope, so we sent him,” Zoe said. “We had already scheduled his euthanasia when the vet called my mom and said he tested positive for EPM and that they were running the test again to be sure. That very rarely happened.”
Truly a miracle horse, Goldie ended up coming home on the day he was scheduled to be put down. Since that day, Goldie started a regime of EPM medications and the results have been nothing short of a miracle. “We didn’t really know how much of the old Goldie we would get back, but he kept getting better and better and his personality returned. We took him to Florida with us this winter, Lisa began flatting him and eventually I was able to as well,” Zoe said. “It was such a huge moment to trot, when I thought I’d never get to ride him again.”
By the end of the circuit, Zoe and Goldie surpassed all expectations. After almost a year, they reentered the show ring and, despite doing only half of the 2’6” division, ended up tied for Reserve Champion. “I’m so grateful for absolutely everyone involved who helped Goldie,” Zoe said.
All In
While Goldie was in a holding pattern before his final diagnosis, they searched for an alternate Junior hunter to bring to finals. Sadly, nothing worked out, so Zoe decided to join her sister and barn mates in the equitation ring. “I always came along to watch, but admittedly felt a bit left out,” Zoe said.
In July 2023, Lisa brought Zoe to try a horse that she knew would help her find that happy place again. They drove to WinMohr in New Jersey to try Dillem, and he was immediately a perfect fit. Zoe joined her sister and barnmates’ final quest to qualify for fall indoors and reached her goal on the last day to qualify.
Even as identical twins, their journeys have been different. Izzy and her equitation partner Pino D’Aymon, who was imported last year by Go Buck Yourself LLC, moved up to the Big Eq in Florida this season, and have already qualified for Maclay Regionals. They also competed in their first 3’6” final at the HITS Equitation Championship. Izzy began riding Pino D’Aymon at Hamel Finals last fall when she needed a last-minute horse switch. “Riding a new horse at finals wasn’t the plan, but it was the best thing that could have happened. I immediately felt confident, and we ended up bringing him home,” Izzy said.
Zoe is waiting a bit longer to move up this summer with Dillem. “We’ve learned we can’t always move up at the same time. We would never want the other to be held back if the roles were reversed,” Zoe said.
The Grutkowski family believes in being a team. Zoe has taken over the ride on Cyrus to accrue her last few equitation points, and last summer Izzy rode her mom’s horse Gratitude P to help meet a qualification deadline. “My mom loves riding Cyrus, and we recently gave my dad a pony ride on him,” Izzy said.
The twins also show in the 1.10m Junior Jumpers. Last summer they competed in the USHJA Zone 1 & 2 Jr/Am Team Championships at HITS Saugerties, where Lisa was their chef d’equipe. Their team “Hickstead” won bronze, and Izzy and Loxley finished fifth in the individual portion. Both hope to compete at USET Finals one day.
When they aren’t in the saddle, the girls are all in when it comes to learning everything they can about horsemanship. Izzy and Zoe love to stay at the barn for hours. “I love grazing my horses, setting courses, making grain, cleaning tack, all of it. I think it’s very important for everyone who is riding to know how to do the basics of taking care of your horses,” Zoe said.
Both girls were accepted to the USHJA Emerging Athletes Program (EAP) this summer. The program provides opportunities for young riders to advance their horsemanship education and riding skills at regional clinics. “So many amazing riders have come through the EAP. I’m hoping to learn as much as possible from the riding and barn management clinics and to meet other like-minded riders,” Izzy said.
EAP won’t just help them as Junior riders, it will help them as they look to becoming professionals and someday open their Double Down equestrian business. Both sisters want to ride in college and pursue a degree in equine studies. “I’m looking forward to the day Izzy and I have our own barn together. I think it will be amazing as we both have different strengths and interests related to horses,” Zoe said.
However, first things first: get a high school diploma, a college degree, working student experience and learn from as many professionals as possible. After that, the Grutowski twins can double down on Double Down.
Follow Izzy and Zoe on Instagram @thetwinequestrians
Photos by Kacy Brown, kacybrownphotography.com
