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Monday, August 31 2020 / Published in Weekly Feature

Lauren Scott: From Her Wonder Horse to the Judging World

By Laura Scaletti

Portraits by Kristin Lee

All it takes is one good horse to change your life. For California-based hunter and equitation judge Lauren Scott, the horse who shaped the trajectory of her future in and out of the sport was Something’s Brewing, known as Brew. An unassuming Quarter Horse who stood just 15.1 hands tall, Brew opened doors for Lauren she didn’t even knock on.

Helen Pollock

Lauren started her riding education at Foxfield Riding School in Westlake Village, California, at age 6. “Foxfield is a very special place that started the likes of riders like Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum,” Lauren said. “I’m where I am today because Foxfield taught me about being a horseman first and foremost, as well as being a rider, and I learned to respect the traditions of our sport.”

Hooked from her first lesson on a little Appaloosa pony named Precious, Lauren finally found an extracurricular activity that she was enthusiastic about. Within six months of that first “precious lesson,” Lauren and her family dipped their toes into the world of horse ownership by half leasing a pony. She quickly moved from ponies to horses. When Lauren was 10 years old, Brew was purchased to be her children’s hunter horse and the fairytale story began.

Something’s Brewing

“The first time I threw a leg over Brew, we instantly had a connection,” Lauren said. “He truly was a once-in-a-lifetime, life-changing animal.” Although he was small in stature, barely bigger than a pony, he always seemed larger than life to Lauren. Purchased as an all-round horse that could show in the hunter, jumper and equitation rings, Brew seemed to be best suited as a hunter. At least, that’s what Lauren and her trainers thought at the beginning.

Full of spunk and attitude, Brew was quite the character. “He loved his job. If he jumped into a line really well, he would land and squeal in the corner. I definitely laughed around a lot of courses with him,” Lauren said.

Lauren and Brew were immediately successful partners in the show ring, clinching a championship at their first show together at Pebble Beach. But two years into their partnership, Brew broke his coffin bone. He made it through rehab and back into the show ring only to once again come up injured two years later.  

“Brew re-fractured the same coffin bone and this time it healed fibrously. The vets said he would never be able to jump anything larger than three feet again, as the bone wouldn’t be able to withstand the concussion of impact from bigger jumps,” Lauren said. 

Lauren dutifully brought Brew back to work following the vet’s rehab guidelines, but Brew was miserable and, frankly, she was too. “He was a horse who would whinny every time he saw our trailer pull in and would trot into the trailer. Brew would watch my new horse load up and act depressed and hang his head when we pulled out to head to the next show,” Lauren said. “It broke my heart.”

One day when it was time to go to a show with her new horse, Lauren had had enough of the sad scene of Brew longingly looking at the trailer. “I was getting to the point that I didn’t enjoy horse shows or riding that much,” Lauren said. “I told my dad, ‘I want to take Brew to the show today.’ He looked at me like I was crazy since we hadn’t jumped anything higher than three feet in a year, but Dad went along with my request.” 

Comeback Kid

That trailer ride was the start of an amazing comeback story for Brew and Lauren. “We won our first class back in the ring together that morning, the USET Talent Search, which was 3’6 to 3’9. At 15 years old, I had my partner back and we were ready to tackle the junior equitation classes together,” Lauren said. In fact, the duo won three finals in subsequent years.

Helen Pollock

After the first show back, Lauren’s jumper trainer, Judy Martin, suggested putting Brew in the junior jumpers the next week. Lauren agreed, and they kept jumping bigger and bigger. By the time Lauren was 17, she started doing the grand prix on Brew.

“We kept moving him up because everything I asked him to do, he did. I could have pointed him to a house and he would have jumped it. I don’t know if he would have done what he did for anyone other than me,” Lauren said. “Having grown up together, we knew everything about each other and anticipated each other’s every move.”

Although Brew was only 15.1 hands, he literally rose to the occasion each time he entered the ring. “Brew loved the energy of his ‘fans’ around the show ring. The more people around the ring, the bigger he would puff up. He easily grew another six inches when he stepped into the show ring,” Lauren said. 

Brew’s build frequently led observers to underestimate his athletic prowess prior to entering the grand prix ring. People often looked at Lauren like she was nuts as she would walk into the show ring on this tiny, fat Quarter Horse to jump obstacles bigger than Brew. 

One’s of Lauren’s favorite “you can’t judge a book by its cover” stories is when she and Brew did a developing riders clinic with Markus Beerbaum. During the participant introductions, Lauren said she had owned Brew for 10 years and they currently did the grand prix. After everyone introduced themselves, it was time to tack up and start the clinic. 

“I was the first person back in the ring and my dad said Markus looked like a deer in the headlights when I walked into the ring, like, ‘Yeah right, you’re kidding me,’” Lauren said. Although Markus made Brew go first over smaller jumps the first day, by the end of the clinic Brew had won Markus over. In fact, Markus let the others jump around first and then raised the jumps for Lauren and Brew to finish up the clinic.

A Cautionary Tale

On July 5, 2000, Lauren’s fairytale became a nightmare when she lost Brew and her young horse Savvy to a tragedy that could have been avoided. While on vacation, Lauren’s phone rang at 7 a.m. with the call every horse owner dreads: Her horses were sick, really sick. Once the vet arrived she sent both horses to the hospital.

Helen Pollock

Savvy was in organ failure when he arrived at the hospital and was euthanized shortly after arrival. But Brew had always been a fighter — he fought all day until his heart rate spiked at 250 beats per minute and he collapsed. Although he had been all heart his entire life, his heart wasn’t enough to get him out of this predicament and he too had to be euthanized. By 2 p.m., Lauren had lost both her horses.

The vet said the symptoms were either caused by blister beetles or oleander poisoning. “We went home, grabbed a hay sample and contacted the state. Before the end of the day, my barn was quarantined and the feed room was sealed with caution tape preventing anyone from entering. Nearly every bale of hay tested positive for oleander, even though the pieces of oleander weren’t visible to the naked eye,” Lauren said. The state seized all the hay and removed it so it could be burned and disposed of properly.

Following the tragedy, Lauren and her family became educated on the effects of oleanders on horses and people. “Oleander is toxic in all forms: leaves, branches, smoke from it, literally everything. A toxin used in rat poison, it causes hemorrhaging and this is how my horses lost their lives, because it was baled into their hay. Half a leaf can kill a horse, so I beg everyone to know where their hay comes from,” Lauren said.

Lessons Learned

Beyond teaching Lauren to know her feed dealers and where her hay was coming from, Brew taught her what courage and perseverance was. “I had an amazing 10 years before we lost him so tragically. He taught me there is an otherworldly bond we can have with these animals and it’s so special,” Lauren said. 

The connection that Lauren and Brew shared is why she stuck with the sport. Lauren hung out her shingle and had her own training business for several years; however, after a variety of non-horse-related accidents and getting married, Lauren decided to shift her focus and become a full-time hunter and equitation judge. “My husband isn’t horsey at all, so I wanted to add some normalcy to my life, while still being a part of the horse industry I love so much,” she said. “Judging allows me to still be active, but I’m not ‘on-call’ 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

Ever since her days at Foxfield, Lauren has respected her elders and how they gave back to the sport via training and judging. “I was taught to hold them in high regard because they were such wonderful horsemen and -women who were taking their time to share their knowledge, traditions and history of our sport. I knew one day I wanted to give back to that same sport, too,” she said. “What will become of our sport, if we don’t step up and fill the shoes of the judges and horsemen who are entering their retirement years?”

Lauren relishes the opportunity to see the best in the sport from her seat in the judge’s booth. “Each day you watch at least one horse that is so special it makes you want to ride or compete again,” she said. “Judging makes me appreciate my journey with Brew more now than I did at the time.”

Photos by Kristin Lee Photography, www.kristinleephotography.com, unless noted otherwise

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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

For more information, you can contact 
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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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Annette Longenecker wasn’t just born into horses Annette Longenecker wasn’t just born into horses—in a way, she was born into her career. She grew up in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, where her parents ran a farm. Her mother taught, and her father had a jump business and then created one of the first horse show software programs: Ryegate Show Services, Inc.

Riding all her life, Annette spent many years as a groom and loved it, but knew it wasn’t what she wanted to do as a career. After she finished college, Annette’s father recruited her to help process entries at Ryegate. Since her father, Lloyd Longenecker, founded it in 1981, Ryegate has provided show management and office staff for some of the largest shows in the country. Now, Annette has taken over from her father and directed the company as it focuses on managing memberships and rankings for organizations such as the North American League, WIHS Championships and Equitation, Rolex/USEF Computer Ranking and National Medal Series (THIS NCM and Ariat NAM). Ryegate also provides scoring software for use with video walls, and production teams for hunter and jumper shows.

“Besides running Ryegate Show Services and its various organizations, I can be found in the show office, running a scoreboard or judging jumpers at most shows,” Annette said. “I love getting to wear a few different hats at the show.”

When she’s not busy at a show, Annette lives in Annville, Pennsylvania, with her “fur-baby,” Maggie Mae, and enjoys spending time with her many godchildren. Though she doesn’t currently own any horses, Annette rides when she can at Rolling Acres Farm with Patty Foster, Ashley Foster-Worthington and Mary Lisa Leffler.

Read this month unbridled with Annette Longenecker by clicking the link in our bio. Never miss a story by subscribing to Sidelines Magazine! 🦄
📸Photo by Sheryl Sutherby

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A column from Liz Halliday-Sharp herself The spor A column from Liz Halliday-Sharp herself 
The sport of eventing is a demanding and mentally challenging discipline that requires a combination of physical and mental fortitude from both the rider and horse. While having a coach can be incredibly beneficial, self-coaching can also play a crucial role in a rider’s success.

I think that given the opportunity, most riders would like to be coached every day. The reality of life in the horse world, however, is that the majority of us need to absorb as much from the lessons we have on a limited basis and then practice those skills at home to improve.

When I am riding, I try to have a plan for the horses each day and focus on what I’m looking to achieve. It’s important to be aware of the steady improvements rather than trying to solve everything all at once. This is especially important when teaching horses new movements or exercises that they might struggle with, and we need to give them time to learn and understand what we are asking for.

I have a couple of quotes that I use regularly when I’m teaching, and these are mottos that I hold myself to in my daily work as well.

The first is, “If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always gotten.” This is a quote that was said to me many years ago when I was still motor racing and I keep it in the back of my mind each day. It’s easy to get stuck doing the same thing every day with your horse and bad habits are hard to break, from both riders and horses!

This leads me to my next quote, which is, “If what you are doing isn’t working, try something else.” It really is as simple as that! Many riders I see keep asking a horse to do something the same way over and over with an ongoing negative response and they wonder why things don’t get better. In these circumstances, I recommend that the rider change something, even if it’s wrong.

Read the full article by clicking the link in our bio! Don’t forget to keep your eye out for our April subscription!
📸Photo by Alex Banks Photography
The✨April issue✨ of Sidelines Magazine is here The✨April issue✨ of Sidelines Magazine is here and we are so excited to feature three-day eventer Liz Halliday on the cover! Big thanks to photographer Melissa Fuller for the beautiful photo of Liz and Cooley Nutcracker- Liz Halliday-Sharp - HS Eventing. Liz and her horses have taken the eventing world by storm - and find out how Liz is at the top of the sport as a female eventer! As the horse world gears up for the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event 2023, it's the perfect time to enjoy our eventing issue!! We also feature eventer and woman entrepreneur Frankie Thieriot Stutes, who is not only an eventer, but also runs Athletux and FRANKIE CAMERON handbags and accessories. And don't miss our eventing story on Robert "Bobby" Costello, who will be leading the US Eventing team to the 2024 Paris Olympics- and US Equestrian has named Bobby the eventing technical advisor/chef d'equipe!! Liz, Frankie and Bobby all have GREAT stories - don't miss any of them and don't forget to get your tickets for the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day event! We are also excited to introduce you to hunter-jumper rider Casey Lorusso Smith, who is not only a talented rider but also a psychotherapist and incorporates horses into her career. If you are up for adventure, then read the story on dressage rider Priscilla Baldwin who certainly doesn't let any grass grow under her feet! We also head to the west coast to catch up with hunter-jumper trainer Jim Hagman of Elvenstar Farm, we feature beautiful art by equestrian artist Tammy Tappan, and we get to know Miranda Jones and her family. Miranda is not only an attorney who spends a lot of time in the courthouse, but she's a rider and spends lots of time riding, and is joined by her daughters also! We are excited to feature Stephanie Lightner in our Unbridled column, and don't miss our columnists George Williams, Robert R.L. Jacobs and Margie Sugarman! It's a great issue - and you can read it online, but don't forget to go to the website and order a subscription and get every issue delivered to your mailbox!! Enjoy this issue and enjoy the ride: Link in bio!!
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