By Helen Townes
Portraits by Melissa Fuller
Mimi Moulton’s riding story is proof positive that there is no age limit on rekindling a childhood passion. After many years competing as a pony rider, and then as a Junior and Amateur rider, Mimi took a 20-year break from horses to pursue a career in fashion and to raise a family. She reentered the show ring 15 years ago, and at age 54 now has numerous Amateur Hunter Grand Champion, Champion and Reserve Champion titles to her name. Best of all, as she said, “I just love it. I can’t imagine not having it in my life.”
Mimi’s love for horses and riding began when she was 7. Mimi’s mother, Stephanie Flinn, grew up around horses and started Mimi and her sister Adriane with riding lessons at Kelsey Farm, in their hometown of Greenwich, Connecticut. Mimi is nostalgic about those early days. “It was so much fun. At Kelsey’s, we groomed and tacked up the ponies ourselves, went on trail rides, participated in pony camp and swam in the local pond,” she said. “The owner and trainer, Sis Kelsey, would even take a group of us on our school lunch break for a lesson, then deliver us back for class.”
Blissful Pony Years
Mimi was infatuated with pony life. “I eventually got my first pony, named Look At Me, who we called Impy. My mom loves to tell the story about my first Hampton Classic, when Impy snuck out of his stall in the middle of the night but made it back in time for us to win our class,” she laughed. The pair was named champion in the Short Stirrup division that day.
Mimi and her sister wanted to compete in the Pony Hunters division, which precipitated a move to the Fairfield Hunt Club to train with venerable horseman and trainer Emerson Burr. “That was a dream at the time, as he was the premiere pony trainer,” Mimi remembered. “My sister and I had some incredible ponies during that time: Upsy Daisy, Northfield Apple Blossom and Hawkeye. We went on the road with Emerson and his gaggle of pony kids to all the big shows in Long Island and New Jersey, as well as to Fairfield, Ox Ridge, the Hampton Classic, Devon, Harrisburg and Washington. Emerson was one of a kind—he was a pony whisperer, and such a gem of a trainer.”
When Mimi entered the teen years and enrolled at The Ethel Walker School, a boarding school for girls, she started doing equitation, Junior Hunters and eventually jumpers. She was fortunate to begin training with Leslie Burr-Howard, who had competed in the 1984 Olympics and won gold while Mimi was training under Emerson Burr. “I was always starstruck by Leslie. I had my gelding Uptown, my first Junior Hunter that also did the pre-greens with Leslie, and he had a lot of success. Doing Big Eq with Leslie was amazing, and then she put me on a jumper named Sportsman. Back then they didn’t have an Adult Jumpers division, so I went straight to Amateur Jumpers.” Mimi was busy those days, traveling from Ethel Walker’s to meet her Fairfield Hunt Club horses at the shows. She also kept a horse at the school and rode to fulfill her sports requirement; she ultimately won the riding trophy as a graduating senior.
Detour and Back to Horses
Mimi attended Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, and graduated in 1992. For a time, horses were secondary to professional and personal endeavors. Mimi dove into her career in the fashion industry, working for both Elle and Vogue magazines as an associate editor in their accessories departments, then in the accessories design department at Ralph Lauren. She had her own creative sensibilities, however. “I decided to start my own handbag line. I took classes at Fashion Institute of Technology, created a business plan and started an evening bag business,” Mimi shared. “Of course, there was no social media back then, and it was wholesale—I sold out of showrooms, hired a consultant and pieced it all together. Everything was made in New York, but all the fabrics and the hardware came from Italy, with the embroidery done in India.”
Mimi built the business to the point where her handbags were featured at Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdales and Neiman Marcus, among other high-end department stores. It was during this busy period that Mimi met John Henry Moulton, a private equity manager, and they were married. “Then kids came, and we moved to the suburbs. I decided to throw in the towel and close the business in 2004,” Mimi said. She and John Henry had three children, Eloise, Sadie and Jack, and settled in Greenwich, where they still live today. Mimi devoted the next several years to parenting, ferrying children to school and sports activities, and the myriad other hallmarks of a busy household.
It wasn’t until her third child was born that Mimi started thinking seriously about horses again. “I watched a few friends over the years who were riding and competing successfully and thought that I might be able to go back to it,” Mimi recalled. And all it took to confirm Mimi’s passion was a visit to a local barn, while introducing her eldest, Eloise, to riding lessons. Unfortunately, that visit revealed Eloise’s horse allergy; but it also heralded the beginning of Mimi’s second act as a horsewoman. “The next thing I knew, I was riding and buying a horse,” she said. “It came back so naturally, which I was not expecting!”
Today, Mimi rides with Evermore Inc. in North Salem, New York, and is coached by Jenny Dunion, who partners with fellow trainers Holly Orlando and Michael Andrade. “They’re an incredible team with top-notch care,” Mimi said. “They’ve found wonderful horses for me over the last eight years.” One of those horses is Trip To Paris—barn name Paris—the first horse Mimi purchased in her new rank as an Adult Amateur with help from trainer Jenny. “We actually took a quick trip to Paris, France, to try him, hence his name,” Mimi laughed. Her middle daughter, Sadie, began riding at the age of 8 and joined Mimi at Evermore when she was 13 to do the Junior Hunters, Junior Jumpers and equitation. Sadie is now enrolled at the University of Virginia, where she is a rising junior.
Of course, there are inevitable bumps along the way when revisiting a childhood obsession as an adult. The Hampton Classic was one example—many years had passed since Mimi’s championship Short Stirrup ride there on Impy, and this time around proved to be more challenging. “Every time I showed there, I seemed to fall off or my horse was lame. I told Jenny that the Hampton Classic was bad luck for me,” Mimi said. Yet Jenny’s remarkable coaching—and likely Mimi’s maturity—made the difference. “I competed in the Hampton Classic that first summer I rode with Jenny, and not only was I Champion but I was Grand Champion. I went on to claim that title of Grand Adult Champion the next year and was Champion in my division another two years following. I also won the Adult Amateur Classic in the Anne Aspinal/Main Hunter Ring.”
Special Equine Partners
Mimi feels blessed with the horses she’s acquired with the help of Jenny and the team at Evermore Inc. “The horses they have found for me over the years are all nothing short of wonderful. Sometimes when they arrive, we know they’re talented and athletic, but we call what happens later the ‘Evermore Transformation.’ Their program produces stars,” she raved.
“Mimi is fiercely competitive yet also so poised and empathetic towards her horses, as well as being a good sport,” Jenny said. “It’s so incredibly enjoyable to take her to the ring and train her.”
In addition to Trip To Paris, Mimi competes with Tradition, a bay 14-year-old Westphalian gelding she’s had for a year and a half. “Trad used to be a derby horse, and he really has changed my riding,” Mimi reflected. “Historically, I would pull if I didn’t know where I was before a jump. If I pull, Trad pulls back. I always show him first as it helps me with the next horse. Trad is big and slow over the jumps and just so much fun. He’s a real show horse, always game, knows his job and has a fun and sweet personality.”
Mimi has also been showing her 14-year-old chestnut Golden Goose, a Selle Français gelding, for the past two years. “He came to us just after being imported and became a hunter at age 12, after enjoying a successful European jumper career,” Mimi said. “He is such a sweet horse and always gives me 100%. If I make a mistake, he can take a joke—which all of us Amateurs need!”
Mimi also has a partnership with the Evermore team to foster the hunter training of young horses, which has been very fulfilling. “I enjoy bringing these horses along, developing them with Holly and Jenny and supporting the Green Hunter Incentive Program,” Mimi said. “I currently have two green horses. Macallan is a 9-year-old KWPN gelding we imported two years ago who competes in the Green 3’6” and Green Conformation with Holly Orlando. The other is a new one named Wonderstruck we imported last fall, a 6-year-old Zangersheide gelding. We’ll bring both to the Green Incentive Finals in Kentucky later this year.” Macallan competed with Holly at Devon Horse Show in Devon, Pennsylvania, in May, where they had beautiful rounds in the 3’6” Green Hunters and picked up a medal in the under-saddle division.
Mimi acknowledges the challenges of returning to competition, including coping with show nerves. “I took a fall two years ago and struggled a bit with my confidence,” she said. A friend referred her to an equestrian mindset coach, Nancy Dye of Elite Lifestyle Transformations, LLC, based in Wellington, Florida. “My work with Nancy has been transformative,” Mimi said. “She has given me techniques, routines and tools that empower me and make me a confident equestrian. I feel ready and prepared every time I step into the show ring.”
Recommitting to horses has created a busy annual schedule for Mimi: She spends the spring and summer months riding in many of the Northeast shows, then flies down regularly to Wellington starting in November to ride in the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF). Her horses are stabled there for the winter. Having the support of her family helps; John Henry’s sister grew up riding competitively in California, so he understands the demands of the sport. “He doesn’t come to a lot of my shows—it makes him nervous to watch me in the show ring—but he’s incredibly supportive of my passion,” Mimi said.
Mimi is grateful to be performing at the level she is after taking a mid-life break from the sport. She looks forward to riding in several upcoming regional competitions and returning to WEF in the new year. “It is so much fun to compete at my age, and the competition is fierce,” she reflected. “The whole community in my division is so nice, though, and it’s just a lot of fun. It’s my passion!”
Photos by Melissa Fuller, melissafullerphotography33.mypixieset.com
