My journey with Wally: School Pony to Show Horse
Article by Wren, BBSH student and Wally lover
When I first started working with Wally in March of 2020, I never expected to like him all that much. Sure, he was cute and had a funny personality, but he was a bit of a pain to ride, and I’d rather focus on horses I could do more with than the chunky little quarter horse that refused to go and could barely make it around a jump course. It seemed that many of the lesson kids shared my opinion, as he had sat in the pasture for quite a while. However, I do love a project, and I didn’t have much better to do since I was home from college due to coronavirus, so I went for it.
Funnily enough, he seemed to share my hesitation at first. He wasn’t a massive fan of being in work again, and therefore he wasn’t a big fan of me either. But with a lot of work we started to put the pieces together in our dressage and jumping, and by summer I clearly remember being very proud of how he was going. We went to our first cross country schooling together that month, and despite him bucking every time a horse passed him in warmup, and completely refusing to get near even a tiny jump at first, we had a ton of fun and learned a lot too. He was quickly becoming my best friend, and I couldn’t believe I ever thought so little of him. I worked hard through that summer, and we went to our first eventing show together in August, did our first recognized in September, went to a variety of schooling shows throughout the fall, and went to our most recent show in February of 2021. We consistently placed in the middle or towards the end of the pack, and were eliminated at our second recognized show, but I couldn’t care less. Sure, an incredible dressage score or a blue ribbon would’ve felt great, but here I was, at the shows I never thought I would be able to go to, on a horse I trained myself!
We may not have been an incredibly impressive show team, but where we really shone was through the bond we formed and what we were able to teach each other. I have so much fun spending time with Wally, he is so goofy and cuddly, and no matter how awful I may feel he manages to get a smile or a laugh out of me. I have endless videos on my phone of him making funny faces, trying to eat my hair, resting his head on me, or generally being silly. Despite him not having the most impressive work ethic out there, he really tries for me, and can be ridden in a bit, bitless, or bridleless. There is no cooler feeling than taking all the tack away save for a neck rope, and knowing that his focus is on me and he is going to do his best to listen to my cues. As much as I have taught him about being a school horse, dressage horse, or jumper, he has taught me how to be patient, how to be a good teacher, and to be resilient. I have had my fair share of rides on Wally where I get off and cry about how the ride went. But I always try to figure out where it went wrong, and come back a better, kinder, smarter rider for him. And bless him, he has never held much of a grudge. Wally has taught me so much about how to be a more skilled rider that I am not sure I could ever repay him. Thankfully lots of scratches and treats seem to be enough.
As my journey with Wally comes to a close, and I look forward to going back to college in the fall, I cannot say enough how grateful and immensely proud I am. I would have never imagined that my dreams of eventing and having a horse I could at least partially call my own would have been realized by this horse, but I am so glad they were. Wally, Where’s Waldo, Waffle, Wallace, this is my love letter to you. I owe more to you than you could ever know, and the memories I have made with you will always be dear to me. Thank you for everything buddy, don’t be too annoying while I’m gone.