I really wasn’t looking for another horse… We already had 6, along with 4 dogs, 8 cats and a rabbit. So when I arrived at Brook Hill Farm on a sunny Saturday in June 2009 to teach a clinic for the 4H group, adding to the family was not on the agenda. Little did I know that a rather large Belgian Warmblood named Atlas had an agenda of his own.
My first exposure to Brook Hill came when one of the nurses at my doctor’s office discovered I had owned a large equestrian center with my husband and daughter in Connecticut before moving to Virginia in 2005. We moved our school horses south with us, and I was teaching part time in a small facility we leased. Donna told me about a wonderful horse rescue where she volunteered, and gave me a brochure. I tucked the brochure away in my “things to do” file but somehow never managed to visit.
Fast forward a year or two, when one of my fellow Toastmasters asked me to go look at a horse with her that she was thinking of adopting. The horse, Lord Goya, was living at Brook Hill Farm. I was delighted to accompany Karin, and to finally get to see Brook Hill and meet the wonderful people there. My first impression on meeting Jo Anne was how much she knew about Goya and the surgery which had eventually brought him to Brook Hill. She explained everything to Karin and I, including Goya’s competition history, his surgery and his prognosis. As some of the girls had been riding him, Jo Anne was able to give Karin and I info on what to expect under saddle. His ground manners spoke for themselves – he was a true gentleman.
Karin ended up adopting Goya, and Jo Anne asked me about doing a clinic, which I was happy to do. I had taken a sabattical on teaching, moving a few of my horses home and a few to a large farm where we had part time jobs and they could be used for occasional guests. I had a non-horsey main job, and I was missing teaching. The clinic was a delight, and I was looking forward to working with Jo Anne more.
In 2009, Jo Anne asked me again if I’d like to teach a clinic, to which I readily agreed. When I got there that June day, I saw a large chestnut horse with a big white blaze looking at me over the fence. Something made me ask if she had any other nice dressage horses like Goya. “Oh yes” came the reply “‘We have two, Renn and Atlas. Atlas is that large chestnut” I got an uh-oh feeling, uh-oh as in uh-oh, how am I going to tell James I want another horse? What am I going to do with another horse? I decided I’d take a walk down into the field to see not only Atlas, but also Renn. I went up to Atlas (all 18.2 hands of him) and had a lovely chat, he submitted to face rubs, neck rubs, ear rubs….he was quite happy about the whole thing. I then walked across to where Renn was standing, put out my hand to pet him, and was firmly but politely shoved out of the way by a nose in my back. Atlas had taken offense at the idea of my schmoozing with Renn, he had evidently already decided I was his person and he wasnt happy to share… He gently but firmly herded me back up to the gate, then stood and watched for the next two hours while I taught the clinic. Every once in a while I’d look up, and there he’d be, head hanging over the fence, watching me teach… I was quite smitten by the end of the day. I rode him and quite liked him, then had my husband ride him, and was quite impressed with what i saw under saddle. I’m planning on getting my L judge permit, and Atlas is the horse I’ll ride to get my necessary scores to qualify for the program. We began taking lessons with Harriet Peterson, but weather and a health issue intervened. I’m hoping to pick that back up again by March. It’s very good for both of us.
Not long after Atlas came into my life. Jo Anne called me and asked if I would take over the teaching program for Brook Hill. It’s been a wonderful process. I’ve spent the first few months getting to know the girls and horses, figuring out the matches that are perfect, tweaking a few that could use a little adjustment.
We’re now working at planning and building a cross country course, taking some of the kids to shows, including the State 4H Fair, having an adults camp in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and possibly hosting not only a dressage show, but also a performance of the Herrmanns Royal Lipizzan Stallions. We’ve got big dreams and big plans at Brook Hill, so it’ a good thing it’s run by people with big hearts and big beliefs.
Tuesday afternoons at Brookhill Farm is all about horses, girls, work and fun.