Norm Brown and Amie Phoenix +

Team #88

Norm Brown, Amie Phoenix, and family

When Norm Brown, along with daughter Trisha Swift, volunteered to help rejuvenate the Estes Park Arabian Horse Show, he didn’t realize he would become one of the star attractions.

Trisha, an FEI level rider, told her dad he should perform his Century Club ride at the show. It didn’t matter that Norm rarely rode and had never shown in an under-saddle class before, let alone dressage. In fact, Norm had no idea how to post the trot!

After initially balking at the idea, Norm warmed up to it, and plans were made.  Unfortunately, Norm’s chosen mount for the momentous ride—25-year-old Mt. View Fantasy—passed away unexpectedly a few months before the show. Trisha volunteered her 28-year-old Arabian gelding, Amie Phoenix+, to be partners with Norm, aged 79.

Amie Phoenix+ is a homebred Arabian, and was Trisha’s dressage mount for many years.  He is a two-time champion at the Arabian Region 8 Championships in training level dressage, and he competed up through first level. The gelding also learned to jump when he was 19! Phoenix, who still loves to work (and indeed, gets depressed when he’s not ridden regularly) is currently used as a lesson horse.

Norm grew up on a farm in northeastern Pennsylvania. Workhorses were used to plant, harvest, farm, and cut ice out of the near-by pond in the winter. While he did not have extensive riding experiences, he was always involved in agriculture. Norm graduated from Penn State University and got his Masters Degree from Colorado State University.  He primarily worked in extension for his career. He currently works on the horse farm and business that he and his wife own, along with daughter Trisha and son-in-law Chase.

Norm married into an Arabian horse-owning family and thus racked up plenty of hours caring for the horses and working with them on the ground. He also rode one of the stallions in a western saddle—30 years ago! Thus, learning to ride dressage for his Century Club ride was like starting all over again.

Norm diligently worked at memorizing his test (Intro Level Test A), learned to post the trot, and participated in a Ride-a-Test Clinic before his ride on July 2, 2011. And in front of a rather large crowd, at 9:07 in the morning, Norm performed his test in front of the grandstands at the Stanley Park Fairgrounds in the beautiful mountains of Estes Park, Colorado.

Daughter Trisha was extremely proud of her father for not shying away from such an undertaking, and Norm has certainly proven that it truly is never too late to start riding.  He has even expressed interest in continuing riding lessons with his daughter, but it will have to wait until he is done irrigating the hay fields and fixing the tractor.

Watch Norm's ride on YouTube!  Click here for the introduction, and here for the test.