Team #537 Joan Richardson and Berry

Team #537: Joan Richardson and Berry
Ages: 78 & 28
Combined Age: 106

I was introduced to horses when I was seven years old, and my parents bought me and my twin sister a pony. Tony was totally a backyard pony and took advantage of our lack of experience. He was known for dumping his rider in mud puddles. At the age of 11, my sister and I moved up to our first horse. We were taking lessons on a palomino Quarter Horse at a local lesson barn. We had been riding Powder Puff without realizing that she was ours until our birthday. She lived to be 35 years old and was the first horse my daughter, Kimberly Richardson Baierl, rode at the age of three.

After Powder Puff, horses were not a part of my life because my husband was active duty Marine Corps. At his last duty station at Quantico, VA, Kimberly started taking riding lessons, and I also resumed riding. Soon followed three family horses: Ginger, Mischief, and Pepper. My mount was Ginger, a chestnut Quarter Horse x Appaloosa who was supposed to be temporary; however, I owned her for 25 years and she lived to be 38 ½ years old. Shortly followed Mischief, an Appendix chestnut mare, for 14-year-old Kimberly and Pepper, a Thoroughbred mare, for my 12-year-old son, Tom Van. We rode many long hours on the trails together.

In 1989, we moved the horses to Bull Run Stables in Centerville, VA, when Kimberly went off to the College of William and Mary. We were there only two or three months when we learned the farm was for sale and decided to buy it and developed a boarding and lesson barn. Our clients were students who just wanted to learn basic horsemanship and have a relationship with a horse. The 20 plus horses we’ve provided for lessons over the years have been great partners. Many were senior horses, whose maturity and quieter nature contributed well to teaching the foundation of riding.  These senior horses were worth their weight in gold. 

I have been fortunate to have had so many wonderful horses in my life. All of my horses have been great teachers and great ambassadors for the equine world, and all have remained on the farm for their lifetime. For the past 30 years, I have taught horsemanship, but I never had time to leave the farm to compete. So, to enter in the Century Club competition was my only competition. I have had my pony, Berry, an Arabian x Welsh gelding for 10 years and had never ridden him until four months ago. I had only been riding large horses since Tony. Frankly, I found it to be an adjustment to be riding a pony again, but now I have found Berry to be a great little mount.

My children have remained involved with horses and some of my grandchildren ride also. Kimberly, on her Dutch Warmblood and her daughter Grace, age 17, on her OTTB have both earned their USDF bronze medals. My son and two of his daughters, Hayley and Sara, have continued their love of riding at Moss Creek Plantation Stables in Hilton Head, which he manages. We all have been blessed to have horses in our lives.  

Joan and Berry completed Introductory Level, Test A, on September 30, 2021, for their Century Club membership.