Ann Cohen and Pokey (PA)
Team #971: Ann Cohen and Pokey
From: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Ages: 73 & 27
Combined Age: 100
Test: WDAA Introductory Level Test 1
I have loved horses since before I can remember. I started trail riding at age five and started lessons at eight. At age 18, I began working for the city of Philadelphia and spent almost 14 years taking care of police horses, where I fell in love with draft horses. I spent 37 ½ years as a city employee. Since 1984, I have owned four wonderful grade horses all with some draft heritage, that I loved riding – lessons, trails, jumping. The last time I rode in a horse show that wasn’t a barn show was 1972.
Pokey, a registered Quarter Horse (Frisky Business Two), was born in Ohio in 1998. He was a successful reining horse when my blacksmith (and farm neighbor) bought him in 2012, to resume riding after a very long break. He began hacking around the neighborhood and eventually began sorting cattle. In 2017, he moved to another neighbor to be a confidence builder after she suffered a serious riding accident. I leased him in 2022, when my horse became too lame. In March 2023, I bought him.
Pokey is everyone’s favorite at our barn. Long trail rides, pony rides, fox hunting, and photo modeling are only a few of his activities. For me, the most unlikely was surely dressage. But his biggest barn fan was incorporating dressage into her rides with him. Somehow, I was persuaded to participate in my first horseshow in over 50 years! It was a blast.
Thanks to The Dressage Foundation, the Pennsylvania Western Dressage Association, and to all my barn friends who supported me in this latest adventure.
