Carol Morris and Just Magoo (NY)
Team #949: Carol Morris and Just Magoo
From: Dryden, New York
Ages: 75 & 25
Combined Age: 100
Test: Introductory Level Test B
My husband was facing a shoulder replacement in November 2014 when I saw an ad for a homely pinto gelding on Craigslist. His name was Legolas, and he was listed as SAFE.
The first dilemma was whether to take a car or the trailer. I opted for the trailer, and hubby insisted I bring him home. In 2014, Legolas was an international dressage star, and my friends thought that name was a bit presumptuous. Someone said he looks like a Magoo, and the name just stuck. He couldn’t walk a straight line or trot a 20-meter circle. He was meant to be a backyard trail horse. When I lost my “real” dressage horse, Magoo went into semi-serious training and did have some good scores at Training Level Test 3. I couldn’t come up with a show name, because he was “Just” Magoo. Other dressage horses came and went. Magoo spent some time at Cornell as a lesson and IHSA mount, where he showed off his jumping ability. He came home when COVID hit, and since then, his job has been making me smile.
When the vet said he is about 25, and with my 75th birthday looming, I decided to go for my Century Club ride sooner rather than later. We never know what the future holds. As for him being safe, he’s the only horse I’ve ever had who put me in the ER twice!
P.S. We did our Century Club ride on Magoo’s Gotcha Day!
