GladysAnn Wells and Final Deal MJE (NC)
Team #944: GladysAnn Wells and Final Deal MJE
From: Monroe, North Carolina
Ages: 77 & 23
Combined Age: 100
Test: Introductory Level Test B
In the late 1980s, Birch Hill Farm and Mark Weissbecker brought Tigre Pass into my life and my learning. Tigre brought me from schooling shows through my qualified rider award in Eastern New York at Training, First, and Second Level championship placings in the early 1990s. In the mid-1990s, a marvelous career opportunity moved us from the Northeast to the Southwest, and our dressage competition paused.
Some years later, I began combined driving with Eileen Davis, Prescott, Arizona. Marriage brought me to North Carolina in 2011.
In 2013, decades-long friend Charlotte Trentelman entrusted me with her amazing, combined driving pony, Final Deal, MJE (Merry). Merry has taken me to national American Driving Society medals, many ribbons, and we now compete at the Intermediate level in driven dressage. Merry, like Tigre, is a partner of a lifetime.
I missed riding, and with the help and support from the Paris family of Joli Cheval Equestrian Center, Mint Hill, North Carolina, Merry and I explored basic ridden dressage. The path was not always smooth. Merry had not been ridden in anyone's memory, but our Joli Cheval family never gave up on either Merry or me.
We completed our Century Club ride on September 25, 2025, at Joli Cheval. Sue Smithson, with her knowledge, cheerfulness, sense of humor, and insight, made the fix-a-test day very special for several of us. Joli Cheval hosted a delightful champagne reception complete with flowers, food, and friends after our rides.
Photography by Bernard/ Vision Studio
Top photo of Penny Wightman (NY), Charlotte Trentleman (FL), Timothy Creech (NC)
