Helen Hogan and The Moniet Nevaeh (TX)
Team #867: Helen Hogan and The Moniet Nevaeh
From: Fort Worth, Texas
Ages: 83 & 18
Combined Age: 101
Test: Introductory Level Test B
From riding ponies in the park at age three to showing a chestnut Arabian mare at 83, horses have made my life worthwhile. I began lessons on Saddlebreds at age five, despite concerns about rheumatic fever. My Uncle Steve Calder provided me with several off-the-track Thoroughbreds over the years, all of which I trained myself.
I earned my first blue ribbon in the last class of the season at a local playday. I even gave up the award to a member of our rival club so that the president’s teenage son could win the season trophy.
My most famous horse was Fadareyn, my Arabian stallion, whom I showed to a Legion of Honor title in 1988. I loved exploring a wide range of disciplines—English and Western Pleasure, Hunter Pleasure, hunter, reining, and competitive driving. I served on the Board of Governors for Hickory Creek Hunt, later became a USEF Show Steward, and judged Arabians, Welsh Ponies, Andalusians, Friesians, and both Miniature breeds.
After retiring from my college professorship in 1997, an injury sidelined me for the winter. But I soon returned to the show ring, making my Anglo-Arabian both a Region IX Fourth Level Dressage Champion and a Hunter Champion.
For my second Century Club ride, I rode a new Arabian mare, The Moniet Nevaeh, whom I had purchased already broke but not trained. After two years of Working Equitation practice, I moved her up a level in difficulty. She responded to every aid, making it the happiest day of my life. Guests enjoyed a special cake from my trainer, Meg Fletcher, and I signed the congratulatory poster, culminating a career that spanned from Central Florida to Texas, Lexington, and Toronto.
