Linda Co and Little Big Shot (NY)
Team #1046: Linda Co and Little Big Shot
From: Middletown, New York
Ages 83 & 24
Combined Age: 107
Test: First Level Test 1
“Circles!” I can almost hear him thinking. “She wants circles. More circles. Round circles!”
Twenty-four years old and for most of his life a very successful hunter pony, he’s got a new job. Instead of fearless kids on his back, he’s got an eighty-three-year-old granny in a dressage saddle. We’re working in the same familiar ring, but instead of popping over the jumps, we’re making circles around and between them. Or we canter a diagonal out of a corner and trot at X; no flying changes please! The horse is a saint, and while he speaks “hunt seat” and I speak “dressage,” fortunately, we have Brittany Cooper Mondovancy to teach us each other’s language.
I don’t know how, but the breeder got it absolutely right when they named him “Little Big Shot” as a Welsh Cob foal. He’s built for dressage, has confidence to burn, is smarter than I am, and his stretch is a gift from the gods in the show ring.
After a late start (age 50), I’ve owned/ridden some horses, and everyone has taught me something. Merry, who broke my heart and six bones: you never stop loving them. Jake: ride the horse you’re ON. Sarah, the most important lesson of all: how to trust. And Little Big Shot: LISTEN to the horse. I should have had him first.
No. On second thought, I’m really glad to have him here at the end.
Photos by Renee Zernitsky Photography
