You never forget the name of your first lesson horse – that horse who taught you what you need to know to work with every one that follows.
In this series, participants throughout the Thoroughbred industry share the names and stories of the horses that have taught them the most about life, revealing the limitless ways that horses can impact the people around them. Some came early on in their careers and helped them set a course for the rest of their lives, while others brought valuable lessons to veterans of the business.
Question: Which horse has taught you the most about life?
Ashley Horowitz, Super G Sporthorses: “Chita” has helped me with being kind and patient. When I got her, she was barely three years old, and she just did everything. Everything was easy for her, and by four years old, she was teaching people how to ride.
Then, while I was teaching them on her, I'd say, “You did that, now you should be able to do this on her,” and they didn't have as quick a learning curve as she did. She never cared that they were messing up, and however long it took, she just went with the flow.
To sit back and take guidance from your horse, who's teaching these kids how to ride…if it took them longer to figure out how to go over a jump and not pop the horse in the face, she just absorbed that and was okay with it. She's just been so steady and easy with so many different types of riders, so many different ages and emotions.
She was even-keeled through all of it, and I haven't always been that way. I've gotten that way in my teaching, but I'll get tough and get results out of people, but definitely when I was younger, before, I'd say, “This is what I expect from you, and we're going to make this happen.” You're not always going to get that to work. Seeing how steady and consistent she is at all times is pretty impressive, and is definitely something most people should aspire to.
A lot of people talk about their perfect lesson horses that have been doing this for years, and they're so awesome, and they're 25 or so. Chita's 10. She's been doing this since she was four years old, so she's got a lot of years under her belt, but she started this amazing. A lot of times, the good lesson horses have decades in their pocket. She's only 10 years old, and she's already influenced so many people, and helped so many people learn how to ride.
Ashley Horowitz and Churchita
Jonathan Horowitz, Announcer at Arapahoe Park: I wanted to evolve from being someone that just talks about horses to getting to spend time around them, to ride them, and to ultimately be able to make a difference by working with these horses after they retire. It's changed my entire approach to horse racing, and frankly, my entire life.
To have a horse like Chita be the horse that I learn from gave me the opportunity to learn to ride and event on Thoroughbreds. From that experience, I've been able to work with other horses off the track, and really feel like I can make a difference for a cause that is important to me, in a sport and with athletes that have given me so much. Now, I get to play a role and give back, and if I didn't have a horse with Chita's disposition, I don't think I would be in the same position that I'm at. It took a really unique Thoroughbred to give me a chance to learn on Thoroughbreds, and then be able to start to take those steps with the horses that I'm now working with coming off the track.
Jonathan Horowitz and Churchita
About Churchita
(2011, m., Churchhill x Slewita, by Tsunami Slew)
Churchita was bred in Texas by Laurie Rosenwasser, who dispersed her breeding stock before the large filly entered training.
She was listed on the CANTER Texas website, where she first caught the attention of Ashley Horowitz, but Churchita instead sold to an owner in California. Shortly after the transaction, the filly was listed for sale again, and Horowitz jumped at the opportunity, bringing Churchita to her Colorado base. Churchita was already a towering 16.3 hands tall as a 3-year-old, but Horowitz said she hasn't grown since then.
Churchita is currently pregnant for the first time, after being bred to Easter Man, Arabian racing's 2019 Horse of the Year. Not content with living a sedentary life as a pregnant mare, she still gives lessons to young riders as she awaits her foal.
The post Lesson Horses Presented By John Deere Equine Discount Program: Jonathan And Ashley Horowitz On Churchita appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
