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Why We Chose the Rocky Mountain Horse
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It's an amazing place that we find ourselves today.... If you were to ask either of us 10 years ago about horses and our goals we would have told you that we will have 2 geldings at home. Period. Just a couple of pleasure horses for the two of us to enjoy. We were not strongly biased to any particular breed or discipline. I preferred English, my husband western. I tended to be more competitive, he more relaxed. We loved horses and knew that we just wanted to own our own and enjoy them. Little did we know that our idea of a pleasure horse was about to take an unbelievable turn...
It started out with one completely frustrated English rider in search of "her perfect trail horse". I had enough of riding in a ring. I had competitive trail on my mind. And now that we finally purchased farm land in the heart of the Mt. Monadnock region we would have the chance to purchase our own horses and bring them home. I searched online, made about 100 phone calls and emails followed up by visits to farms that had potential prospects. As most of you know - it's quite a process. Anyways - I am a subscriber to a few horse related magazines, one of which is Equus. And in this particular month they had an article about gaited horses. I had never ridden a gaited horse and had little interest in them so I skimmed the words quickly. A few key phrases caught my attention, "easy disposition, sure footed, athletic, versatile"... and I read a portion on the Rocky Mountain Horse. OK - they sounded interesting enough for me to Google the breed online. Of course - to my dismay there was no one in New England that was breeding or selling these horses. But with the power of the internet I was able to contact some farms and learn more about this particular breed.
The first thing - it's very confusing!! It took me some time to differentiate between a Rocky Mountain Horse and a Mountain Pleasure Horse or a Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse or the Spotted Mountain Saddle Horse. Never mind all the registries like the North American Single-Footing Horse Association or Kentucky Natural Gaited Horse... and the list goes on!!!! Of course there is also the United Mountain Horse, Inc. This organization was developed for organizing shows that could involve all these different registries. But with some patient research and wonderful guidance I determined that a true Rocky Mountain Horse was worth looking at. My biggest reluctance with gaited horses at this time was the lack of a canter under saddle. I had no problem giving up a trot, but the canter..... I wasn't so sure about that one. But the rave reviews about being able to ride for hours without the strain on my knees sounded great.
So, much to the dismay of my husband, I purchased a plane ticket and flew to Maryland to actually get my eyes and hands on some of these horses. I had met a breeder online, Terry Tobias of Terralea Farm. She had 15 to 20 of these horses at her farm and was more than willing to take me in for a weekend and show me her horses. She actually met me at the airport!! The next day we saddled up and headed out. I had a 6 year old gelding named Santos. Terry took her stallion Rocky Top to lead the way. To date I had never considered riding a stallion. They were difficult, unruly, testosterone ridden wild horses only to be handled by those who had no concern for there own safety.... Yet - here I was out trail riding just a few feet behind one. No bucking or rearing - not even any tail swishing. The ride was wonderful. It was a true over the river and through the woods experience. Steep inclines and declines. And Santos never lost his footing or his patience with me. Even when we were descending a steep slope and we curved a sharp bend and my saddle slipped sideways. That wonderful horse waited patiently as I dismounted fixed the saddle and remounted. All the while crutched down on his haunches on the hill... I was riding on such a natural high when Terry asked if I wanted to switch horses.... "What?".... "Me ride a stallion??!!??" Oh Heck - Why not right???? So we switched... I calmly mounted Rocky Top. Once up, I had to remind myself to breathe. The feeling of power under me was amazing. It was like a rocket that could explode off at any time. But not once did he push me or try to take off with me. After awhile we arrived in a field and Terry suggested we bring it up to a canter... Once again I was surprised. "Canter, did you say canter??" "Sure", she said. So with slightest aid this magnificent stallion lead off with a perfectly smooth collected canter..... Does it get any better than this???
The rest as they say is history.... You can imagine the look my husband had when he picked me up from the airport and I told him that I bought a 2 year old gelding that hadn't even been started under saddle yet. A son of Rocky Tops of course... By the time he finished his training and we brought him home it took very little time for my husband to say, "I want one too!". The next year we purchased our second gelding. We had our complete package. We fell in total and complete love with these horses. And it didn't take long after that for us to realize how much of a need there is for these horses in New England. When we ride people will stop their cars next to us on the road and ask, "What kind of horse is that?". And it's not just the gait that catches their eye. It's also their amazing beauty.
So with a lot of thought and careful consideration we decided to do our small part and help to introduce these amazing horses to our area.
Happiness is afterall worth sharing........
Chrysten
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