The Hunt for My Unicorn

My Unicorn is out there.

How to Buy a Horse

In the horse jumping world, as a young jumper like me, the obligation to horse hunt for purchase is put in the hands of your trainer.  The trainer is the one that uses their personal contacts and knowledge about horses and looks for your horse for you to buy.  Basically, they broker the entire process; the introduction, appointments, trials, purchase price, vet check, horse evaluations and contractual sale, all on your behalf.  Their efforts are based on your budget, horse dreams, skill level and future goals as a rider. 

July 2024

We are in the month of July and Summer’s lease was always going to be a temporary solution while we tried out horses for purchase.  I've been leasing Summer since February and at the end of August our lease will exprire. In our 7th months together, she is getting more difficult and showing head strong “mare-ism” behavior.  She barrels towards the jumps at top speeds and if I’m not exactly perfect in my stride counts, she refuses and does a dead stop.  Her refusals are becoming more frequent and beginning to frustrate me, I’m losing confidence and questioning my jumping abilities.  As July comes to an end, we’ve begun the process of actively looking to purchase a horse that better suits me. One that I can call my own and consistentily train and compete with for the next few years, plus. We've tried a few horses to date, but so far, we've not found the horse of my dreams.

We are scheduled to go down to Del Mar to try a few potential horse purchase options at the HITS Summer Festival the first weekend of August.  

Del Mar August 4, 2024

We tried 6 different horses today in a span of 4 hours. There is very little time to carefully evaluate and make an informed decision, but the last horse had the most potential. She is from Mexico, Santa Rosa Bella, and the owner’s will be taking her back to Mexico if we do not make an offer that they accept, today.  She’s smaller than I was looking for, a chestnut mare. I was hoping for a gelding and something a little bigger.  I’m only 13 and already I feel like she’s a small horse underneath me at 16.1 hands.  I feel like if get much taller or bigger, I may out grow her like one does on a Pony. She's definitely a great jumper. She just won 1.20 meter Jumper and 1.20 meter Junior/Amateur Jumpers, so her price has almost doubled in the span of an afternoon.  Even if she was a match for me and she checked off all my wishes, wants and needs, I don’t think we could meet the owner’s asking price.  We’ll have to continue the search. I'm still holding on to my dream of a sweet, kind, generous, brave, athletic, 10-12 year old, gelding, any color but Grey.

August 31, 2024

Heatherly confirmed today, Saturday, August 31, 2024, that this is the last day I can ride Summer. I won’t be allowed to ride her again in the future as the lease contract officially ends. Heatherly does not currently have any school horses for me to take lessons on, so I guess, this is how it goes in the horse world and I won't be training with her or at Edelwiess until we buy a horse.  A few weeks ago, Heatherly suggested her horse, Fluff to purchase and I took him around the arena last week. Fluff has been in the field recovering from injury for a year and isn’t ready to start jumping yet.  He’s only allowed to do flat work and still needs time to rebuild his skills back before he can jump rails.  Heatherly will also need more evaluation time to see if he continues to make a full recovery before he starts jumping. Jumping him too soon could re-injure him and send him back to the recovery fields.  He will need a few more months and a vet check to get the green light to start jumping. Regardless, we are not a match. So, without a horse purchase in sight and no conversation about if their could be an alternative option to keep me practicing until we find a horse to bring over to Edelweiss full-time, I’m in limbo and unsure how I will keep training after today.

September

Heatherly hasn’t let us know of any horse trials for the beginning of this month and with no lesson horses, I’ve not been riding.  We’ve started searching horses for sale online through ProEquest, EquineNow, DreamHorse and on Facebook and sending them on to Heatherly to review.  End of September, I was able to go to Palm Springs and ride at Forsythe Farms with my mom’s friend.  She has a nice property near Thermal and a couple of horses for me to practice jumping on. At least I got to ride, even if it’s only for a day. I miss riding so much and am feeling like we'll never find a horse. Surely there must be my match out there for me.

October

It's the first few days of October, and Heatherly has seen a horse and knows the trainer in Rolling Hills that could be a potential match. She called them to see if we could try the horse on my day off of school. My mom also found the same horse listed on ProEquest as well, so maybe this is the one. My mom is going to take me to try Dhali Du Bellingcamps in Rolling Hills at the Seaside Horse Stables.  When we arrived, they had 2 horses for me to try! Belli was super sweet but not exactly what I’m hoping for, he's quiet, slow on his pick up and tough to get going. The other horse was a Grey Mare and was the most interesting horse yet. I really didn't want a Grey or a Mare, yet, but she was a nice jumper and spicy. Heatherly let us know both horses' asking prices and she wants to bring one in for a trial. But we let Heatherly know there's no point to bring her or the Gelding in for a trial as they're both priced way out of our budget. I’m still on the hunt for my unicorn and believe they are out there. I believe that it is possible to get a great horse within our budget. We're all getting discouraged and losing confidence that our budget is significant enough.

Riding is my passion and keeps me centered, balanced and feeling confident, proud with a sense of accomplishment and brings me happiness.  I would ride and train 3–5 times a week, consistently, even before we started looking for a horse to purchase.  Since we have not purchased a horse yet, Heatherly isn’t training me, and I’ve not ridden with her since August 31, 2024.  As one can imagine, not riding affects my attitude, school efforts and results, and I have been very downbeat in general because I’m not riding.  My moms are telling me, it's time to get me back in a barn and riding. Who knew finding a horse would take this long and be such an arduous task. Buying a horse is a life long comittment and I know how important this decision is and we must be patient. And I don't want to buy just any horse, I want my first horse to be the right horse. My mom has researched local barns and stables that offer one off lessons until we can find my horse.  She has found a few local barns to consider: Foxfield Riding School, CM Training Stables, Chipko Stables, Bittar Stables, True Blue Farms, Silent Partners, and Mark Watring Stables.  All of these barns have lesson horses and offer one off lessons. My mom is working hard to show me that there are other ways that I can continue riding, locally, while we keep searching for my horse. 

We are familiar with a majority of the listed trainers and stables, but I was unfamiliar with Mark Watring Stables so mymom decided to take me to the property to see it for myself.  MW Stables is just past my old barn at Shelburne Farms where I used to ride with CJE.  Once we found MW Stables, tucked back and up in the hills, we were met with a really nice young woman; Jacklyn and she showed us around and confirmed that they have multiple lesson horses and I can take one off lessons while we continue our horse search with Heatherly.   

Stable Relationships

I’ve taken a first lesson with Jacklyn, and she’s evaluated me to the level that I can begin joining group jumping lessons with Mark on the weekends.  The barn is welcoming and warm and there are about ten to a dozen other riders my age, as well as, adult riders and a few little ones training on ponies.  I’ve also been riding intermittently on the weekends when we’re out in Palm Springs at Forsythe Farms in Thermal to keep me active and in saddle. Heatherly asked us about the last two prospects, again, but both of the 2 options are way beyond our budget and I know I would be settling, even if we could negotiate a price closer to our budget. For my first horse, I dream that I love everything about him. And although our budget isn't as much as we all wish we could spend, I know it's a big enough budget to get me a great horse. I just know it and I will stay committed and stick to my goals and dreams.

I also understand that I can’t be at multiple barns and continue bouncing around from Los Angeles to Palm Springs to Moorpark to Westlake to accomplish the optimal progress I want for myself and my riding.  So, after 7 months with Heatherly and Edelweiss Farms and maybe 14+ horse considerations, we’ve decided that getting back on to a consistent riding schedule and taking lessons regularly and weekly will be best for me.  If Mark Watring will accept me as a student, I’d like to move over to his stable and train and practice with him, full-time.  Mark has multiple horses I can lesson on and we can continue to be patient and stay persistent in our hunt for my special unicorn.   So far I’ve ridden Lego, Spot and Quick. We understand leaving Heatherly and going to a new barn is a tough decision, but my equestrian goals are to keep training, 3-5 times week, ride and enter as many shows as I can. The only way I'll become a better rider is to compete, as much as possible. Mark Watring Stables is a show barn that competes and he even has horses available to lease and half lease and his barn is a great opportunity to keep me training regularly. He is a multiple Olympian Jumper with Medals, including a Gold one! He has won the World Championships and he still actively competes! He knows what it takes to get to the top levels of competition in this sport and can get me jumping to greater heights, on lesson horses for now.

What I've Learned from Horse Shopping

• Be patient, you truly can manifest your dreams to reality. Make your list of wants, dreams, desires and needs. Reflect on your list, check back often to remind yourself that being patient will pay off in the end. What you want for your horse, is possible.

• Stay persistent and positive. We tried over 19 horses until we found my "unicorn". At times I was extremely discouraged, I thought we'd never find my horse, but I'm proud, grateful and happy that I didn't give in to "just getting any horse." I stayed persistent, hopeful and optimistic, and it truly worked out for the best for me.

• Stay Open-minded. Although I wanted a gelding, jumper, any color but Grey, between 10-12 years old, brave with great scope, I was willing to say "yes" to try all sizes, breeds, colors, ages and genders. With each of my horse trials, I learned a little more about myself, and horsemanship. Sometimes I learned what else I wanted in my dream horse, and other times, I picked up character traits that I did not want in my dream horse. You learn A LOT about horsemanship, yourself as a rider, and how to communicate, build trust and figure out jumping differences and styles of a horse very quickly by sitting multiple horses.

• Stay true to yourself. With your trainer's input and insight, you can incorporate their expertise into helping you envision your dream horse. You know what your dream horse is, and you are right.