By Stephanie Grober
My first experience at Harrisburg was more than twenty years ago, when I was grooming for a friend who was showing in the equitation. Until recently, those fuzzy memories (was it really that dark?) were all I had of the historic equestrian venue. That all changed this August when I showed my horse, Paint the Town Red (Yoyo), at Zone 2 Horse of the Year Finals. While I barely remember the Harrisburg of the early aughts, I can tell you that it shines brightly—brilliantly even—when you’re there competing for the first time at nearly forty years old!
I rarely showed as a junior, mostly due to financial constraints. I had my own horse, a very hot, very opinionated, and yet very wonderful OTTB gelding. It’s clear from photo evidence of that time that I had more guts than style. When I stopped riding in my twenties, I saved those photos, thinking they would be the sole reminders of my most significant equestrian achievements.
Life and horses, it seemed, had other plans. In May 2020, a wonderful friend (whom we now jokingly refer to as an enabler) shared that the barn where she took lessons had been struggling due to the pandemic’s effects. “I can ride horses,” I told her. And that is how, at 33 years old and after a decade out of the saddle, I started riding again.
I soon became the owner of a young thoroughbred hunter, Rory, an eye-catching and impressive athlete who dutifully carried me as I regained my seat, my leg, and (sometimes) my eye. In my “re-rider” era, I thought I would quickly become one of the poised, confident riders I had always envied in the hunter rings. But riding such a green but talented horse, I realized just as quickly how many critical skills I had failed to regain—or maybe had never possessed at all. My wonderful trainer, a true believer of thoroughbreds in the hunter ring, kept us both on track, and Rory and I shared many firsts, showing at wonderful venues where I was often proud to place solidly in the middle of the pack.
Last February, at six years old, Rory had a high hind splint that was proving tricky to heal and ultimately required surgical intervention. Emotionally, I struggled with the idea of being out of the saddle for months while he recovered, knowing that the break wouldn’t do either of us any good when it was time to bring him back to work. Enter Yoyo, a seven-year-old OTTB who was doing the jumpers with his teen owner and was available for half-lease. Hunter life was completely new to Yoyo, but he had already proven himself to be a willing, brave, and clever partner, and like all thoroughbreds, he has the heart of a champion.
After just a couple of months together, Yoyo and I went to our first show, where his lovely rounds showed us how much he had learned. That spring, he took home a ribbon in his first hunter derby out of nearly 40 horses. By the summer, we nicknamed him Big Ribbon Yoyo as his collection kept growing—even against steep competition on the summer circuits.
Last August, when his owner was heading to college, Yoyo joined our family full-time. It was right around the time Rory was ready to return to work, but I let my heart make the decision to get a second horse. Yoyo constantly reminds me that it was the right one.
I’m not very competitive by nature, evidenced often by my riding, but Yoyo helped me earn my first blue ribbon in the hunters and the first champion ribbon of my entire life. When moments like that come decades into your riding career, they are ones you will never forget. Once those dreams came true, Yoyo told me to dream bigger. I had never considered myself to be a rider capable of showing at finals, but suddenly it didn’t seem so far out of reach. We applied and were accepted to Zone 2 HOTY.
The night before our hunter championship began, Yoyo walked into the famous Harrisburg arena feeling like he belonged there, and I believed him. The next day, in the first finals of either of our lives, we scored an 82, our best round together to date. And because fate and horses are very much intertwined, my childhood trainer and a fellow rider from my junior days were even there in the stands to cheer us on for the ride, which had been decades in the making.
We took fourth in that class against a beautiful field of “older adults” and we added more great ribbons as the show went on. I savored every detail, from the plentiful exhibitor dinners, very much appreciated as classes ran into the late evening, to the thoughtful swag bags. We adults even got swag from Tito’s vodka, which was very fitting!
But it is the memory of being on Yoyo the night before our division, with the scoreboard lighting up the ring like Times Square, that will always contain the joy and exhilaration of the entire experience. We had earned our place at a show of that caliber, together.
As I sit here writing, many juniors and adult amateurs have just returned from a national indoor finals. These are the shows where you will read about top riders placing against hundreds of other competitors, and it can feel impossible to even imagine rising to that level. But Yoyo and I are also fresh off of The League National Finals, held outdoors at HITS Saugerties, where his spirit and his shiny chestnut coat helped us stand out even against 50+ horse and rider pairings at a time. We went to two finals in this one summer, and Big Ribbon Yoyo lived up to his nickname.
A thoroughbred will give you 110% of their heart, and Yoyo’s heart is far larger than any ring we’ll ever show in. I encourage more amateurs to believe in the breed and to believe in themselves. No one is too old, too young, too big, too small, or any other “too” to make our dreams come true. There was a time when I thought horses were simply a part of my past, but now my photos tell a different story.
Stephanie is an adult amateur who owns two thoroughbred geldings, Rory and Yoyo. She lives in New Jersey with her husband, two cats, and a dog.
