We got Richy when he was four. He was originally my mom’s horse, and she started schooling him in dressage with my trainer, Brook Irving. When I was finally old enough to ride him, he became mine. I was only 12 at the time. He was definitely a handful and was still reminded of his racing past every time he heard a strange noise, which meant that he was very good at flying all the way across the arena in a split second before I even knew what was happening. I took him to as many shows as I could, trying to get more experience under his belt in hopes that he would eventually become a successful dressage horse.
By the time I was 16, Richy and I were showing third level dressage, scoring in the mid to upper 60s (which is pretty good in dressage), and were signed up to try out for the region six juniors team. This is basically the junior Olympics, where the top four people who make the team get to compete in Kentucky. This was when he was injured, and we have not yet been able to bring him back to work. So now he is a very happy and lazy horse who gets to live in a nice pasture at my house.
Thank you so much for letting me tell Richy’s story!
—Kaylan Lovrovich
R. Goods (WA), 1996, g., Son of Briartic—Noname Justfame, by Lemhi Gold.
Raced one year, 4-0-0-0, $164.
