Two talented, award-winning horses of the same bloodline were reunited at Black Dog Farm in Plant City last Sunday, and one of their riders has a shot at competing in the Olympics.
Forrest Flame, known as Forrest, is a purebred New Forest Pony. Jill Hardt, owner of Tristan Oaks Dressage in Plant City, is Forrest’s rider.
Forrest has been gelded, but frozen breeding doses are available. In 2004, he sired a mare named Forrest Nymph.
Forrest Nymph, known as Farrah, is the only purebred NFP to ever have competed at the CCI** level in eventing, a sport that combines a variety of tests such as fitness and jumping.
Farrah’s current rider is Sinead Halpin, an international rider who has ridden her top-level horse at the World Equestrian Games in Normandy, France and will be considered for the summer 2016 Olympics. Halpin is a 4*-level rider, which is the highest level in eventing, but she rides Farrah at the 2* level.
Halpin spends most of the year in New Jersey, but winters in Ocala and brings her competition horses with her. To raise money for Farrah’s future international competitions, Beth Davidson, Farrah’s owner and director of Black Dog Farm, invited Hardt and Halpin to conduct a clinic and demonstrations at Black Dog Farm Sunday, Jan. 18.
Forrest Flame
Forrest is 15 years old, but Hardt said he rides as though he’s about 8.
“He’s always a clown,” Hardt said.
“What’s unique about Forrest is that he has so much fun with his body,” Hardt said.
He overcomes his size to conquer even the toughest obstacles.
Hardt has ridden Forrest through Prix St. Georges, a level of dressage for the Federation Equestre Internationale.
“Prix St. Georges is a high level of dressage competition for horses — like ballet on horseback, no jumping, and one of the Olympic equestrian disciplines,” Davidson said. “Very few ponies compete at the highest level in dressage, which makes Forrest and Jill unique.”
Forrest Nymph
Before Farrah was even born, Lynn Simpson of Thonotosassa had purchased her, and the horse arrived in Florida from Pennsylvania when she was 8 months old.
In the midst of family tragedy, Simpson sent Farrah, then 3 years old, to Hardt.
“Farrah hated dressage and got into lots of trouble at Jill’s barn,” Davidson said. “When Farrah was 5, Jill and Lynn decided Farrah should try a different career.”
Farrah was relocated to Black Dog Farm, because Davidson raises Connemara ponies like her. Davidson began jumping with Farrah, as well as trail riding. She worked Farrah up to even bigger challenges.
“I ended up trying a sport called three-day eventing, like triathlon on horses. You do a dressage phase, a cross country jumping phase and a stadium jumping phase,” Davidson said.
Cross country is a fitness test of 5,000 or more meters, marked by obstacles, water and drops. The stadium phase comprises numerous jumps in an arena setting.
“I was told by many Olympic-level trainers that Farrah was talented to compete at the upper levels, but my skill doesn’t allow me to try that,” Davidson said. “So I partnered with Sinead Halpin one year ago to compete Farrah at the upper levels of eventing.”
Since Halpin has been riding Farrah, the pair has placed fifth in Preliminary at the New Jersey Horse Park Trials (June 2014), 10th in Intermediate at the Virginia Horse Trials (May 2014), seventh in their first outing at the Intermediate level at the MCTA Horse Trials in Maryland (May 2014), and done well at several additional prestigious events around the country.
Despite her clean jumps and powerful hind legs, the horse does have her quirks.
“She’s happy to jump into water, she’s happy to jump out of water, but it has to have something to do with a jump — otherwise, she hates puddles,” Halpin said.
Farrah also has a mind of her own.
“I figured out pretty quickly, we have to do things on Farrah’s terms,” Halpin said.
Contact Catherine Sinclair at csinclair@plantcityobserver.com.