Tory's horse doesn't need that.” Anne points out that usually in the actual show ring the standards are more substantial than those used for schooling fences, and that the jumps are decorated which makes them easier to see.
Once on course, Tory says, “A lot of it comes down to believing I can do it and having patience. When you are in the right rhythm and want to make an impulsive move, you've got to be patient. It's hard to be still and wait when you're not sure you're at the right jump! A thousand things can go through your head.”
Things almost went ter- ribly wrong at a show in Wellington once, when a triple had been set up for the afternoon Grand Prix class that would be held in the same ring that Tory's hunter class took place in. She was cantering around course, set up for the jump, and realized too late that some- thing was not right. Luckily her ex-Grand Prix jumper sailed right over the triple, leaving the crowd breathless and his rider unscathed.
Anne remarks, “I have one other horse in the barn that is as perfect as Rio out of 50 other horses. They are both one in a million. I know that Tory appreciates him and her chance to ride every day. She never, ever blames the horse if something goes wrong, but keeps it all in perspective. Of course she gets frustrated some- times but she never puts it on the horses.”
Assuming that Rio is ready in time for the competition, Tory says she would like to win the Legacy Cup with him this year. She explains, “At the end of the Florida Circuit, they invite all the champi- ons into the Grand
Prix arena to compete against each other. Last year I was having the
best round ever, but then I turned too early for a jump
and had to circle. It was so frus- trating! I had the course memo-
Tory and Rio compete at WEF in Wellington.
rized, but I focused in on the wrong jump. I want to go back and win that, and I want to win a Classic in the Grand Prix arena too.”
Show Horses
With her typical humor, Tory explains that she names all of her horses something sight-related. This includes her star show horse, Eye Remember Rio, a 13-year-old Hanoverian gelding by Rio Grande.
“Rio” stopped showing in July with a sesamoid injury, but is recuperating well. In the past few years Tory and Rio won the Adult Classic at Harrisburg and Washington and was Reserve Circuit Champions three years in a row at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida. The pair also won the Country Classic two times on the Grand Prix field in Wellington.
“He's phenomenal,” she says. “If I jump a little long, short, right or left, he jumps the same way every time. He can add a little or just melt back if he needs to. We've been partners for years, and it's like the wheels are well-greased.”
26
Tory also had a Selle Français gelding named Eyewitness that she imported from France and sold as a 3'6” hunter. “He was a really awesome jumper, and I did hunters with him,” she says. “I bought him as a sales horse and only had him about a year.”
Not all of Tory's horses are fancy show stock. “I want- ed a second trail horse, so I bought one for $900 off
Craigslist.com,” she remarks. “He's a 9-year-old Mustang/Draft cross and I'm now teaching him to drive which is a lot of fun. But don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my Warmbloods!”
Breeding for the Future
Tory also enjoys breeding horses, and produces a foal or two each year. Several of her horses share the sire Rio Grande, owned by 2004 and 2005 United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Hunter Breeder of the Year, Augustin Walch of W. Charlot Farms in Stratford, Ontario, Canada.
Walch earned the title based on results from seven
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76