horses that were bred by W. Charlot Farms, all carrying bloodlines from Rio Grande, a 1986 registered Hanoverian by Raphael who enjoyed a successful inter- national show jumping career under Canadian Grand Prix rider Eric Lamaze before being retired to stud in 2001. He was the 2005 Leading Living Sire of Hunters as per USEF rankings (behind deceased Voltaire). Sadly Rio Grande passed away in 2007, but is still avail- able for breeding via frozen semen.
Tory's horse Eye Remember Rio (formerly Rio's Rex) is a half-brother to Addison Phillips' Large Junior Hunter 15 & Under Champion, Rio Bravo. He is also half brother to Rio Renoir, a bay Canadian Sport Horse gelding ridden by Holly Orlando and owned by Thomas and Cynthia Diebert, who was Champion of the $60,000 National Horse Show Hunter Championship in Wellington, Florida in December of 2006.
In a press release Rio Renoir's trainer, Joe Guzman, who divides his time between Wellington, FL, and White- house Station, NJ, commented, “He is without a doubt one of the nicest, most talented, well-mannered, fun horses that I have ever had, and I have had some nice ones!”
In addition to the recent recognition for success in the hunter ring, W. Charlot Farms is also a leading producer of show jumping horses. Rio Grande's son Catwalk was winner of two World Cup Qualifiers in 2007.
Tory says that she loves Thoroughbreds as well as Warmbloods, but that fate has paired her with Warmbloods. She sees breeding as an enjoyable way to expand her involvement with horses and propagate her mare's bloodlines. “I got into breeding because I love my mare and knew she'd be a great mom,” she says fondly.
Known as Ginger around the barn, See For Yourself is a registered Hanoverian by Grand Cru out of Weisenfee. Now 14 years old, she was the 2002 WEF Circuit Champion with Tory in the saddle and competed suc- cessfully in the Adult Amateur and Amateur/Owner hunters. Tory competed her for five or six years before retir- ing her as a broodmare.
“She is such a good mother and the babies are so beautiful,” Tory exclaims. “She's seen me through my two chil- dren and my divorce,
Tory with See For Yourself and her
second filly named Eye See Stars
so we have been through a lot together. She's a beauti- ful mover, always in the top three and a very lovely show hunter. She always won the hack classes and is just a very pleasant horse to be around, a pleasure to ride. She's also a very happy horse.”
Ginger has two offspring so far, and Tory plans to breed her again this year, either to Cabardino, a premium Holstein stallion, or to Viva Voltaire, an Elite Hanoverian stallion, both standing at W. Charlot Farms. Her two young ones include Out to See, a 2-year-old Hanoverian by Rio Grande, and Eye See Stars, an Oldenburg wean- ling by Jupiter.
“Out to See is very sweet and very calm,” says Tory. “The blacksmith says she is one of the nicest two-year- olds he has ever worked on. She has a typical Rio brain: you can't force the issue, but if you let her figure it out herself, she'll do anything for you.”
Anne Thornbury plans to break the two-year-old in the spring and says, “She seems to have a lovely tempera- ment. She's big, pretty and very quiet,” adding with a laugh, “but she is a chestnut mare, so we'll see!”
Of the weanling, Tory notes, “She's very ladylike and sweet. She's turned out with some other babies right now. She's more delicate that Out to See; when she was real little, she'd try to sit in your lap! It was just precious.”
Tory's goal is to keep the young stock healthy so that they can become her horses for the future. “They could be anything,” she explains. “I love horses, period. I've been so successful in the hunter/jumper world the hors- es don't owe me anything. We'll just see what hap- pens.”
Life as a Mom
As passionate as Tory is about horses, she is equally pas- sionate about motherhood. A fun development for her is that her son Max, who is interested in showing and riding, will be ready to compete in Children's Hunters around the same time as her first young horse is ready for the Pre-Greens. Since Rio has plenty of years left in the show ring, she plans to pass her superstar on to her son as she focuses her riding on her young horse.
Max is currently show- ing a large Connemara pony named Navigator, (originally named Seaborne Navigator and bred by Denise
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