“We have the same philosophy about training young
horses,” Tamie says. “Everyone was stunned that Rory is an American-bred, but she was bred right here in southern Cali- fornia. Judy and I have produced a few young horses and you never know what they’re going to do, especially as three- year-olds; it was really neat to be there with her in France and to enjoy the whole process. I’m so glad that was the last event of our European tour because Judy and her friends, who I’ve become friends with too, came and supported us and waved their American flags. [Eventer] Robyn Fischer was there too because she’s been part of the program as well. It was a great ‘last hurrah’ for 2016.”
Medical Challenges The decision had been made to compete Rory at Le Lion d’Angers, but a bizarre injury early last summer cast doubt on whether she would actually be able to make the trip. Tamie had taken the mare to Jersey Fresh because she
wanted her to experience a two-star event that had chal- lenging terrain and bigger crowds of spectators than she had experienced before. “I was taking two horses to the three-star so I figured what the heck,” she recalls. “Also the water at Jersey is impres- sive with the tailgating and all that.” In the lead-up to the event,
the mare was turned out in a grass paddock and sustained an eye injury, possibly from a weed hitting her in the eye. Dr. Kevin Keane of Cochranville, Pennsylvania, examined her and found a tiny corneal abrasion. “He didn’t think it would be a big deal, but he told me to tell the vets at the event and they thought it would be fine too,” she says. “But what ended up happening is we took her blood to spin it into serum, because you can’t use antibiotics under the FEI; instead they put this serum in her eye and it healed, but it developed an abscess underneath.” At the event the mare had a green stop on cross-country
“Eyes are so terrifying—
you don’t realize until you’re dealing with one how fragile they are.”
but we took it day by day. There’s minimal scarring, and she got a five-year-old Thoroughbred’s cornea, which must have made her faster!” she laughs. “It was hard, it was an unbeliev- able situation, but the vets there and Dr. Reuben Meridith (an animal ophthalmologist) here in Southern California have been amazing. There’s still an active blood vessel healing that area, so she has to wear a funny full plastic mask when she travels and she has to wear a fly mask, which she hates. But she’s doing well. Eyes are so terrifying—you don’t realize until you’re dealing with one how fragile they are.” Rory was at New Bolton
The pair cantering during their dressage test.
Center for almost six weeks for recovery. She then flew home and Tamie started hacking her around mid-July, slowly building up her fitness work and legging her up for the trip to France. “I was in Europe so [friend and business partner] Heather [Morris] competed her in a prelim horse trials to see how she felt. Heather said ‘she feels like a million bucks,’ and when I came home for a surprise birthday party for my husband I swung by Twin
Rivers to give her a run myself. You have a huge responsibil- ity to those providing the grant to compete at your best and I wanted to make sure she was a hundred percent. She won the Intermediate championship and got on a plane the next Monday.” Tamie was competing at Boekelo in the Netherlands and
but show jumped well. Before shipping her home, Dr. Keane recommended that they have her examined at nearby New Bolton Center. “It was a four-day drive home, and they said she should stay behind. We thought it would only take a few days, but it ended up being a lot more serious than we expected. They really did a very aggressive treatment, more so than I think would normally be done, but I think it was Judy’s and the vet’s agreement about how to deal with it.” At New Bolton Center, veterinarians cut out the abscess and did a partial corneal transplant. “It went the best way it could have gone; it was unbelievable,” says Tamie. “If she’d had one hiccup there was no way she’d have made it to Lion,
24 January/February 2017
so Rory was shipped there. “We kept doing fitness work until Lion. Horses are exciting, but this I could have done without. She’s tough as nails, though! It shows what a great mare she is. Some horses are just dramatic and complain about every- thing but she never complains. The only way to know if she’s not 100 percent is for her to somehow tell us and to follow your gut instinct. It was good to find out that she’s maybe too tough!”
Among the European Elite As well as being a huge learning opportunity, the trip to Europe was also an opportunity for Tamie to pit her skills against the best in the world. “I think you really have to earn your way to the top of the sport,” she remarks. “I went over
Libby Law Photography
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