Sue Spencer doesn’t need a rosette to get excited about accomplishments with her horse. “At 61, I am more passionate than ever,” says the veteran exhibitor and volunteer.
But a rosette is nice, too. She and Dugald got a big blue one at the Spring Horse Trials as winners of the Starter Rider B division. Finishing on their 30 dressage score with the 17.2-hand, 8-year-old Oldenburg is a highlight among many magical moments Sue’s enjoyed in the horse world.
“I always wanted to event but I couldn’t afford it,” she shares. As a kid, Sue found ways to be involved with horses. She joined the Rolling Hills Pony Club in the Palos Verdes area where she grew up. In college, she started and galloped racehorses. When it came to competing, though, “I was always watching somebody else.”
When she was a single, working mom, that “somebody else” became her daughter, Jackie Farr. Volunteering at Jackie’s shows helped Sue defray some of the costs and set her on a now 20-year-plus path of helping out at horse shows.
“I idolized the eventers and I wanted to be like them so bad,” Sue reflects. “By volunteering, I got to know everybody.”
A Horse of Her Own
Eventually, Sue was able to get her own horse. When Jackie moved on from the sport, Sue took over her horses. Some of them still live at her half-acre property in Norco, including a pony on which Sue’s granddaughter, Reagan Moore, loves to foxhunt. Sue’s small herd lives in stalls that overlook public trails, and they regularly greet mounted trail riders and pedestrians looking to meet a friendly horse or pony.
When Sue could start competing herself several years ago, the “everybodys” she got to know as a volunteer were there for her. “When I show, people bend over backwards for me. People always help me with everything. If my trainer, Hawley Bennett-Awad, was busy, they’d school me. They helped me walk cross-country or memorize the show jumping course.. Clipping or braiding? Always a helping hand.”
She remembers volunteering when phone calls were the main recruiting method. “There was no email, we’d just call people who had expressed some interest and try to sign them up.” A strong Pony Club network was a big source of volunteers back in the day. Sue continues to be buddies with several of the parents and kids she knew supporting her daughter’s involvement with the River Hills Pony Club in Norco.
Supportive & Fun
Sue’s volunteer connections have especially helped her overcome some insecurities as a rider. “I’ve had really nice horses, but sometimes felt like I didn’t belong. But the group of people here is so supportive and fun.”
Now a member of Galway Downs’ unique Volunteer Committee, Sue is most happy filling in wherever most needed. “I’m not a great organizer. I’m best at the show just doing whatever is necessary. I like to be handy, to be that person who does whatever is needed.”
Sue juggles horse ownership, competing and volunteering with a full-time career as a schoolteacher. Over the past 25 years, she’s taught mostly 6th grade, and more recently, TK, in the Ontario-Montclair School District.
Sue’s Starter division champion partner, Dugald, aka “Doug,” was gifted to her from a friend two years ago. “I’ve loved all my horses, but this one may be my most beloved,” she acknowledges. “I feel like I am dreaming when I am around him.”
While volunteering at the spring show at Galway Downs last year, friend Val Ferraro asked Sue what she was doing with her new, fancy dressage horse. When it became apparent that Sue didn’t have a solid plan, Val said, “You don’t have that kind of time. You need to ride with the best.” Sixty at the time, Sue caught Val’s meaning. “That set me off!”
On paper, Doug didn’t seem an ideal fit for Sue’s habit of doing literally everything with her horses. Past equine partners have enjoyed fox hunting, trail riding and camping, along with eventing.
Adventurous Souls
Her previous eventing partner was a 17-hand Thoroughbred named Trevor who became a veteran horse camper. Adventures in Point Reyes, California, and Bryce Canyon, Utah, are among treasured moments before Trevor crossed the rainbow bridge at 27.5 years old, last year. Of all her activities with horses, Sue says trail riding and camping with them add a unique dimension to their relationship.
“Seeing mountain meadows – like you were in The Sound of Music – through my horse’s ears is just something else,” she shares. With Trevor, “we crossed countless waterfalls, narrow trails and he always kept me safe. I just can’t tell you what that’s like.”
Doug is turning out to be a perfect partner, even with challenges like being reactive around other horses while out on trail. Sue worried they’d face similar issues in the warm-up ring at recent shows. The big horse is also not a fan of being in his stall at horse shows. During horse shows, Sue is often seen walking Doug and hand-grazing him to the point of wearing herself out.
But all her worries were for naught this year, at the Winter Horse Trials in January, the February schooling show and the March Horse Trials. Sue is targeting the USEA’s American Eventing Championships at Galway Downs August 26-31, with her sights set on Beginner Novice. Mastering the Starter level with Doug fit trainer Hawley Bennett-Awad’s step-by-step approach, Sue explains. “She doesn’t want to leave any part of his training out.”
Doug’s training will eventually be as well-rounded as Trevor’s was. “I’m not sure if he will be the last horse I ever have, but I keep my horses for a lifetime. So, he has to be trained to pack me around, to foxhunt, and everything.”
Whether competing or volunteering, Sue is all-in. “It energizes me so much to be back in the game,” she explains. “It’s the most amazing thing to be my age and to be so excited about riding, to be trying to get better while bringing a young horse along and working with all these people I idolize.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.