Some riders hang up their stirrups as the years stack up. Not Lorilee Hanson.
The 71-year-old plans to keep competing until she’s 80. And she’s on track to continue as a contender. Splitting her time between her native Washington state and Riverside County’s Hemet, Lorilee earned two national titles last year: USEA National Champion in both the Master Amateur and Master Rider divisions at Training level.
She cheerfully acknowledges she was “probably 15 to 20 years older than half the competition.” Lorilee didn’t set out to rack up year-end points, but when she happened upon her dominant lead about midway through the season, it was a thrill to have kept that status by year’s end.
Lorilee grew up in Enumclaw, Washington, riding saddle seat and western on an Arabian and with a 4H immersion in animal care. Eventing wasn’t on her radar until her late 20s, when a neighbor invited Lorilee to come watch a local event. The cross-country phase was all she needed to see. “Oh my god, that looks fun!” she recalls thinking.
Around 1985, Lorilee tackled her first eventing competition, with a green, off-the-track Thoroughbred that had little jumping experience. Neither did she. Even though they had a few stops on cross-country, Lorilee’s supportive husband, Merle Hanson, knew his wife was an eventing lifer the minute she crossed the finish line: “He still talks about how my eyes – and my horses’ – were as big as saucers!”
That feeling has fueled her ever since, through several different horses and competitions throughout USEA Area VII in the Pacific Northwest and at Galway Downs and other Area VI venues. At the March International Horse Trials, Lorilee was reserve champion with Mosaïque in Training Rider and third in Senior Novice Rider with Dionysos.
The Right Partners
Lorilee’s quest to compete into her 80s honors the realities of aging by ensuring she’s doing it on the right horses. No need to ride the greenies anymore and having an equine partner who gives her confidence is a must. Her longtime friend and horsewoman Margaux Spitzer has been an invaluable help in that regard, sourcing reliable mounts over several years.
“I don’t have any ambitions to go above Training,” she explains. “I’m happy there.” And ego is not an issue if it’s appropriate to drop either horse down a level.
Lorilee’s two current horses look completely different, yet both fill the solid citizen bill.
She did well with both at Galway Downs’ recent Spring Horse Trials. After a recent fall during a lesson with Mosaïque, Lorilee moved “Moe” to a confidence-rebuilding Novice level, where they finished second. And she and Dionysos, aka “Didou,“ were third in Training Rider, their first time competing together at that level.
Moe is an 11-year-old pinto Dutch Warmblood imported from France with Margaux’s help. He stands out with his black and white coloring, is quiet on the ground and competitive in all three phases.
Lorilee’s newer partner is the perfect combination of his registered name – Dionysos, the god of wine and revelry, and his “Didou” nickname – after a French cartoon character. The 13-year-old Selle Francais gelding came to Lorilee in February of this year. In his first outing at Galway’s March event, he competed at Novice and finished third. This past weekend, she bumped him up to Training — and he was “a superstar.”
While in Hemet, she keeps both horses at Tally Meadows Lay-Ups and Retirement, a private facility where Margaux had based her sport horse importing and sales business. It’s just a few minutes from the Hansons’ home in an over-55 community. When they’re at their Seattle-area home, the horses live on their two acres and Lorilee and Merle provide all their care.
Fitness-wise, Lorilee has done yoga, balance work and lots of walking in the past. More recently, she finds that caring for the horses and riding them is ample exercise to stay fit for the sport. Especially at home in Seattle, “It’s a lot of work.”
Team Lorilee
An excellent support system enhances Lorilee’s enjoyment of the sport. “Whether I stay at Training level or drop back to Novice or even Beginner Novice — I like going to the shows. I enjoy the camaraderie and the people.”
She works with Whitney Tucker Billeter, who is part of Erin Kellerhouse’s Swift Ridge Eventing at Galway Downs. While in Hemet over the winter, Lorilee hauls her horses to Galway for regular sessions with Whitney. “She’s been a real help with my confidence,” Lorilee says of the professional.
Lorilee’s husband Merle rides road bikes, not horses, but he gets and supports his wife’s devotion to eventing. They’re both retired after good careers with Boeing and Merle finds ways to pursue his passion while supporting his wife’s. During the Spring Horse Trials, for example, he cycled from Hemet to Galway in time to root Lorilee on for her mid-morning ride. When Didou ticked a rail in show jumping, Merle was the one asking the hard questions afterward.
“He’s very competitive,” Hanson says, laughing. “That bothered him!”
Their daughter Jordan caught the eventing bug too, competing alongside her mother for years — a highlight Lorilee describes as one of the best chapters of her life. Jordan and her husband Josh now live in Dallas and Jordan recently purchased a horse from Erin Kellerhouse’s barn. Jordan’s riding is on hold for the moment, however, with the Hansons’ first grandchild due in July. Hopefully, the child will carry the Hanson equestrian legacy into a third generation.
A Galway Regular
Lorilee is among several Pacific Northwest riders who migrate to Southern California over the winter and early spring months. She started doing it around 2015, to be near Jordan, who was earning a graduate degree in Clairmont at the time. Throughout that time, Jordan visited to ride on the weekends and mother and daughter frequently competed together.
Like many eventers, Lorilee gives back to the sport. She is Treasurer for USEA Area VII, a role she can fulfill year-round no matter where she’s located. Beyond that, she reminds all that longevity in the sport is possible with the right people and right horses on the team.
Feature photo: Tina Fitch
