Her story is like that of Black Beauty, I loved her as soon as I laid eyes on her. She was sent to us as a broodmare. Not suitable for riding because she was crazy. You couldn't get near her in a stall without a lot of patience. If you tried to put the halter on before you spent time letting her know that you wouldn't hurt her, she would throw herself against the wall. Beauty would kill herself before giving in. She would split her eyes open, doing this, to get away.
How could something this beautiful be crazy? I just stood there, watching her for about a week.
Our crew, the men who work and care for the horses are wonderful. They do their job, clean the stalls, feed, and check over the horses quietly. Sport horses like these need their own space and time... their jobs are highly competitive and intense. They have to have let down time.
Beauty gradually stopped climbing the walls and began to relax. I swear these guys could walk up to a deer in the woods; the horses in the barn don't even notice them working. You still couldn’t get a blanket on Beauty or cross tie her. She had obviously been beaten about the head... it was so sad, she was so noble. We gave her the name Boudicca, after the famous Celtic Warrior Princess.
Over the next few months we made friends with Boudicca. She was still very suspicious if you had anything in your hand, but if you took your time you could get the saddle on and then slowly and patiently get the bridle on. The first day that I finally got to ride her was wonderful. I could feel this incredible power and speed, but she was psycho. She could only take me on her back a few minutes at a time. You could feel that she had training, but if you headed towards a jump, she would literally clamp down on the bit and bolt toward and over it, out of control; out of her mind. We spent more time with her on the ground. We just played, grooming her with a towel at first, that’s how sensitive she was. We grazed her on the good spots around the farm, that other horses had never touched... and we talked. She got used to my voice.
Months passed and I learned how extremely intelligent Beauty was. Horses are just like people, they have different temperaments. You have your couch potatoes, your soldiers, and your mischief makers... their personalities vary just like people. I think Beauty has an IQ of 150 . If Beauty was human, she would be nobility. Kind, willing, and intelligent, but unwilling to give in to cruelty and ignorance... she would rather die.
Our riding sessions over these months extended. I could stay on her back without upsetting her for 45 minutes, or stay in the woods for hours. She improved and sometimes relaxed, but would have flashbacks of her past... jumping out from under me with no apparent reason. I remember the day that she let me put her blanket on in her stall... that was a big break through. She always told her story with those big black eyes and now they started looking soft and happy.
All of us in the barn learned her triggers that set her off, we just didn’t go there, and we spoiled her. Out of sixty horses, Beauty ran free over the farm. She appreciated that luxury. She grazed in the best grass spots, and talked to all the horses through their windows. She came back in the barn when she had enough. Now she realized that we knew who she was; Noble, elegant, and special. We had great respect for her and now her real personality began to shine through.
A year went by, and everyone said, why don't you show her, she's ready. We had come so far, that a part of me didn't want to take her out of her element, where she knew she was safe. I thought she would go backwards if we took her off the farm.
Spring of 2006, we went to a small show. It was obvious she was a “show horse”, competitive at heart. We had built enough trust that she could concentrate on what she was bred to do, "jump". We couldn’t walk across the show grounds without someone asking if she was for sale. For once in my life, as a professional horse woman, I could say NO. Oh come on, they would say, just put a price on her. I'd laugh. By fall, I knew that we had a great one. She was only six and she had a long career ahead, so I wasn’t in a hurry to move her to the big jumps.
Then it happened, I was diagnosed with cancer. The chemo took a lot out of me and I was too weak to ride. I just visited Beauty and we talked. A couple of times our boys tried to ride her, but she regressed and got nervous. I said "Okay Boudicca, I'm a warrior like you, and I'm going to beat this cancer. And when I get well, we're going to start back. How would you like to take a year off and be a mom, have a baby?" A lot of times, having a foal will relax a mare like Beauty.
We found a stallion that would be a great match. As usual Beauty was brave as long as you treated her with the utmost respect. Ninety days passed and we ultra sounded her. You could see the little fetus curled up with its heart beating strong. This will be good for Beauty, she can focus on being a mom, forget about the jumps for a while... it will do her good.
Time went on. I went through the hell of chemo, surgery and radiation. I began getting my hair back and along with it some of the strength to ride. I was thinking about that power and agility of Boudicca. But now she's in foal and I can wait, it’s good for both of us. We watched her and for some reason she wasn’t getting bigger. We called the vet and ultra sounded her again. No baby, we don’t know what happened. At this point I thought, what will be will be, so Beauty and I started back in training, together.
As fate would have it, like me, she had lost much of her muscle and fitness that allowed her to relax and train better. Slowly over the next several months we improved. She was almost like a normal horse to be around... blankets, clippers, pitch-forks, shovels, all those everyday things that used to upset her were old hat to her now.
Meantime my husband, Vick, had started a life-long dream. He wanted the great sport of show jumping to be shared with the public. Together with 25 other well known professional show jump riders, they had started City League. Now these famous men and women have taken over the evolution of their own sport. They created teams, representing their cities like other sports. It's all about sportsmanship and working together as a team, not only that, but the whole league is supporting the fight against cancer. It’s a really good thing.
Sport horses for this level of team competition are hard to find. My husband, Vick, says to find a great one is like finding Muhammad Alli. Nowadays a horse like this that could win for a City League team could cost millions, and guess what, my husband was out of a horse right now. At sixty years old and still fiercely competitive, he wasn't about to hang up his boots. He was searching the world for a City League horse for team Spartanburg.
One day, frustrated, he said "Pauline, I've been thinking, the horse I'm searching the world for might be in our barn." I knew what he was saying and I knew Beauty could jump those big jumps and beat the clock, but could she hold up to the mental strain of world class competition. "Look Vick, just try her, you know how I feel about this horse, but if it's meant to be, she will tell us." He jumped her 5ft that day. Easy, kicking up behind and playing with the jumps. That's it, she was doing what she was bred to do, and we couldn't deny that.
So on the road we went. Young as she was, she was acting like an old pro. Vick said "I'm making her take her time. There's a lot to learn and grand prix horses aren't made over night. She's a natural and her heart is as big as a house. Nothing scares her and she has the scope to jump the big time."
Beauty now has a long career ahead of her; many grand prix horses compete into their twenties. Her fan club is growing, and she is eating it up. In her mind she is finally being honored for who she is. She is the Warrior princess in all of us.
Visit Beauty at City League International Old Atlanta Classic at WillsPark May 29-June 1, 2008.
Pauline Russell is now healthy and cancer free, many thanks to family, friends, and the kind health professionals at Gibbs Cancer Center in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
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