Although I’d been very content to goof around with Rocky as he enjoyed his semi-retirement, I missed having something concrete to work toward. Not to mention the excitement of competition! So, in September 1999, I started on the next chapter by buying another horse.

I was living in Arizona at the time, where horses are (thankfully) a bit cheaper than on the East Coast. The first horse I looked at was "Chief," a 7-year-old Thoroughbred (registered name Chief’s Ahead) who was advertised in the local horsey paper, Bridle and Bit. My friend/dressage coach Cyndi and I trekked two hours from Phoenix up to Chino Valley (near Flagstaff) to check him out... and we both loved him. I looked at a few other horses, but Chief was definitely the one for me.

So we brought Chief home. He had raced (quite unsuccessfully) until the age of 4, winning one race in 25 starts and earning a lifetime total of about $10,000. Didn't exactly live up to expectations in that department: his sire was Snow Chief (born 1983), who won 13 races and $3,383,210 in 24 starts, was 1986 champion 3-year-old colt, and won the 1986 Preakness Stakes.

After his racing career ended, he had a year off, and had been doing dressage for about a year when I got him. He’s the first really green horse I’ve had, so it’s been a lot of fun (and a bit exasperating, at times) bringing him along.

In the fall of 2000, Chief did his first two mini-events and had a great time in his new career as an event horse. His show name is Ithaca, after the town in upstate New York where I went to school.

Here’s a short video clip from one of Chief’s recent events—beginner novice at Rubicon Farm in November 2003.

Click here to see Chief’s pedigree.