Meet Governor

Govey is ready for our stadium lesson at a recent clinic.

Governor.  Where to begin....?

We'll start with the superficial.

• Governor is a handsome bay gelding with 4 white socks of various heights.  He has just a few white hairs on his head, near his left eye, that don't quite qualify as a star.  Okay, it's really not even a close call.  
• He's somewhere between 15.3 and 16.0 hands high, but his petite frame makes him appear much smaller.
• Governor's mane is out. of. control.  I've finally made peace with the fact that I just have to keep it short.  I tell myself that his mohawk gives him character.  
• Speaking of his petite frame, Governor has a very narrow build.  I have finally resorted to riding with super-short stirrups in order to feel that I have leg on my horse.  I'm only 5'4", but have frequently asked others for reassurance that I'm not "too big" for my horse!  Finding a saddle to fit his long withers and short, narrow back was quite the undertaking.  But I am completely happy with my County Innovation with an extra narrow tree and forward flaps.  The difference this saddle has made in my balance is tremendous...and worth every penny!

Love my saddle!  I've used oil to darken it significantly since this photo.

So what else do you need to know about this handsome boy?

• Wayfoong Governor is a 7 year old New Zealand Thoroughbred gelding.  He was bred by Jen Campin Bloodstock and was born October 16, 2007 in NZ.  He was sold at the New Zealand Bloodstock 2009 Select Yearling Sale for $5231 and was exported to Hong Kong in June of 2011 to begin his racing career.  
• There are two racecourses in Hong Kong, and Governor raced at both of them.  He ran just 3 times in early 2012 and finished 9th, 8th, and 10th, respectively.  He won $0 in prize money and that was it for his racing career.  As far as I am aware, he suffered no injuries or illnesses.  He was simply not fast enough for a successful race career.    

"Sha Tin Racecourse Overview 2009" by WiNG - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sha_Tin_Racecourse_Overview_2009.jpg#/media/File:Sha_Tin_Racecourse_Overview_2009.jpg

"Happy Valley Racecourse 1" by Minghong - Own work. Licensed under GFDL via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Happy_Valley_Racecourse_1.jpg#/media/File:Happy_Valley_Racecourse_1.jpg

• In the fall of 2012, Governor was shipped to the USA with several other horses in hopes that he would find a career outside of racing.  He was purchased by a kind lady from Virginia who wanted nothing more than to bring him back to good health and eventually sell him to a good home.  He spent several months at her farm before moving to Southern Pines, NC to begin his retraining.  

Hard to believe this is the same horse!

• I first met Governor in August, 2012.  I was looking for my next event horse, and I quickly fell in love with this boy's sweet demeanor and desire to please.  He was still very weak and very green, but I knew he had to be mine.  I was out of riding shape, so I figured we could improve together.  Within a week, Governor was part of our family.

The past 2 years have been full of ups and downs, highs and lows, laughter and tears.  I've fallen off and gotten back on.  I've been afraid, and I've felt invincible.  We competed in our first show (a local combined test) last September.  Then we tackled our first "green as grass" 3 phase horse trial the next month.  We've since completed a handful of maiden level horse trials and are aiming to move up to beginner novice in a few weeks.  Two months ago, I would have told you that our future might consist of treat-eating and trail riding.  But we seem to have some momentum now, and I wouldn't trade our ever-developing partnership for anything in the world.

With this blog, my intent is to document,  for myself, all of those ups and downs, lessons learned, and goals achieved.  It will be a place for me to dump lightbulb moments and mental breakthroughs.  In time, I hope I'll be able to look back and see just how far we've come.  

You are welcome to follow along on this journey, but please do not expect great words of wisdom, examples of good riding, or even much entertainment.  I promise nothing.  Let's just see where this goes....