S2 E24: Pink Pony Power: Ali Kuhn & OTTB Little Hail Take on Kentucky

S2 E24: Pink Pony Power: Ali Kuhn & OTTB Little Hail Take on Kentucky (transcript)

 [00:00:00] Hi everyone and welcome back to OTTP on Tap.

I'm Nev. And I'm Emily. Hey Nev. What's on tap today? Today's episode is a true fairytale. We're talking to someone who just completed her first four star at Kentucky at the end of April with her OTTB legend in the making. Ally Kon is here to chat about the incredible journey of little hail from the backside to the big leagues.

And yes, we'll be talking pink saddle pads too. I fell in love with their story watching the live stream and just had to invite her on to share it with all of you. Allie, welcome. Thank you. I'm very excited to be on and to talk about Little Hale and all of his greatness and a whole lot of his shenanigans.

Yes. Awesome. First off, can you share how your equestrian journey began? What kind of drew you into the sport of eventing in particular? Yeah, so I started out doing four H actually not pony club. Four H was pretty popular around here. My mom ran it. I grew up on a 40 horse farm [00:01:00] in Plymouth, Wisconsin, which is where I'm at now.

So we started doing all of your equitation, your Hunter classes, all that jazz. And it just got really monotonous and it got really boring and it lost its fun. So then we dove into eventing and dabbled in that and that was pretty expensive, right? And in being in the Midwest, you're traveling for these shows.

These are not like an hour away, these are a couple hours away. So we would go a few times a year and it was a pretty big deal and we really just fell in love with it. So that really took off. I probably started eventing when I was 12 on a really naughty pinto pony, and it was wonderful, right? Everyone should start a venting on a terribly naughty pony that if they steer it, they have a decent chance of getting over the jump, but possibly getting jumped on the ground. So that's where we started.

My mom got my sister, Whitney and I all the way up through preliminary. At the time I had gone through college. I had brought up three off the track at pre on my own. I'd buy him off the internet or from a friend for a couple hundred bucks and see where they ended up. And [00:02:00] I turned out with some really great horses and by the time I finished college, I applied to work for, and I worked for her for three and a half years.

I took a thoroughbred with me and got him all the way up to prelim with her and he told us he just wasn't really gonna do anything done so much. He looked, God, he had all the potential in the world. He was this big, beautiful chestnut and he was supposed to take me all the places. And he said, no thank you.

So that was kinda heartbreaking. Yeah. But Yeah, so I started grassroots with my own mom, and she got us all the way through prelim before Dorothy took me the rest of the way. 

that's amazing. Pretty cool start, doing it with your mom. Yeah. And your sister also competed up through the four star level, is that right? Yeah, she had her horse military mind and they did all the way through Four Star. He just got to that point , it started feeling more like a chore and an effort than fun for her.

And actually now they do Grand Prix trash, oh, that's awesome. Wow. I actually wrote him in some lessons when I was in Florida 'cause I was having trouble with my flying changes on hail. And so she was like, just pop on Milo. And I asked for one lead [00:03:00] change and I got seven in a row, Tempe changes and I was like, I dunno how to turn it off.

I dunno what to do. I turn it off, . It just showed the versatility of it, though he was a four star horse, and now he's a Grand Prix dressage horse, and that's really cool.

He's really talented in the show ring. So yeah, so it's a family affair. 

Oh, that's awesome. You've developed a reputation for retraining off the track thoroughbreds. What inspired you to focus on them specifically?

It was what I could afford at first. I wasn't a kid who could afford the trained horse already. So I would talk to a friend of a friend who had something out in the pasture, and I had some money from selling my sheep. I think I bought my first thoroughbred out of a pasture. 

Yep. And it was a brew bear, actually. Yeah. Yeah. I know. Looking back, I'm like, oh, that was a gamble. But, so it started there and it just at the time was what I could afford. Because no one really had seen the value of the thoroughbred. They were like, oh, it's just a throwaway horse.

It's sitting in a field. You can [00:04:00] have it basically for nothing. And that's where I started. But then I went to Dorothy, like that's all she did, right? That's all we had at the farm was thoroughbreds. And she's I will advocate for this breed because this breed deserves to be advocated for.

And so that's where I really learned that, the thoroughbred was so special and so unique, especially like. Throw a red line to throw a red line. They change, they vary. Some of them are excellent dressage horses. Some of them are great jumping horses. Some of them just wanna be trail horses.

So they're very versatile. Heck, I've seen people barrel race them, and I'm like, you go like you do you. So that's where I really learned to appreciate what they had to offer. There's, and you've gotta be very patient with them. You can't just take 'em off the track and then start putting 'em to work.

They need downtime. And so then I learned the value of the downtime and how to bring them back into being under saddle horses the right way. And that's so valuable. And then I actually worked at a racetrack for eight months after my show horse got hurt. Yep. I talked to my vet and he was like, you know what?

You [00:05:00] wanna make money? Go be a race rider. I was like, are you crazy? And I did it and it was eyeopening. You understand why some of them are head shy. You understand why they don't really give the pressure? Because no one's ever really taught them how to give to a chain, right? They just kinda have a chain thrown on and they're just expected that, you behave 'cause there's a chain on you.

But they don't understand that and they're not, no one spends lots of time grooming them and loving them. They. Get a curry whisked over 'em, they get some tack thrown on. They get a bridal thrown on and away You go down to the track. Yeah. And so then when you get them back home and you start to work with them, you understand why they're a bit frantic in the cross ties or why they don't cross tie or why they don't understand how to stand for their feet so it gave me a really great appreciation for what they've been through. And it showed me how to better work with them on this side of things. So I am so grateful for those eight months. I only fell off one time.

Wow. Like record. I know. And the horse almost knocked me unconscious, but it's fine. And I up being a really good gate rider and actually got offered a job, excuse me, at Keeneland as a gate rider. Wow. And I [00:06:00] was like, that is flattering. And that's someone's dream. It's just not mine. Yeah. I liked it.

It was an adrenaline rush, but I was not crushed when I wasn't doing that anymore. Yeah, we talk a lot about, the different language that like Thoroughbreds know so much. They do so much, but it's just different.

It's just different than what your typical horse at a boarding barn. They have a totally different routine, so I think that's a knowledge gap there between people that forget their first OTTB and they just, they get labeled as, oh, they're crazy. Or, oh, they don't know anything when really they know so much.

But it's just a totally different aspect. And it's a different pace too. They're used to like a frantic environment and so when someone wants to buy them off the track and they, oh, I don't wanna off the track and I wanna spend all this time with it, I'm like, understand that. He doesn't know how to just be groomed for 30 minutes.

He's to four minutes. Alright, let's go. You're actually gonna put him in a panic in the cross size if you spend that much time. Oh yeah. Understand why we're here and you have to. You have to show them that's okay.

It's a different style of life. And they get labeled as crazy [00:07:00] because no one understands that you're speaking Spanish to a horse that's only ever been taught German. Yeah. They don't know hundred percent. You have to take that into consideration and you just have to laugh at them sometimes when they make silly mistakes and you just kinda go, Hey, it's all right.

You tried. Next time we'll be better. Yeah. My retired race horse project horse was like that when he first came home. He was like, if you weren't doing anything with him, he just started throwing all of his toys out of his playpen. Just let's do something, I'm gonna explode.

Yeah.

So let's rewind a little bit to the very beginning of you and Little Hale wanted to talk about John and Dorothy Kroll. We, you mentioned them obviously, but from what I have read and heard that John was the one that who originally restarted Hale, but, and of course Dorothy really needs no introduction.

She I was a childhood idol of mine. She earned the silver medal at the world of crushing games in [00:08:00] 1994 on her absolute legend of an OTTV Moloca. I actually remember seeing them compete back in the day and just, they had such an incredible partnership, but how did your connection with them come about?

Yeah Dorothy was also my idol growing up, and I actually ran into her at a horse trial, Indiana Eventing Association, and I ran into one of her working students and we ended up talking and I was like, this. This lady's really cool. I wanna work for her. This sounds great. And I hadn't figured out what I wanted to do after college yet.

I was probably a freshman in college at the time. So I was excited and I was intrigued and here was my idol and she was just a normal human being. And it was crazy because you put these people on a pedestal and then you forget that they just like horses too. So I ended up going to work for her and hail was already being ridden by John.

By the time I got there, he was four, I wanna say, because my show Horse Redden was, they're the same age. So John and I were on kinda the same journey with our two young horses. And I guess Dorothy had [00:09:00] sat on hail once, 'cause she got him from Benny Williams. He was supposed to be Benny's fun horse, but he tried to kill Benny and she was like, I don't wanna ride this.

He's naughty. So Dorothy sat on him once and she was like, oh, this is John's flavor of horse. It's small, it's feisty. She's I'm too tall for this. I'm not riding this. So then John took him and John started riding him. And John's not short either. John's still six foot something, so it was silly, tall man and itty bitty little horse.

But hale's attitude and ego takes up the leg. So it really wasn't a problem, but we got to move up the levels together on our two young horses. And my horse was reliable in the dressage ring and his horse was reliable in the show jumping ring. And they were both pretty reliable on cross country.

So we went back and forth who, be who going up the levels. And so I was grooming for Dorothy at the time. I was a working student. And occasionally I had groomed for John. When John would go hunting up north, I'd ride hail for him. And so hail and I just had a fun relationship.

It was nothing serious. I'd hack him, I think I had took a flat lesson on him and I was like, oh my God, he's so fun and so bad. [00:10:00] 'cause he's a criber and he's a biter and he's a medicine. The cross ties, like anytime he is in the cross ties, no one wants to go past him. 'cause he is just, he's terrible.

Like he and as a woman, you have to watch out for your boobs. He will try to bite you. Yes. Specifically the left side. It's just so disrespectful. And all of my grooms at shows who are family friends, they all know watch your boobs. It's a whole thing. So I dunno. Okay. To say on a podcast, but it's, that's, I love that.

I would groom for him a couple times. I groomed for him at his first two star at the park and I just, I had a fun relationship with hail, but he was drawn for then my horse gets hurt. I work at the track. I ended up moving back to the farm at home 'cause it was always my plan to slowly take over the farm from my parents.

And now it's a hundred acres and it's post recognized horse trials and it's a whole thing now. Oh wow. It's a whole horse park. It's a whole Disney horse park up here. That's amazing. So I moved back home and then that horse had a freak accident and died. And my old show horse had a freak accident.

And when I'm talking freak accident, it's the kind of thing that your vet's wow, we've never seen that. Essentially one of my [00:11:00] thoroughbreds got like gangrene. Oh my God. Like, how does that happen? No one knows. I, gangrene doesn't exist anymore. He threw a blood clot in his foot from some infection and then his foot just died off his body.

I thought I was treating scratches on his leg, but it was his skin sloughing off. 'cause his Oh wow. Body's awful. Like you can't save him. There's nothing I could do. Yeah. So freak things like that happened and that happened three times and I was like, I'm about. Done with this journey, I'm exhausted.

And it wasn't, yeah, specific to the thoroughbred, it was like, I'm done with the heartbreak of horses. Yes, this is too much. I'm so tired of starting over, falling in love with something and then a dying horrible deaths. I can't do it. So probably the last freak one had died April of 21 and John called me in June.

And so he called me and I had always joked like, when are you just gonna give me hail? And by then I knew hail was just sitting in a pasture in Florida. 'cause John had worked for Karen O'Connor and back in BCOs Day and [00:12:00] he'd done all the things and he'd done the horse show stress and he was just done, he was done doing that.

And I totally respect that. 'cause we have all been there with our horse show careers where you're like, oh yeah, I just wanna trail ride or not touch a horse. So he called me and he. He's Hey, whatcha you up to? And I said, oh, haha, are you gonna, you finally telling me you're gonna give me hail? And he is actually that's why I'm calling.

So that's how's all started four years ago. That feels like fate, right? Does, except when you're terrified you're gonna kill another horse. I horse, yeah. I actually, I was gonna say no. I was gonna say no. And I talked to my husband and him and John, good friends when I lived down there. And Lucas was like, I think you should do it.

You love that horse. You've always loved that horse. Have you seen my track record? Like it's not great concerns to John and he's, you're not gonna kill him. . You're not gonna kill him. I'll back, him before I send him to you to show you that he is good to go. Yeah, so he did it and he shipped him with a horse.

And they drove him to Sun Prairie, [00:13:00] Wisconsin, and I met them at a truck stop with my trailer, and we unloaded hail next to all these semis and unloaded him on my trailer 

And he was suspicious and skeptical of that. So that's how it started., That's incredible. And so that was four years ago? Yeah. June of 21 is when that started. Okay. And so we had just gotten through Covid too and all of that. Yeah. So yeah, the world was in a very crazy place.

And now you have this really cool morse bat out of shape. He had been sitting in a field for two years or something, right? Little. He had the gutter reign back. Yeah. He was a whale. I was like, oh no. You're, I know. I gotta get him fit. Literally, I was like, when's the last time he was ridden?

And John's I don't know. I wrote him a couple weeks ago. I was like, had a walk or hold on. Yeah. And I was like, do I need to sedate him to ride him or am I gonna be fine? Those questions that you're like, I used to ride some feral stuff at the track, [00:14:00] but Yeah. How that was written daily.

This one, how feral is he going to be? , How tall is he? He is 15 one. Wow. Yes. Perfect size. It's wild. 15, one and a half at the end of a shoeing cycle. Okay. If you lucky. Yeah. So you get the horse home, right? And then did they, did you still keep training with John or Dorothy at that point, or No.

John and Dorothy live in Florida. Okay. And I live up here. I called Dorothy and I was like, so how do we get this back in shape safely? 'Cause you don't wanna do a tendon by just trotting up a hill or something. Stupid. Yeah. So she was like, okay, you need to walk, you need to take him and walk him.

A couple weeks school go hacking. Walk him up hills. back into Shape Nature's Way. Yeah. So that's what we did.

And we also put him on a proper feeding program where he was maybe Ed a bit. He was on a bunch of supplements because he used to be like a little stress ball at shows and he thought supplement and quiet essence, and God knows all this stuff. John sent me with 10 supplements and I felt like a [00:15:00] pharmacist putting together his little baggie as I was like a scoop of this, scoop that, like we are getting you off of these. This is ridiculous.

I'm not paying for all of these. So I think I hacked him for about a month and Uhhuh, he is rotten to hack. Absolutely terrible. He whirls to the right. Yep. He was pretending to be scared of dogs. He was scared of trees. Like he's rotten. Especially if you hack him with company that he can get involved in the terribleness.

Oh, classic. Like I hack him alone. Yes, I started a riot. if he hacks with company, he's here to party and it doesn't matter to him if you die in the process.

So we do that. That's hysterical. It's not safe for anyone. Yeah. I've almost died multiple times. And I was like, this is ridiculous. So like a month of hacking. And then I put him into some flat work and the first time I jumped him, he almost unloaded me rail. He exploded. And I'm talking exploded. Like I write a lot of rank stuff. He almost got me off and I was like, we will be starting at beginner, novice. [00:16:00] Thank you very much.

So that September I took him to this first horse trial at beginner, novice. We warmed up for 45 minutes for dressage because he was wild. I was like, oh my God,

stop running away with me. Sliding. Stop. We won it, I don't know how, but yeah, of course that was our first show and I was like, oh, we wanna do, so it was a rough start. . That's amazing. It sounds a little bit like another off the track thoroughbred.

I know Emily. Yeah. A lot of them start that way. Yeah. And Emily would be like, yeah, with my advanced stores, I would get on 'em before massage and trot 'em for an hour. Yeah. We go a long trots and then put 'em away. Then get on right before dressage and go basically right in the ring. . I love it. Little Hale's breeding is no joke. He's by Malibu Moon out of a quiet American mare. He was bred by Patrice j Wolfson and that's the same Patrice Wolfson who co-owned Affirmed.

So that's some breeding royalty. And I was just looking up his dam sire who is a horse named Siphon who is a Brazilian racehorse. And Emily had a horse who's great grand sire was [00:17:00] also just interesting. And he was apparently one of the best Brazilian race horses.

So really just incredible breeding. Do you feel like he shows that quality of breeding in the way that he is or maybe in his ego? He does not know that he is small. He has no idea. He is small. I love it. He's very proud. He's very proud of himself. And if I mess up, he is sure to let me know.

I'm now, God forbid he mess up 'cause I, he just gets mad. Yeah. Because he's like a performance animal and he's I can't believe I hit that. And I'm like, okay, let's move past it. But yeah, he's serious about his job. I was gonna go up to Kentucky and we were just gonna get through it.

And he was like, I'm actually here to compete. Lemme stay outta the way. He's very serious about his job. Sounds cool. And he's a very sound thorough and I'm gonna knock on wood really quick. Yeah. I'm too, that's awesome. And especially 'cause he's 16 now.

Yeah. Yeah. I didn't realize I [00:18:00] thought four. Yeah. That's incredible. So of all the thoroughbreds competing at Kentucky this year, at least I think five, had Malibu Moon in their pedigree closeup, and we were curious, are there any thoroughbred lines that you look for in, in general with all of your experience, but especially now that you've had such success with little hail.

Not necessarily ones that I look for, but I know what I'm not good with and I try to avoid storm cats and storm cat.

I've had two storm cats and they're incredible athletes, but they also are incredible at hurting themselves like stupid injuries. But also I know that I have a fiery personality and I know that they have a fiery personality. Yeah. And so I know that I'm not always capable of being the bigger person.. Yep. I know. And Storm Cat is such like a dividing issue. We talk about it a bit on here 'cause some people just absolutely love storm cats. And I don't think there's anything wrong with them. They don't, and I've ridden them and they're fine.

I can do it, but. [00:19:00] Personally, they just don't always mesh with me. The double, I don't mesh with them. I don't mesh with them. I think you have to know yourself and know what you're right. Good at riding and what you shouldn't take on because you're not gonna do it justice. I know I can't do a storm cat justice.

I know I can't, I know I'm not patient enough and there's people out there that are, and I'm gonna leave those horses for them. That's a great perspective. I'm not too proud to say I'm not good with those. That's the truth. Yeah. No, I think that's a great perspective. Like you can't match with every single horse out there.

Absolutely not. So what are Hale's biggest strengths and then what are his biggest, I think you've mentioned a few of his challenges. But where are, where would you put him there? Pretty much always get himself out of trouble. Whether it's trouble I've put him in or it's trouble he's put himself in.

Actually, the video you guys posted of me into the, I called it the wiener dog water. Yes. , The FBI guy did not appreciate me calling it that when it was subsequent cove. I was like, the winter dog was [00:20:00] likeer. I like that better. He knew what I was talking about, did he not? But I got some very judgy looks. yeah, I pushed for a distance and he's, no, I know that drop over there, so I'm gonna put one more step in. . Luckily I was sitting back, so we were fine. But he's just lightning fast with those reflexes. He can. And I think that's why all of us like thoroughbreds because maybe warm bloods can't quite do that.

And maybe a thoroughbred goes, I know how to get my feet outta trouble. Yeah. And they pop off the ground. That and. He is very God, he can turn so fast. He can turn so fast. Yeah. I actually overturned him twice on course 'cause I like sat and turned him and he turned really fast and I was like, oh, we'll just slice this 'cause I overturned my bad.

So he can turn really quick and he can get himself out of trouble. Extremely fast. Which is so appreciated, especially at the upper levels because you're, it's impossible to go out there and be perfect every time. It's not gonna happen. Yeah, I'm sure. So you need to, I think there was maybe it was coming out of that water where you jumped something in the [00:21:00] water, then you had to, it was like a big S turn.

It was, yeah. Two other jumps. And I remember I think it was Sinead and John holing that were doing the commenting and they were like. They gasped a little bit thinking you weren't gonna make it to the third element. And it was just clear that hail was like no, we got it.

Yeah, we're good. We blew the turn a little bit, but we're gonna get there and just watch us. Yeah. And he just you can see him like he, someone's did he slip on his right hind? I'm like, no. He stuck that right hind out and sat into it and turned. Yeah. And that's when we'd been doing dress massage lessons and she's he has to turn off your outside leg better.

So we really worked on that. Yeah. So I wouldn't turn him as hard as I used to have to turn him. Yeah. And he turned really well. And he's smart that he like sat on that hind and turned and I was like, oh, and now be patient ally because you did your job too. Sometimes. But actually I was worried about that fence because the out was pretty impressive.

And they actually, they were like, treat yourselves and we shaved down two inches of brush and we were like, oh, astounding. 'cause the first time I walked that brush, the backside of the brush was over my head. Oh my God. And. We [00:22:00] all know you're supposed to brush, but yeah, not always. He's not a real big fan of brushing brush.

We all know you're supposed to brush, but yeah, not always. He's not a real big fan of brushing brush, so when he actually put the fifth stride. in, I was pretty grateful because then he just across the brush and then turned really fast, and . He's also always looking for what's next. Smart enough to know that it's not just straight line ever this level.

So he's smart enough to know there's more coming, there's more coming, coming. . I think OTBs teach us just as much as we teach them. What has hail taught you as a horse? Woman? He's probably taught me that I'm more capable than I think I.

Oh, I think I tended to underestimate my own skills quite a bit before this, probably because horses kept dying on me and making me think that I was just a bad horse person. Yeah. I'm just not a good horse person. I just don't, I'm missing some mystery piece of care. And my vets were like, that's not it, ally.

So Hale was probably the first horse that showed me that I was capable of riding up to that level and [00:23:00] I would even be good at it. I wouldn't just hack through. I always thought I would just get to intermediate and I was gonna hack through right now, I was gonna be ugly, but I could say I did it and he showed me that I was capable of so much more than that and I could be detail oriented.

I was perfectly capable. I just maybe hadn't known how to do it right. I'm not sure. I think I was struggled with the details a little bit as a kid and then, but I also had a horse who did not enjoy the details either. So we kinda she didn't wanna be groomed either, so we didn't, I don't so he just showed me that I was capable.

I think that did wonders for my self-confidence, but also my own abilities. You know how it is, once something starts to feel right, you can keep snowballing that. And then more things go right. And it just, it took one horse showing me that I was capable for me to reach a little bigger, believe yourself, dream a little bigger, and wonder if maybe there was even more.

Definitely. That. That's a great segue into my next question was was there a moment or a turning point where you realized that, you know what, I think this horse could go all the way. [00:24:00] Oof. That's a tough one. I had known he had gone intermediate with John once. Once and a half. I wanna say, I think they did a dressage and schooled for show jumping and then scratched at one. Okay. I knew he had gone intermediate, but I knew from talking with John that it had felt hard. It had felt very difficult. But I was like, okay, the horses, we can get there.

Like he can be my horse. That gets me really confident at prelim. And maybe we'll try an intermediate. Yeah, probably when, gosh, I did a really great modified on him and it was a tough modified and it felt easy. It felt easy. And then we did prelims and they just, it seemed like the jumps weren't big enough, they weren't holding us.

And I was like this is unusual. I feel like most horses get up in front of a fence and they back up a little bit and sit down. And Hale was like, I can long spot all of these. And I was like this is feeling a bit dangerous. And then, we'd done a bunch of prelims and then we did the mediate and everything seemed to just come into stride. And then I would look at the pictures of him and he thought that was [00:25:00] the greatest thing since sliced bread. He was like, this is fantastic. These are huge. And I love being in the air. That leads us up to your first four star and only your third advanced. Is that right? Yep. And so tell us a little bit about the experience from the inside out. What was it like riding down that center line? Oh my gosh. I wish I could bottle the weekend up and just save it for a rainy day. Yeah.

When Dorothy, oh God, who first mentioned it, I think I jokingly had said to Kathy, my coach, that maybe next year I'll aim for, I. Four at Kentucky. And I was laughing, right? This was a big joke to me because I was never gonna ride at Kentucky. I'm not that good. And she was like, why wait for your next year?

And I was like, oh, she thinks I should wait two years. Okay. And she's you could do it this year. And I was like, oh no. So we got there. The two weeks beforehand, I just kept waiting for something to go wrong him, to go lame at me to fall off and break my ankle. Just waiting because there's [00:26:00] just no way.

I used to go with my four H group and go watch Rolex as a kid and we would ooh and on get all the autographs and shop and watch every cross country ride. Somebody else gets to do that, not me, that I'm not that girl. So I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop and.

Before Kentucky, they were like, absolutely not. My horse is not gonna be the one to break you. No. Don't even look at him like you. I'll just pay you to look at him. You can't get on. I was only allowed to give lessons, like any heavy lifting. Everyone was like, no, ally, you can't do that.

I was like, I'm not pregnant. And they were like, it's the horse show though. Dressage morning I woke up and I was like, oh my God. The day before I had just ridden in that big arena with all these other people and like we were riding in that ring and I'm looking around and I was like, oh my God, we are in here.

We are doing this. So then, yeah, dressage morning I did my pre ride and I just remember getting ready in my dressage outfit and I was like, holy crap. Like I'm about to go can or down center line at, I always call it Rolex because it was Rolex forever and 14-year-old [00:27:00] me was screaming like, ah. So I told myself I'd keep a lid on it.

And like you will not lose your cool because hale's not gonna be allowed to lose his. Cool. So it's never your turn as we know, to lose your mind riding. . So we can't announce on our line. We do our test. And I was absolutely thrilled with the test because we had drilled so much flat work the two weeks prior.

And I missed my first lead change because I just kicked in with my spur and you can see how well that went in our test. He really appreciative of that. The second one was much more prepared. So then we coming around at the end and we're coming down center and I was like, don't cry.

You can't cry yet. So I saluted and I looked up at the judge and that man. I don't know if he's never smiled in his life or he just doesn't care, but he could not wait for me to get out the ring. Like he was like on with an X. I'm here for the five star, not you piddly four star people. Get out. It was like, thank him for his day. I was like, thank you so much. And he was like. The judge at E though was like, tremendous outfit. [00:28:00] Tremendous. Oh my God. I was like, shout out to the E was, oh my god thank you so much. Oh, I felt like such a fan girl of this judge. I was like, oh my God, thank you. I know it.

So that's so sweet. I obviously, like as soon as I walked past her, I was like, and now here, and I'm not a crier by nature, but I cried so much during that week. I was like, oh my God, I'm doing it. Oh my God. And like the 30 people in the stands cheered so loud for me and I was like, oh my God. It felt like I was accepting a Grammy.

Just it's just like that. They're like, oh, there's a speech required. Whoops. I know. I was like, already to get one thank you. I wanna thank my mom. Nothing. And I have to say, they always say walking down that lane to the arena is so iconic. And it is like you're walking down the film crew is there.

I've got my squad in bright pink, everyone's who are these people? What are they celebrating and why are they so excited about dressage? And you're like walking out and there's all these photographers and you're like, I just did that thing. Like I just did that. It [00:29:00] was just so cool. And I think all of Area four was there.

Oh my God. And they're like, ah, we're so proud of you. And I felt oh, that's awesome. I love it so much. I wish I could bottle that exact feeling. Yeah. I think there's probably something really incredible about that. First time. At that level in an iconic place, like you said, a place that you grew up going to and you're never gonna replicate the feeling of the first time.

And I think that's so special. It it is. How did you feel after walking the course? How many times did you walk it? Did you have anyone walking with you? Yeah first time I walked it, I took my sister with me. So Whitney was my star groom and she is a phenomenal groom. If she were for hire, I would suggest her for anyone.

I paid her in hugs and merchandise I said, I won't walk it with just you first because my sister who has run this level and while she hasn't in a while, she can look at things from an experienced perspective.

And her and I [00:30:00] had walked my first intermediate together too. And it just worked. So we walked it together and we like discussed it and oh, okay, this is what I think I'll have to do here. And okay I know there, there might be a crowd for the four stars, so I might wanna maybe take the long route here.

'cause I dunno how he's gonna feel about jumping into the crowd. We've never jumped in front of a crowd before, so maybe, yeah, but he's run here a billion times, so maybe he won't care. And so we just talked and, I looked at everything and felt like, yeah I don't think there's anything down here I can't do.

I think it's hard and, there's some long routes that maybe we'll take if things are a little hairy, but I don't, I feel like we can do this. And then I walked it with Dorothy the next day. And she was much more worried than I was. I was like, I continue to not feel worried. And she was like, I'm worried that you're not worried.

I feel best about that. And then I walked it with Kathy, my other coach, and I like to walk with both of them because they have such different perspectives. Dorothy is a really aggressive ride. She's you can do that direct corner. You got that. And I was like my last outing at Terra Nova, maybe I wasn't as good of a rider as I could have been.

So maybe, I'm not sure. And [00:31:00] Kathy is one who's a bit more I think you should give him a good educational ride here and you should be a bit more patient. So I don't wanna say she errs on the side of cautious and careful, but she definitely makes me check in and go, yes, you're a good rider, but you're also new to this level.

Yeah, You're still green in advance and now you're at a four star, which you deserve to be at, but how can you make it the best four star for him and for you that you both can walk away from it.

Satisfied. Yeah. So I like to walk with both of them because it makes me bounce ideas back and forth about how I can do it. Also, okay, guess what? You planned on riding Dorothy's line here, but he actually landed on Kathy. Okay. I've got a plan. Yeah. Boom. I really like that. And that was really helpful.

And then Saturday morning, I walked it by myself at 7:00 AM and I put big headphones on and I just played music and got in a groove.

But also because there's a lot of people out there in the morning and they're excited to see your rider walking the course. Or there's, Philip Dutton walking right in front of you and you just wanna stay in your own lane. Yeah. It's really helpful to just go do it one last time. And you make a decision.

What is [00:32:00] your plan at this line? You've been told multiple options, but what is the plan? What's plan A, then? What's Plan B, c, E? All that stuff. Yeah. Because you do have to think that way at this level. Sure. 'cause there's a lot of stuff that can go wrong. You can hang a leg midair and land in a heap and figure out how you're gonna make it to be.

And things you don't want to happen. But they're horses and they don't get to walk the course first. So you gotta have a plan. That's great. That's great advice. So your ride cross country really just looked. Amazing. How did hail handle that course and were there any moments out there where you just had to take a deep breath and just trust him?

I felt very calm leaving the Starbucks. I'm a bit neurotic normally. And my first advance, I had done a lot of like self-help Mel Robbins podcasts, her books, reading 'em on just how to stay really level and stay in my own lane and stop worrying about the chatter.

Because when you wanna take on something like this and you've only gone too advanced before that, there are definitely people who are like, Hey, what are you thinking? And I wanted to make sure that I [00:33:00] kept that out of my focus. So I was in a really good head space. My first advanced, it's what had done, and I was calm the entire weekend to the point where my groom was like, are you okay?

And I was excited because you seem very quiet. And I was like, I just, I'm ready. I'm ready. And that's how I felt that morning. I jumped five cross country fences and Dorothy and Kathy were quiet, but they were like, that's it. You're ready Allie. Yeah. That's it. And my sister walked me to the Starbucks.

'cause I was like, I only want you in start because I need one calm person. Yeah. I can't have a crowd of nervous. I need one calm. And so she walked me there and we cried a little bit together. 'cause we were both geeking out that, little 14-year-old US was, oh my God. We were doing this because we were doing this.

It wasn't just me that went to Kentucky. My group went to Kentucky. We went to Kentucky. So my sister was riding Kentucky too. Yeah. And I just remember saying to her, I was like I've got this. I can do this. I absolutely believe I can do this. I knew, yeah. That four ab was gonna be an influential question.

It walked long [00:34:00] and it was up a hill. And so I knew if I did four A and b that the rest of the course. Would feel better, and it came early. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. And it got a ton of people and I remember seeing you come around and just nailing that and realizing the people that came before you that couldn't get to it.

It was pretty incredible. I'm not sure how much of that you knew before you left or if you were probably in the warmup or whatever, like you said, the chatter comes back and you're like, I stayed away from it this time. Good. Made a mistake at Terra Nova.

They had a really big jumbotron and warmup. Oh man. So you gotta see, that's rough. That's all you think it's gonna help you though, to be fair. You're like, oh, I can see how these things ride. Great. You can also see how things go wrong. Yeah. And that will get in your head and that will get in your way and get, make you get off your plan.

Exactly. And that happened to me at Terranova and I doubted myself and I had a stupid run out early because I just, I was so busy worrying about something later on course that I didn't ride what was right in front of me. And so I learned and I was like, okay, if there's a jumbotron and warmup, [00:35:00] I'm not watching it.

Thank God they didn't have one. Woo hoo. Yes. Yeah. So I had no idea that four eight B had been a problem. Yeah. I just assumed for me it was gonna be a lot of work. I was like, okay, I know me, I know this question. It's gonna be hard. It's up a hill and everyone's he's 15 hands, you worry about a stride.

Never. I never worry about him covering the ground. Yeah, he covers ground so easily, it's not even a problem. So yeah, came up there I, my road to my line and once I got to my spot, I just moved him up that hill and I was staring through that corner. There was a tree I was looking for and I was like, hear that tree down?

And he just ate up the distance and he, you see the video of him, he actually jumped me outta the tack over that corner and it was a huge corner. That's insane. And so anyone that's oh, does he ever run outta jump? No. I run out of springs in my knees actually. He jumped that and he landed and he was like, oh, this is awesome.

Yeah. And the crowd went wild and it didn't throw off his focus 'cause there was a crowd there. And I was like, really? That was my testing point for if you're gonna be affected by crowds. And he never felt rattled. And I was like, all right, I'm going direct at the [00:36:00] coffin then. Yeah. Because the question was, if he's rattled there, do you go long?

At the coffin so that he has more time to assess. But also when you do that, you're asking him to do a skinny on a turn, and it's really distracting. And sometimes it actually makes it harder. Yeah. So I wasn't keen on doing the long route, but if he was shocked by the crowds, I'm not gonna ask him to jump a skinny into crowds.

Sure. Because there's gonna be tons of people at the coffin. Yeah. You there's gonna be tons of people. Exactly. There's gonna be, I like looked at the coffin and I was like, there's gonna be a ton of people right here. Yeah. There's no way. And because the last couple of years, the coffin again came up really early on the course and it was incredibly influential, especially on the four Star, I think last year maybe.

Yeah, last year. Yeah. It came off of that turn where those brushes were at four and B and it really just got people. People. Yeah, it did. And so maybe I schooled those at home. I had plan, I set up some terrifying stuff for myself at home. Like to the point where even I had to run out on something I built myself.

And I was like, oh my Haps, you've built something too hard, ally. But I think it helped me because I like. In a way scared myself at home and made myself ride better. So then when I got to the [00:37:00] coffin, I was like, listen, you better be on that canner. You better have your eye on that cabin. And then as you're in the air for that cabin, you're looking at that Chevron.

Yeah. Yeah. And he was like, yep, no problem. And Dorothy said, if he's scrambling at the ditch for any reason or he. Over the cabin. Pull him right and go to the other cabin of the corner. It's just you can make that decision, but you have to do it well. Yeah. And he was so on it. So I just looked at that brush and scoot, scoot away we go.

And I have to say, when we landed from that and went to Gallup away, the crowd cheering, he was like, oh my gosh, they're here for me. And I was like, yeah, they're big man. You go, that's cool. You earned that. You earned next year you go. And he love it. He was like, and he always gallops with his ears back. So he was like, oh, I'm so great.

I was like, you're, I love it. I love that so much. Yeah. They asked me what percentage of your plan did you ride? And I said about, I think 85 to 90% of my ride went exactly the way I walked it, which is huge. I was also slow and careful. Normally can make time and I didn't aim for that today.

It's your first four star at Kentucky. Maybe you just focus on riding well and not making the time. Take the pedal off a little bit. [00:38:00] Yeah. Yeah. And he also picked the pace outta the box himself. He was like, this is a pace I wanna go. And I was like I'll be back here showing you the way.

So that's really cool. And he's still, zoom was I just took my time a bit more this time and wanted to be really accurate. That's awesome. Yeah. So not to age myself, but I actually rode at Kentucky in 1999 on my ot TV who was 19.

I guess I was 19. He was not 19. Oh my God. Back in the long format days. But I remember even then, like the crowds were very impressive. I'd never ridden in front of crowds like that, but. I was, I felt like I was able to just have this like weird tunnel vision and like just yes. Able to focus on the jump.

So I was curious if you were able to do that or if it was distracting for you at all versus No, it sounds like your voice is okay with it. My, a fellow trainer and friend Megan Marinovich verdict, she actually called me and she was like, Hey let's talk. You wanted advice, right? Because she's ridden at Kentucky twice.

One year she wrote in 21 where there were no crowds and she said 22, there were crowds. And she said she had not been [00:39:00] prepared for that. So she got distracted and had to stop. And she's only thing I can tell you is do not look at the crowd. Look down the lane and focus on your job.

Focus on your job. Do not look at the crowd at any point this whole weekend. Do not look at the crowd. I know it sounds silly, but that was probably the most influential thing I heard all weekend. Because you wanna look at all the people cheering for you. You wanna, oh my God, I'm at Kentucky, I wanna look.

Yeah. And I didn't, I was like, and you get lost. Eyes between the ears, the whole ride, eyes between the ears. And the only time I ever really noticed the crowd was when I was coming from those double corner brushes around to that ER and then that up to that brush, the crowd there. And with the As turn, you almost couldn't see your path for a second.

Where I was like, ah. That's when I was like, wow, that's a lot of people. And I was like, back on it. Ignore that. The open path is there. Just follow it. Let's keep going. But yeah, you have to tunnel vision. You really do. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. I feel like I didn't then thank God.

I feel like show jumping is where it really got me. Where I was just like, oh, now I can see them all at once. Yep. I felt [00:40:00] that I didn't look, but he did. And then when we came round to the triple line, he, that's where you had to turn toward the grand stand to make it. And I was dead on staring down that line and you actually see him like through the triple line drifting left and he just tanked each one.

And it's because his eyeballs were literally like, are you seeing this? Are you seeing? I was like, are you seeing these in front of us? And like he jumps normally goes clear. The first one was totally me because I was like, oh my God, we're at Kentucky and we're show jumping. And I came underpowered and then I was like, lesson learned.

Keep your life together. And then I was great and he just. He just was like, are you seeing this? And I was like, are you seeing the four foot fences in front of you? 'cause it feels like you're not. But then he like landed from that and he was like, oh my gosh, sorry mom, I'm back. And I was worried because we're at four rails by then and I was like, oh my God, we're gonna get CR and show jumping.

Yeah they're like coming around to the Rolex fence, which is right next to the grandstand. And I was like, please it up. Look at the jump pale and not the crowd. I think I texted Emily at one point and I was like, the four star show jumping is just cruel. I was like, you go from jump three towards the end gate, [00:41:00] away from the end gate and along it was like, it's just mean.

It's rough. It's, and like how often do we jump in front of a grandstand of people is never no rocking horse. I think there's four people watching me show jump. Right know. And TVA had a little bit of a crowd, like a mimosa hour mimosa situation.

So that was probably the biggest group we've ever in front of.

 A jersey fresh. At the New Jersey Horse Park, they have a covered arena with it is like a grandstand and they love putting a combination hard up against the rail and the horses always turn the corner and they're like, ah.

'cause it'll have the food vendors in there and little booths and stuff. And it's I'm like you guys, that's just mean.

It's mean. What does he ever see that he doesn't know? It's fine though it's not like without those 16 penalties like winning it right . I mean, I was picturing myself ending the weekend on one 50 with some stop on cross country and like a disaster of a dressage.

And you ended up with a happy, healthy horse at the end as well. I was thrilled with a 77. 

Yeah. Yeah. And I was like right in the middle of the pack. [00:42:00] I think there were supposed to be 58 starters. I don't know. I was like, I'm thrilled. So we'll take it. . As a newcomer to Kentucky and we're just talking about all of the atmosphere and everything that was going on there.

How did you feel to be riding alongside such big names? The likes of, Harry Meade and Boyd? I guess I'm only joking about that 'cause we, he we have so many big name riders in our area. Yeah, you really used to, to them to some degree. But I definitely get a little goofy around some of the international riders.

I definitely walked up to Michael Young at the rider party the night before and talked to him. You did? Yeah. Did you ask him for any advice or anything? Or did you guys just not talk about horses at all? Walked up and I said, hi, welcome back. We're really excited to have you. And . I'm a stranger. He doesn't know me. He actually turned and talked to me for a little bit and yeah, then I just walked away and I just loved it because he's a human too, and we all just love [00:43:00] horses.

We all like horses. It's just the people who like horses and they're all at a really expensive horse show, and maybe none of them dreamed of being here today, and maybe some of them have always dreamed of being there, and we're all just in one room together,

They're all just horse people too. Yeah. They're all just like little I to boys and girls who never grew up from riding horses, and he was very normal. Yeah. I was saying this to somebody recently, 'cause William Fox Pitt taught a clinic up here a couple months ago and I photographed it last year.

And then this year they needed somebody to pick him up from Maryland. So I drove down and picked him up. So the poor guy was trapped in a car with me for three hours and I had interviewed him , the year before for the podcast and he was just so gracious and he is just Thoroughbred's really shaped so much of his upper level career and , I think he feels in a lot of ways that he owes them, a lot of his success and everything like that.

But we talked about online bullying and what it means to create a legacy and biological clocks of women and wow. You got deep. Yeah. Oh. That's me though. Let's get into all of the cool topics and I like the next day.

It was [00:44:00] just funny 'cause I think he was just and we talked about horses a little bit, but I think he just actually liked the fact that I was like, I know who you are and I think you're awesome, but also I wanna know you in other ways besides the fact that you used to be the number one rider in the world.

Yeah.

So we touched on this a little bit, we jumped ahead a bit, but going into the final day of the competition for the show, jumping, how were you feeling? How did he jog up and all of that stuff, and just, what were you really hoping for?

He jogs up ready to go cross country again. Like a good thoroughbred. You don't realize how many people are taking pictures and crap because it's like deafening shutter sounds. Like you turn to jog back? There's a reason they explode. Yeah. Yeah. You can't, you're leaving. And so I was like, please don't run away with me.

I can't stop you. That's awesome. I was so happy about that because there'd be nothing worse than having a great cross country day and then my horse being broken. I would just feel terrible. I feel awful. So I was [00:45:00] feeling pretty good about it, and then I just, I went into jumping, feeling very logical about the situation. We're in a big environment we've never been in.

We're in a big environment we've never been in. Realistic expectations of my own capability. I know I'm perfectly capable of jumping a double clear. I'm not sure that I was capable of having a perfectly level head if my horse having a perfectly level head on day, what, like 5,000 of stress and high pressure and people hopes and dreams feeling what they're carrying along with you.

So I knew it was probably unlikely I would've a clear ground just because I knew that there's no way I can keep a lid for every fence. Yeah, I was shocked that we had four. I looked like that. I did not see that line biting us in the, but like that, I was like, okay, noted. Next time we jump in front of 11,000 people, keep your inside leg on a little.

Like they asked me in an interview like, what would you do to fix that? I was like, find 11,000 my best friends and have them watch me jump.

Yeah, [00:46:00] sure. So I feel like it's safe to say that the crowd and your crowd probably went wild for you after your big completion. Were you aware of the support from, the crowds that you were getting and your fan club?

I I think that I originally put out the, I put out a GoFundMe because I wanted to go to Kentucky, but I'd been in Florida five weeks longer than I'd been expecting to because once we decided we were gonna do it was that I needed to stay in Florida longer.

I needed to stay where my coaches were and all that is great, but I'm not making money doing that. 

If I told people they would be helping me get to Kentucky, people were probably gonna be pretty likely to help me because they wanna be part of that.

92% of the equine community will never that level wanna part your journey in a way. I can't do it alone, like getting here. Not just me, by myself. It happened. There is a billion people behind me. There's so many people behind the scenes. It's, there's people that I can call when I was having a down day where I was like, do I even have any business going?

And, and they were like, shut up. You know yourself.

Like I'm. There's [00:47:00] plenty of people who would sit down and have a glass of wine with me when I talk about, oh my God, I'm gonna go to Kentucky. And so when I put that GoFundMe out and I was like, what's happening? I had dream, but I at this point and I wanna go to Kentucky.

Will you help me get there? And that, it happened so fast, it went beyond that, and I was so. Grateful. Will you help me get there?

And obviously you didn't pay for the trailer. I had to buy because hail in January he tried to do a cartwheel in my trailer and I thought he was dead.

So I buy a trailer when I was in Florida. I had to get new saddles because mine stopped fitting and my rep wouldn't do anything about it. So I switched saddle brands and I had to buy new saddles, I'm so far there right now, but I went to Kentucky. . So it, it was incredible and I did not expect that many people to be at Kentucky for me and the number of people that reached out and, and they were like, I went this year, because I know somebody going and I actually have talked to her and I know her and I've seen her write a thousand times, and I was so shocked.

.And so then my client was like, I think we should get a little hail store [00:48:00] going because then. You can get some profits off of that. I didn't know how many people actually bought them, um, until I guess I watched the video of cross country 'cause I didn't look out at the crowd and I saw just the pink everywhere The sea of pink. The sea of pink. And pink people just sprinting fence to friend.

And just all the people that sent me pictures of them at home with their little hail gear on, with me in the background on cross country and all the people that sent me texts and all the people that sent me messages and all the Instagram videos I shared in and strangers sending me videos on Facebook.

It was wild. I just cried. I just sobbed. 'cause I was like, I cannot believe that was so electric. And the crowd just got louder and louder the further we went down the course. And at one point I think I was the only person on course . Yeah, you got a lot of live streaming coverage, I think because of that, which you know, is unfortunate for the other riders, but I was like, right for me. Yeah. when I finished that last fence, like it was, you would've thought I just Won a Stanley Cup.

It was so loud. [00:49:00] And I guess my crew, oh my goodness, my crew, like my half my barn, which we have a pretty sizable barn here. Half my barn was out there and I guess they were all at a jumbotron watching me finish and they said there was just a crowd by the jumbotron.

they said it was the coolest thing to be part of because they all felt like they were riding it with me.

For all of the OTTB riders listening or little girls and little boys that might be watching from Kentucky who are dreaming of the upper levels, what's your advice and what has to be in place for a thoroughbred to succeed at this level? I think there's two things. A, you have to give yourself permission. I ran around Kentucky and a smile, and I had the, I probably had more fun than anyone there because I didn't have an owner. I had to impress. I'm not trying to make it onto some Olympic team. I just got the opportunity to go out and enjoy the Heartbreak I'd done on my horse. Yeah. And I did it from the Midwest.

Yeah. I did it from the Midwest, and you can do it from the Midwest and you do not have to have an owner behind you, You can just be really determined [00:50:00] and you find people that are willing to help you. Some of my greatest coaches live here in the Midwest. My coach is in Illinois. I drive an hour. Wow. Someone who's gone to the Olympics or done all these things.

When I called her and said, Hey, will you come coach me at Kentucky? She jumped up and down and the screaming and was like, absolutely.

And her whole barn of people were so excited for me. You're in the Midwest, and people just don't either look for them or they don't know they're there. yeah, you can. You don't have to be some really wealthy individual. You can just be really stubborn and have a dream. Yeah. And you can go do it. You just gotta really want it. Yeah. And I feel like getting to achieve that big dream that you had as a girl. It just sets the framework for the rest of your career in a way where like you're always gonna feel accomplished because you reach this goal that you probably never really thought was gonna happen for you.

Yeah. For so many different reasons, and I just think, now the, now [00:51:00] everything else is just like the icing on the cake. Obviously we'll get into this in a little bit about your future plans, but I just think. It's amazing. And find coaches that understand thoroughbreds.

Yes. We always say that as well. That is the biggest thing I have figured out. Find people who understand a thoroughbred and they understand and like them. Yes. Find people that love thoroughbreds because those are the people that I've ridden with tons of people. And there's some people that just don't understand thoroughbreds or they don't like them.

Those people are not gonna help you get where you want to go. Yeah. Because they don't understand what they're working with. Yeah. I found people that understand thoroughbreds and they understand how they work and they understand when they start to get fry in their brain they know how to work 'em through it.

And those are the people that have helped me get where I needed to go. 'cause they're like, oh, just pat him on telling me silly and try it again. Don't discipline him. 'cause we all know if you hit a thoroughbred, you better be ready for the ride of your life. I found people who were patient.

I found people that understood my horse and understood me and my own insecurities on my horse. [00:52:00] And find yourself a gritty thoroughbred. Find yourself a war horse that ran a thousand times. That horse gonna be, it's probably gonna vet like crap on x-rays. That horse knows how to push through stuff.

Yeah. And that horse is an athlete and he wants it. Those are the horses that will take you places. Yeah. Not every single one of 'em, but God, you're war horse. They're so underappreciated. 'cause people are like, he is got bone chips or he didn't flex. Great. Who else wouldn't flex Great me.

I wouldn't find that terrible today. I broke a nail. I know. This is ridiculous. I broke an acrylic nail and my finger feels like it's about to fall off right now. I have a bandaid on it. Like I am pathetic. But I could still run around Kentucky right now with that finger if I needed to because I'm gritty.

So I have a horse that's gritty and people just don't appreciate the gritty war animals that they are. Yeah. That horse is telling you that he can push and he can handle it. Yeah, that one. We like to say that war, horses especially, the hardest job they're ever gonna do is be a race horse.

Even outside of being a five star inventor, the hardest thing on their bodies physically, and the demands of racing are way harder than anything [00:53:00] that, so if they can s retire, sound and get a little maintenance if they need it, they're gonna be up for the job for, and yeah their brains are there already.

They've got the work ethic. It's just, yep. I don't know. I just think there's nothing really better than a good thoroughbred. Speaking of that, do you feel like little hail is helping shift the narrative around thoroughbreds at the top level? Because I hope so. I hope he did because he think cut the eye of a lot of people.

He did. As someone who thought they were gonna just hack their way through Kentucky. That video on Instagram that the framed equestrian posted, which actually Kathleen Strm is someone I know and is a friend of mine. So it's funny. Her and I have been texting about this video. That thing has been watched like 60 plus thousand times and shared.

That's amazing. And the comments on all of these posts and everything, people being like, finally a thoroughbred. And I'm like, what are other people riding? Are they not all riding thoroughbreds? There's other things that are bad. They're missing out. They're missing out. And if they love their warm bloods, good for them.

I don't wanna kick for seven minutes around a cross [00:54:00] country court, right? I wanna have to pull because my God, we need to slow down. I want to contain energy.

I want to be going through the finish line and my horse to keep going, and I have to say, we're done.

'cause that's what I do. I'm like, we're done. We're done. And he's there's gotta be more. We are done. That is what I wanna ride and I hope. People watched him go and were like, wow, what is he? And they looked it up and were like, oh my God. He's literally a small scrappy thoroughbred.

I hope that all those people who post when they want a horse, they're looking for a horse and they say No, I hope that it changes their mind. I hope that they look at that video and they go, maybe I should consider a thoroughbred. And like maybe it would they can train it themselves, but maybe they should find someone who can train it for them and then they can ride it.

I don't know, but I hope it makes people wonder why they've never considered getting a thoroughbred before. I think it would be really funny if you have a picture at all of him when he first came off of his extended vacation. And sent it to us because there used to be floating around pictures of [00:55:00] Donner and then also Palm Crescent from their listing photos. And they would just circulate on the internet every once in a while when these horses would be at the upper levels at a big event or whatever, and they'd be like, would you buy this horse?

And all I can think of is like this fat. 15. One Thoroughbred. That's a criber. Spicy. Spicy Malibu moons, which can be more of a pro ride. Would tremendous Criber. Committed Criber. Committed criber. You know how many people would say no one because he is a Criber two, because he is 15 one.

Oh my goodness. I think that's just the best height ever. That's why he got passed over so much though. I was the fourth person they called about hail when John was like, he's just sitting in a field, but he is like a good jumper. Does anyone wanna ride him? And people were like he's naughty.

He's too, he fights, he's a criber, he bites, he's in general, just a little shit. He's a mess. And I'd have him no other way. He's not a kid's ride. He will never [00:56:00] safely pack children around beginner, novice because he's because he's gonna feel that the pace that should be done at is probably advanced speed. He's not cuddling in the crosses. He hates being groomed and curried.

He's rotten and I love him to pieces, but so many people pass him up 'cause they're like, he's small and insignificant. Yeah. I know everyone now is, uh, we, he's great. I'm like, did you know that when I was getting runaway with being, did you know he was great?

I've heard a lot of upper levels. Riders say that the good ones always have a little bit of feral in them. So they're rotten. They're rotten. I know. You just have to know how to channel that.

When I'm on him and we're running cross country, I'm his best friend. As soon as I got off of him, he was like, where's Whitney? Where's my emotional blanket? He wanted nothing to do with me on the ground. And I was like. Listen man to each their own. This weekend I was drinking kitty cocktail all weekend like no alcohol.

'cause I couldn't stomach it and he wanted to hang out with my sister that's fine, I'll just get on you and we'll go. Yeah. I feel bad. I'm just like handing him off and they're like, oh, Michael Young always does stuff with his horse.

I'm [00:57:00] like, I will get eaten. He bit me in the butt. I never ripped my left boob off and I don't need that right now. He bit me in the butt. The one time I tried to put his back on track, SCRI sheet on and I was like, I'm done hanging out with you, you're mean to me. And then my sister came in the stall and he was all ears for and cuddly and I was like, you never cuddle, ever.

You rotten animal. They're outrageous. I love it so much. You have demonstrated that success in inventing isn't limited to those with vast resources. How do you hope your journey with little hail influences aspiring riders who feel like they might lack the means to compete at the higher levels?

I do know you touched on this a little bit, but you took a chance on a little horse that you know Yep. Sitting in the field. Also, I'm a risk taker though too. Yeah. I will say that about myself. I will try something.

I will try it and not know if the outcome's gonna be great, but I'm also scrappy in the way that like I baked Mac French macaroni cookies and sold them to pay for gas to my horse shows. There's a will, there's a way that's beautiful.

And I, I rode horses. I didn't necessarily wanna ride, [00:58:00] and I took on things and stressed myself out. But making the pennies count was it tough. Working a job in Florida at the tech shop, while also having two horses of my own down there and having a sale horse down there for a client. Yeah, it was super freaking stressful the entire time, like this year has been the most stressful year of my entire life, but it has been so worth it.

It has been so worth it, and it's not always gonna be that now it's not that stressful. I think my next outing, I'm gonna go probably get run away without an intermediate, and it's gonna be glorious, but you just have to be really crappy and you have to be really willing to be gritty and just try things and.

Go after. If you wanna do it, you'll figure it out. You'll figure it out. I wanted to go and all it took for me was two coaches who are pretty freaking tough and old style and are not likely to let people just move up. It took them both being like, Ellie,

you should go run around a four star. And I was like, crap.

If they think I can, then I'm, I will find a way to do it knowing that the entry alone is a thousand dollars. And I was like. I'm gonna find a way. I don't know what it's gonna be, but I'm gonna figure it out. And I did. [00:59:00] And I have some really wonderful people in my corner that I was like, hi, do you love me?

Will you lend me some money? I will give you lessons for a year for free. Please let me. And they were like, of course you're indebted now. Yeah. Indebted. And they will never let pay them back yeah. Yeah.

it's like anything in life. If you want it, you'll figure out a way to do it.

You'll, I'm super broke right now. I can't tell you how broke I'm right now. It's terrible because I'm paying for all of this, but it's. I can say that I ran around Kentucky, which little girl me would've never believed she could do. Yeah. And now my goal is to. Can you do it again with a different one? Yeah. Can you, or have you learned enough skills to do it again? Yeah, because I've got a really cool baby horse who looks just like hail. It's terrifying. And she's a really big ego and she's got a really big jump and, that'll be exciting. Maybe her and I'll go there. Or maybe fate was that.

I only get to go once. I don't know. Yeah. But I'm gonna try. So yeah, that's where I'm at. This kinda leads into our next question not to bring it [01:00:00] down, but after facing, you were talking about the heartbreaking losses that you went through with your several horses earlier and that you had actually considered stepping away.

Do you have any kind of advice or what sort of inner strengths or. Support systems or do you have any kind of advice for others that are facing a similar spot in their life? Or similar challenges? Two things.

One, I got the word resilient tattooed on my shoulder.

A horse actually flipped over on me once years ago and destroyed my rotator cuff and I my arm off. So it was a reminder to that shoulder to remain resilient because your girl's not sound. I'm very unsound when a like cliche thing where everyone's oh my God, when you feel like nothing can go right and then you finally stop trying something finally goes right.

Ugh. It's true. Just when I felt like maybe I should just groom horses for the rest of my life and not try to show or that moment where I was like, I don't really know what I'm gonna do 'cause I'm clearly not meant to show. That's when hail came [01:01:00] into my life. Yeah. And that is the most cliche crap you can say because it, you're like, really, that's what she's gonna say?

That's not helpful. If you want something, it's gonna be really hard. You're gonna have horses that you think are gonna take you places, and they just don't because not every animal that's gifted wants to do it. And you have to make peace with that because you can't make horses jump jumps.

You can't make a horse who doesn't wanna jump, go around a four star.

It's not gonna happen. So you have to be willing to struggle and you have to be willing to fail, and you have to be willing to be like, I learned something from it, but I'm not gonna quit. But you have to accept that failure is there to help you and something greater is coming. 

And I always told myself like, I'm a religious person, so for me, I was like, God I don't know why these horrible things keep happening to me and you keep taking horses outta my life. , I have faith that something good is coming. And I just kept telling myself that because I don't believe in. Bad days.

I believe in bad moments and there's always something good about every day. Even when [01:02:00] my horse died, I was like, I still gave a really great lesson that day. Yeah, you a really great lesson. So while I had a really bad moment that day and it was really influential, it wasn't a bad day. So when you have terrible things happen, you have to make sure that you have the mental strength to not let yourself get in a rut.

Because once you're in a rut, it's really hard to get out. And I am not keen on wallowing, so I just never let myself get in a place and I was like, Nope, something. Something's gonna stick. Something's gonna stick. I'm gonna keep trying because something's gonna work. And it did. Yeah. But I think a lot of people probably called me crazy.

They're like, this girl just does not know when to quit and that area around me saw me like, you struggled for so long, like you deserve this success. And I was like, I, that I struggle with because I don't think anyone deserves anything like that. No one deserves to have their horse die. That's awful.

But of course, yeah. One person struggle shouldn't have a greater reward than someone else's. So yes, I had earned Wonderful. Yeah. It, yes, I had a wonderful horse put in my lap, but I also knew what to do with him. Yeah. 'cause I think we [01:03:00] were both a bit mad and underestimated and so I think we both thrived off each other.

Yeah. He, he'd been passed over a lot and I'd been, I don't wanna say passed over, but I had opportunities leave me often enough. And I think we both had a bit of chip on our shoulder and something to prove. And I think that I was gonna say you both had something to prove. Yeah. Yeah. I think we did. I think we both were like, you know what, no one expects us and no one thinks anything of us and we're gonna show 'em that we are something And yeah.

I think that kind of hate fire fueled me for a long time. And now I'm like, okay, but I also am gonna enjoy this journey 'cause I don't know how long it's gonna last. Yeah. And I want him to retire here someday and just be grumpy until the day he dies. I want that for him because he deserves to just be mad at everyone.

I love that for him. He's only mad at me mostly, but he's got a fat paint friend out there and they're super happy and I want him to retire with me sound and live out his days ruining people's lives. I want that for him. You know what? You need to put him with a little naughty shalin and they can just take over the world together.

We have a naughty [01:04:00] pony and I refuse to put them anywhere near each other 'cause they would just plotting to kill you. Just, oh my God. It's too much. It's too much. It's so funny. Okay, so we have a little segment here. It's a quick fire. Okay. 10 questions. Let's do, we modified it, we've given it to a couple of other riders.

So you're just gonna say the first thing that comes to mind. No overthinking. I'll let Emily go first. Alright. Okay. So if you could ride any horse in history, who would it be? Molokai. Do words. Hands down. Good answer. That was too easy. I know. What's your go-to cross country hype song? Crab. Rave by noise Storm.

Hold on, writing that down. All right. Post favorite post event. Treat for you and for hail.

For hail. It's the driest, nastiest treats you can buy from Tractor supply. Those are his favorite snacks, of [01:05:00] course. Stale. Hands down. Don't give him some bougie treat. He does not want that, and he wants some nasty thing that you would never dream of having. . For me, it's probably Cheddar popcorn, smart food.

I can polish off a bag of that. No problem. Oh, those are good. Yeah, so good. If you were not an inventor, what do you think you'd be doing? I would open a bakery and sell French macaroni cookies 

, Obviously. Of course. So specific and I love it. If hail were an actor, who would he be?

obviously Matthew McConaughey

oh my God. Pre ride ritual or good luck charm. Good luck, charm. My dress pad that I really desperately need to replace is the swallow tail. It's too small. Probably cuts into his withers. But one time I wore a different pad. I got a bad dressage score. I need to retire it.

It's time. But I wore it at Kentucky and I was like, listen, I love how superstitious Avengers are. It's one of my favorite things, or like hockey players, it's really bad. Someday I'm gonna [01:06:00] replace this. You know what would be amazing is if inventors did that thing that like baseball players do, and they didn't wash it.

They grew their mustache out. Can you imagine like Tim Price with a mustache? I could just grow my leg hair out. Oh my God. Wait, what happened to Emily? She's gone. Anyways, I'm gonna continue to ask you the questions. Good. Your dream event to ride at someday? Dream event. Check. Did it, it was Kentucky.

Besides Kentucky. It's Kentucky. I am very excited to go to Rebecca Farm. I have always Oh, that's a good one. I have always wanted a reason to go. Me too. I have a reason to go, so I'm going. Meet me there. I drove the northern route across the country. A couple of years ago, and it was just the most incredible experience being out in that part of the country. It's like being in a completely different part of the world, it feels yeah. It's gonna be a 22 hour drive for me, and I'm like, oh my God.

[01:07:00] Key up the playlist, get the audio book.

I'm ready. Listen to our podcast. I will say I'm not a big, I haven't been a big podcast person, but then when you guys take me on Facebook on the video, I was like, what is this? I was like, how do I get her attention?

I know everybody's trying to get a piece of her right now. And I was so excited she's never gonna see this. It got shared four times to me. I think four to five times. To me, everyone's ku. Yeah. I was like, oh my God, what is happening?

You're like, oh, this lady who has this podcast is obsessed with me. Cool. And I was like, naasha, find me on Facebook. Who is she creep? How do I say her name? Nema. Exactly. Alright, Emily, we're on question number eight. So one word that describes your bond with hail chaotic. That sounds about right. Yeah. Question number nine is your favorite OTTB trait. Ooh, man. I think the unwillingness to give up just that gritty. I can do this no matter [01:08:00] what. Yeah. This last one, I feel like you're gonna make me cry with this answer.

Go. What would your younger self say if she saw you today? Oh my goodness. She would be like, you are such a badass. I cannot believe you did that. You are incredible. That's literally what she would say. She would be so proud of me. 14-year-old me in four H right now is geeking out about me right now.

She'd be like, can you imagine? I don't know if you've seen there's a movie with Aubrey Plaza and it's it's her as a teenager and then she meets like her 39-year-old self and like they hang out together for 24 hours. Yeah, it's so good. And yeah, I always think about that stuff.

That's really sweet. 14-year-old me would. Ridiculously want my autograph, right? Because oh my God, you wrote at Kentucky, she would be asking how everything rode and did you have the greatest time? And was it so fun? And did you hear the crowds? Did you see the crowds? Oh my God, why are you [01:09:00] wearing the color pink?

Yeah, I was gonna say, were you a pink person when you were 14? I was not. I was big into yellow at the time, so don't ask. I don't know. But oh my gosh, 14-year-old me or 10-year-old me would just be so awestruck that I went and did it. I love it. Ellie, I'm sure that hail is having a well deserved vacation, but what's next for the two of you and can we look for you at Maryland this fall?

So next up for us is we're gonna go just run around Seneca Haw and just. Pop around and intermediate, just something that feels really easy coming back. Which saying easy and intermediate in one sentence feels insulting to myself because I love going intermediate now it took me 16 years together, so when I say pop around and easy, intermediate, I'm hurting my own feelings a little bit, but I want him to feel like the next outing.

It's just like a piece of cake and I want him to come out of it feeling like a badass, which he never doesn't feel like a badass. But it's more I want it to be fun for us and [01:10:00] easy because I do this because I enjoy it, not because I'm trying to make the team. Yeah. So that's next. Then we're gonna go to Rebecca Farm and we're gonna run the three long, because if I wait any longer to do a three long, I'm gonna get run off with at it.

So we need to get that outta the way. I would love to do the four short out there, but like I said, I have got to run a three long before. Those fences stop holding him, which has already happened. That was our last three short. And he was like, these aren't even big. And I was like sir. So we're gonna run the three long out there.

I haven't fully mapped out my whole summer looking at the three long at Maryland, but I would like to get another four shortened. 'cause we would like to end the season on a four long. Yeah. So we'll potentially do that at Terranova or somewhere else. So we don't quite have it all figured out yet. Kentucky was the big kahuna.

Yeah. And then I'm like finally getting my life back on track and figure out my lesson schedule and everything. And then I'm like finally getting my life back on track and figure out my lesson schedule and everything.

So I haven't quite mapped out my whole summer yet and trying to like with my [01:11:00] husband, I don't know. So we don't have it all figured out quite yet, but you will definitely see us in our bright blazing pink at definitely more guys. We will be hard to miss. . Ally, where's the best place for listeners to find you and follow along with your journey? Little Hale has his own Instagram. . But he has his own Instagram because my personal one got extremely overwhelmed.

Team Hale. Yeah. And you can find us on Instagram and I let people know what we're up to. He does have a Facebook page too. I'm not as good at staying up to date on that same thing. Team hail. Yeah, so you can find us there. Don't try to go on my personal socials. I try to keep those for friends and family and when I go out and creepy podcast ladies creepers on podcasts I just try to, I try to make sure that I have, of course.

Yeah. Just a, I don't wanna say a separate life, but Yeah. Where I can just be Ali Coon. Normal person, not a person who relies on horses to make her money. Which yes, we all know doesn't understood make us money, but it's a lie. It's a lie. Tell myself, lemme have that. So you find us on Instagram, you can find us on Facebook.

[01:12:00] Framed equestrian on Instagram. She shares a lot of stuff about us, so probably find stuff with her. So find us there. Awesome. Awesome. Thank you so much. We can't wait to cheer you on for many more pink powered rides. And I do have one final question. What is one word, one word that you'd use to describe an OTTB?

Oh my gosh. Driven. I don't think anyone said that before. I don't. I like that driven because an OTTB, even if they're doing something you don't want 'em to do, they're doing it with 110%. Like breaking the cross ties. Or just breaking the cross or, yeah. The ones that come out of the gate and they just stop and they're like, I'm not doing it.

They're not. They're doing it at all. And I don't care how much that jockey hits them, they're not doing it. And they are driven to do what they want, when they want, how they want, and you better get on board with that. So they're driven to do whatever they're doing that makes them happy. They're gonna do it love a hundred [01:13:00] percent of the time.

So driven. I love it. Thank you Allie so much, and thank you listeners for tuning into another episode of OTTB on tap. If you're not already following Allie and hail, go fix that right now. If you enjoyed today's episode, we'd love it if you left as a five star review on Apple Podcast, Spotify or Facebook.

And don't forget, if you live a leave a review, we will send you some OTDB on tap stickers. As a thank you, you can connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok, and get in touch with interview suggestions or episode ideas anytime at o ttb on tap.com. We always love hearing from you. Cheers. Cheers,