A Baby Boomer Dreams of Arabian Horses - Rhythm's Story - Tommy Garland - Part 5

Part One of the Baby Boomer Series

Rhythm's Story starts here

The whole time that Brittany was at the US National All Arabian Horse Show working, Tommy Garland had spent trying to convince her to come to work for him at his training facility on a permanent basis . He kept reiterating that her horse definitely had the look and the talent but there was that stubborn streak. Tommy was just the person to teach her enough to deal with a horse like Rhythm. Her dream of winning at nationals would be more likely to happen if she came to work for him.

All the way back to Virginia and during the final clean up from Nationals, Tommy kept on trying to get Brittany to stay. There was lots of talk and some negotiating trying to come up with a deal that would work. Listening to Tommy you would have thought there was just no other way to go.

While things might have been clear to Tommy, they weren't that clear to Brittany. Her experience working with him at nationals had made one thing crystal clear, working for Tommy she would have no time for her horse. Her dream was about that horse and her and not about working as a groom watching others show their horses. Once all the work Tommy expected to be done in connection with the nationals trip was finally finished, Brittany was on the first plane heading back home to her horse.

The one thing that was still bothering Brittany was about putting Rhythm into the curb bit. She had never done that with a horse before and didn't really know where to start. While the horse can be pushy, he also is sensitive too. Over correcting the horse can cause lots of problems with his confidence and trust. Rhythm would not be forgiving if it didn't turn out well.

Brittany was convinced that Rhythm need to go to Garlands to be put into the bridle. Working there Brittany had made friends with both the other groom and the assistant trainer. She had come to respect both of them and she felt that she could trust them. Brittany devised the following plan with the assistant trainer.

Brittany would go home and ride the horse getting him ready to put into the bridle. Once he had reached the point he was going soft and round and moving off her legs, the horse would go to Garland's. There the assistant trainer would put him into the bridle and get him comfortable with it.

Garlands would take to horse to his first show in Syracuse. Brittany and Rich would meet them there. The horse would be shown in the open by the trainer and in the amateur division by Brittany. After the show Rhythm would go back home for Brittany to continue his training. The rest of the year, Brittany would show with Garlands but her horse would be home with her.

The original timing on this plan was the horse would go to Garland's in March once Scottsdale was out of the way. Sometime over the winter that plan was changed. Tommy wouldn't guarantee room for Rhythm unless he was in the barn by January. If Rhythm was to be put into the bridle at Garlands it would have to be on Tommy's time table or it wasn't going to happen.

There are a lot of things that had happened along this way. What had started out looking like a dream come true to Rich had ended up looking more like a night mare at times to poor Dad. His daughter had been in Albuquerque sick and really hurting with those chiggers and yet working her little fanny to the bone. He was worried that maybe he shouldn't trust this new twist either.

Rich, Brittany and I had lots of conversations about the things that had happened and the fears of what lay down the road. Rich just wanted what was best for his daughter and her horse. He was already making big sacrifices for her to pursue this dream of hers and he wasn't totally convinced that going to Tommy Garland's was the way to go. He didn't want to be throwing his money away.

I guess I was the expert advisor here. No one knows Rhythm better than I. I understand his quirks and I get his temperament. I also know the Arabian horse industry pretty well. So it was my job to help Rich see what would work best for Brittany and for Rhythm. The two needed to be a team and the plan needed to make them both secure.

I called some friends who show regularly at both Scottsdale and at Nationals and have lots of connections. I asked them for names of trainers who would be suitable for this horse and his quirks. I knew a lot of the names to rule out but had no idea about the new ones that might be rising to the top. Rich needed to know what his options were.

I got a list of trainers and their locations so Rich and I could go over the pros and cons of each. We went over distance from them and costs and all of those things. And of course, there was how Brittany felt about this. With all she had seen at Nationals, Brittany was convinced that Garland's was the place for her horse. The confidence she had about that decision had to carry equal weight in this decision. It wouldn't help to make Rich feel better if Brittany felt insecure.

When all was said and done, Rich decided he was better off going with "the devil he knew" instead of the devil he had not yet met. Even though it seemed like a waste of money to be paying for training for the month of Feb when the trainers would be gone to Scottsdale, it would have to do. I assured him that this was a standard in the industry. There was no way he would be able to guarantee a place in any of the top training barns without doing the same thing. Rich agreed to send Rhythm off to Tommy Garland's training facility in January.

To be continued........

Part 6

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