Partners & pals

Kalispell resident Pat Young credits the trusting relationship she has built with her horse for eventing success

After finishing her dressage and cross country rides at The Event

at Rebecca Farm on Friday, Kalispell's Pat Young tended to her 12-year-old teammate's legs before rewarding him with a handful of cookies.

Young's teammate is a 1,350 pound Irish Sporthorse named Dappled Timothy - a cross between an Irish Draft and Irish Thoroughbred, named for the spots highlighting his chocolate-colored coat.

Young, 57, has competed in eventing for about 20 years. She used to ride at the United States Eventing Association's Preliminary level, but moved down to the Novice level when she felt her age made higher competition dangerous. She has ridden Dappled Timothy for four years and enjoyed every moment.

"The eventing sport, for me, is all about the relationship with this horse," Young said. "He's just a great friend and I think that's why we can do well."

Young said she and Dappled Timothy ran a decent but unspectacular dressage routine and breezed through the cross country course in less than five minutes.

Irish Sporthorses inherit their bulk and strength from their Irish Draft side, but their Irish Thoroughbred blood renders them swift and graceful.

"They've got easy temperaments, but they like to go," Young said. "(Dappled Timothy is) very kind and he knows his job."

According to Young, Dappled Timothy was reluctant to warm-up Friday morning, but he pricked up his ears one minute before dressage.

"I think he really knows when the chips are down," Young said. "He's a very competitive horse."

Trust is essential for all teammates, but it is paramount in eventing. Dappled Timothy knows he is safe when Young rides him over a jump - even when he can't see the ground and obstacles beneath him.

Cross country courses challenge a horse's basic instincts.

"One of the main things is that he needs to trust you," said Rebecca Farm owner and The Event organizer Rebecca Broussard. "Horses, by nature, don't like to go into water, but they trust their rider."

Excellence at eventing requires more than a talented rider and an accomplished horse. There must be a bond between horse and rider for a rider to effortlessly dictate a horse's dressage routine and feel safe atop a massive, speeding animal as it careens through a cross country course.

"It's a full-time partnership," Broussard said. "It takes a lot of time in the saddle."

While that bond isn't inherent, riders and their horses spend so much time together that it slowly forms. Riders must use the same horse for all three eventing disciplines - dressage, cross country and show jumping - and a horse can have only one rider.

"That's why event horses are all-around athletes, because they have to do dressage and then go out and do cross country," Young said.

Young and her husband Andy have lived in the Flathead Valley for 33 years. Young is an animal therapist, specializing in physical therapy for horses. She also writes horse-themed read-along coloring books for children.

Young's therapeutic streak was evident Friday as she wiped liniment on Dappled Timothy's legs before wrapping them in no-bow pads to prevent swelling without bowing his tendons.

Dappled Timothy spent Thursday night at Rebecca Farm, but Young took him on walks because he is used to roaming the pasture at Young's home.

Young says the most important thing riders can do is hydrate their horses and keep them cool by wetting their ears.

"If they're at this competition, they're really pampered," Young said. "I think the animals really love what they do."

But Dappled Timothy isn't the only athlete who trains for eventing. Young exercises on an elliptical machine to condition herself for cross country, even though eventing is a workout in itself.

"It's a great sport for your legs and knees and it's a great sport for your aerobics," Young said.

Today's cross country competition begins at 8 a.m., but low-level riders competed Friday because there are too many entrants for everyone to ride on one day. But rather than take today off, Young is volunteering at Rebecca Farm to help The Event run smoothly.

According to Broussard, volunteers are an important factor in The Event's rapid growth.

"The valley is beautiful, the people are nice and the volunteers we have here are special," Broussard said.

Eventing is an expensive sport, but Broussard said Rebecca Farm doesn't charge admission for The Event.

"We love this sport and we love doing the Event and we want to make it available and accessible to everybody."

Young says Rebecca Farm treats local riders "like a million bucks," giving them stabling and riding priority, even above famous riders.

Dappled Timothy will compete in show jumping Sunday - The Event's final day. He may be bigger and faster than most athletes his age, but he has one thing in common with other 12-year-olds.

"He'll do almost anything for a cookie," Young said.