{"id":814,"date":"2016-02-02T22:36:42","date_gmt":"2016-02-02T22:36:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.canterusa.org\/california\/?p=814"},"modified":"2016-12-27T16:38:39","modified_gmt":"2016-12-28T00:38:39","slug":"gothamcityslicker-aka-slick-finds-success-as-an-eventer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.canterusa.org\/california\/blog\/gothamcityslicker-aka-slick-finds-success-as-an-eventer\/","title":{"rendered":"Gothamcityslicker Finds Success in Three-Day Eventing"},"content":{"rendered":"
It’s not often that we get to share an OTTB Success Story for the horses on our trainer listings, so we absolutely love this story about Gothamcityslicker (aka Slick), who was purchased from the trainer listings a few years ago and has recently attended his first three-day event with his new mom Alex.\u00a0Slick has exceeded all expectations and become the amazing partner Alex was hoping for! \u00a0Read below for their story, as told by Alex herself \ud83d\ude42<\/em><\/p>\n

In the spring of 2015, I emailed a friend of mine, Sarah Jolley, who often restarts and re-homes OTTBs. I told her I wasn’t in a hurry at all, since I work at the barn and ride a lot, but wanted to put the word out that I was in the market for a young horse, just in case she heard of anything. She responded and said she actually had a great young horse that I could ride, had owned Slick (JC:\u00a0Gothamcityslicker – Gotham City, out of Sail\u00a0On Sunshine, by Stephen Got Even)\u00a0for almost a year, and offered to let me try him out. In fact, her exact words were, “He’s basically the kindest horse you’ll ever meet; 100 percent\u00a0easy in every way.” She was absolutely right.<\/p>\n

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Gothamcityslicker (aka Slick) – before photo taken for his trainer listings (left) and showing off in his dressage test a few years later (right).<\/em><\/p>\n

I’ve ridden and handled\u00a0a lot <\/i>of horses, of many breeds and disciplines, including lots of OTTBs. I haven’t had a lot of experience with youngsters though, and wanted to make sure I wasn’t getting in over my head. When I first saw Slick, I laughed–he was so leggy and gangly, with this adorable white blaze, big eyes, and mohawk mane. Such a baby! But he had a great trot and one of the best canters I’ve ever ridden.<\/p>\n

Sarah was very patient with me, let me ride Slick\u00a0four different times, gave me jumping and dressage lessons, and had me take him on a trail ride. I wasn’t sure I was financially ready to own a horse again, but I was positive he was the right horse. I set up a vet check, which Slick passed with flying colors. Before I knew it, I was loading Slick into a trailer I’d borrowed, and driving him home.<\/p>\n

Slick adjusted to his new surroundings incredibly well. I work and board at a giant facility (250 horses on 230 acres) that’s always busy–tractors, trailers, feed delivery trucks, other horses, dogs, you name it. Slick settled right in!\u00a0During our first lesson at home, there were two guys loading tree branches into a dump truck at one end of the arena–I don’t think Slick noticed. I took him to a one-day combined test at Twin Rivers less than a month after buying him, and he never put a foot wrong. He’s all business, always tries to do what I ask of him, and never quits. He’s also a blast to trail ride.\u00a0Sometimes he has “5 year old moments,” especially now that we’re a couple months into winter, and needs a little extra time to play on the lunge line, but he’s allowed a little slack. He can get excited and antsy when other horses trot or canter past him, which I assume is probably just from being a racehorse. Still, a truly amazing guy!<\/p>\n

Slick’s first 3-day event was last November, at the Fresno County Horse Park. We competed in the Intro division, and I just wanted to finish on our dressage score. He was so much better than I ever could have asked for–not only did we have clear cross country and stadium rounds, but we ended in 2nd place!<\/p>\n

Slick and I hope to compete at the beginner novice level this coming show season. Regardless of competition and showing, I am so happy that I decided to buy this horse. There are so many unknown factors when you are buying any horse, not just a young thoroughbred. You just never know what might happen, even if the vet check goes well, even if you know the seller and have had several test rides. So far, I’ve been incredibly lucky with Slick!<\/p>\n

Check out these great videos of Slick and Alex killing it at the three-day game: dressage\u00a0http:\/\/www.rideonvideo.net\/watch.php?vid=86f22b8c8<\/a>cross country\u00a0http:\/\/www.rideonvideo.net\/watch.php?vid=ce421b4fa<\/a>stadiumhttp:\/\/www.rideonvideo.net\/watch.php?vid=e99359623<\/a><\/p>\n

If you’ve purchased a horse off-the-track from our trainer listings, we’d love to hear from you! Email vanessa.th2@gmail.com with your story and some photos and we will post it to our OTTB Success\u00a0Stories\u00a0blog!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s not often that we get to share an OTTB Success Story for the horses on our trainer listings, so we absolutely love this story about Gothamcityslicker (aka Slick), who<\/p>\n

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