jennaleighteti

Katie Murphy and I first met years ago, naturally, because of horses. Katie was a member of her high school’s equestrian team which rode at the barn where I was a resident barn rat. Her mare, Sharre, was gorgeous, and I remember stopping by her stall to admire her every time I walked down the barn aisle.

Fast forward fifteen years or so and I’m still admiring Katie’s horses. She now rides as a professional Eventer and has an incredible talent for bringing young horses along. After graduating from college, she visited a breeding farm to pick out her next project. While horse shopping may sound fun, it takes an incredibly skilled eye to pick out the right horse. And when they’re as young as the prospects Katie was looking at, you really have to know your stuff. But she had no trouble picking out her future eventing mount, First Glance aka “Fitty” a dark bay weanling.  Fitty arrived at her farm in the middle of a cold New Hampshire November. Katie slept huddled up under electric blankets in the barn aisle the first few nights to keep Fitty company and help him settle into his new home and the foundation for their partnership was laid.

I’ve spent the past few years following Katie and Fitty’s progress which she has documented on her wonderful blog. I’ve cheered at their successes and laughed at their comical adventures, and you better believe I got a little teary-eyed when I saw that Katie was going to have to sell him.

Katie’s decision to sell her equine partner of nine years, though heartbreaking, only emphasizes the incredible horsewoman that she is. As she and Fitty worked up through the levels of eventing, it became clear that Fitty lacked confidence in certain aspects of the cross country phase of the eventing discipline. Not wanting to push him beyond his comfort zone, but knowing his incredible talent shouldn’t go to waste, Katie set out to find a new partner for him - someone who rode in the Jumper discipline where his strengths would shine.

Katie was able to find that perfect match, but before Fitty departed to his new home, Katie asked me to do some farewell photographs. While I had seen many photos of Fitty in action, I was glad that I had the opportunity to see him in person. He is one stunning animal - well muscled with an incredibly gleaming coat thanks to Katie’s great care! I felt like I was 12 years old again as I stared into his stall admiring him. An easy subject to photograph!

While Katie was sad to say goodbye to Fitty, she is excited for his new career. The happiness that Katie sees when his new owner rides him is a great reward for the nine years of hard work that she put into him. In addition to teaching Fitty, Katie also learned many valuable lessons from him as well, which will no doubt come in handy as she brings her yearling Emit, and three-year-old Garth along.

You can follow their progress (and read about her time with Fitty) on her blog. In addition to being a great rider, Katie is also an amazing writer, and I really encourage you to take a look - you won’t be disappointed! They’re already off to a great start and I wish them many more victories!