We have read and heard many stories about little girls and their ponies, how the love of a horse can transform the life of person, and how some people devote their lives to horses and the miraculous things they can do. This story starts with a fox hunt in the deep South, where the hounds are internationally known both for their conformation and their performance, the Masters are also world renowned, and the community that surrounds the hunt is one best characterized as family.
Sending children to compete in the Junior North American Field Hunters Championship is a long standing tradition for the Live Oak Hounds, and Daphne and Marty Wood, Joint Masters of Live Oak, have been thrilled over the years as time and time again, the children who learned to hunt with their pack across the Longleaf pine woods of southern Georgia and northern Florida came home with ribbons and awards.
The stewardship of the JNAFHC judges and the organization itself is a testament to the dedication of the parents of these children, the Masters (like the Woods who have sent Juniors to the competition for 12 successive years) and the passion that this sport instills. Liz Howard (who hails from three generations of Virginia foxhunters and has been involved in judging for more than fifteen years) speaks of it as “an honor to watch as their sportsmanship shines, their manners transform into perfect etiquette and their love for hounds and hound work becomes the driving force.” This year was no different. Except it was.
Enter young Eliza Fisher, whose circle of friends are fox hunting girls who have captured the hearts of the seasoned members of the Live Oak hunt. They ride together on well-bred horses ranging from 18 hands to14 hands . . . and then there’s the shaggy little black and white pony. He was an abandoned, neglected and forgotten animal, long left in a big field with a couple of other horses, seen by many locals driving to the Thomas County, Georgia “solid waste facility” (more commonly known as the “dump”). The pony was nothing short of feral, having had no human contact for many years. Eliza and her parents rescued him with the help of long time Live Oak whip Elmer West, who gave him the name “Domino”. And, then the work began.
After a rough start with another trainer who unsuccessfully attempted to introduce Domino to hounds, it fell to Eliza to transform this pony into a ridable hunt horse. She started weekly riding lessons and, in addition to the lessons, there was a strict protocol of homework assigned by her trainer, Autumn Clarke, who is known internationally for her ride in the Mongol Derby and admired broadly for her equestrian skill, having whipped in at Live Oak for nearly ten years prior to heading to the other side of the world for the hardest horse race imaginable. To say the least, in addition to entering the school of a little girl’s love and determination, Domino was faced with a very new and very strict regimen.
Eliza’s parents were happy to support her chosen activity, but they required Eliza to put in the time and energy. And she had to help pay for his expenses. Eliza’s mother said it was truly a journey of perseverance, dedication and a heart that grew steadily in love with a pony who somehow understood how important he had become to the little girl in his life.
Riding Domino several times a week and hunting at every opportunity, Eliza impressed everyone with her diligence. Autumn remarks that, as a professional, she put a total of one training ride on the pony herself; every other ride over the past three years was with Eliza Fisher in the saddle. Autumn said that when Eliza is assigned homework, she does it in full. No shortcuts for this kid.
Domino is boarded with Donna Nunnally, a Thomasville, GA native who has hunted with Live Oak for decades. Donna had a front row seat to the transformation of the scruffy little horse whom she describes as a diamond in the rough. And, it amazed her again and again how the two of them, Eliza and Domino, positioned themselves to compete at the national level in just a few years.
Their first lesson with Autumn was a group lesson with Catie Rae Crane, Catie Rae’s brother Henry and their mother Janna. It was a pretty wild event. Autumn assessed the situation, and decided the best move was to separate the group for individual lessons. She didn’t think Domino was a very nice pony; he was stubborn, spinning, bolting and ignoring Eliza’s requests. Autumn believes Eliza is one of the bravest riders she has ever seen. A “free horse” is not often a “good horse”, and Autumn thought Eliza had her work cut out for her. Fortunately, her work ethic was incredible.
Catie Rae described their first horse show with Eliza on Domino as “Crazy!”. Ada Watt, who was at the time riding the “most broke horse ever” couldn’t believe how wild Domino was. Eliza chalked it up to “he was camera shy and a little afraid of the gates and he was nervous and tried to escape.” Her dad stepped in as a barrier to keep Domino where he belonged. During this three-year journey together, Domino somehow grasped that his early behavior was unacceptable. A bond of trust developed between horse and rider and, as long as Eliza stuck to the methods that Autumn taught her, Autumn could see that Eliza would prevail. Eliza paid strong attention to the details, and everyone was amazed at her sheer grit. In recalling the process, Autumn emphasized that she would never recommend for most green riders to try to tame a feral pony or horse. But, watching Eliza taking it one step at a time, riding as completely and correctly as she could, week in and week out, truly impressed her.
The result? A very nice pony, created by a young girl achieving little goals every day, becoming an inseparable team who brought home a national ribbon to the acclaim and applause of the entire Live Oak family. For Eliza, it felt perfectly natural. She is certain Domino performed so well just for her. One girl’s love for her little black and white pony and years of kindness repaid. When asked if Domino, who is now 23 years old, will move on to another rider once she has outgrown him, she said “He’ll be mine forever.”
Author’s Note:
When Eliza and Domino were out hunting with Live Oak last year under the judgement of Liz Howard and her team of dedicated JNAFHC evaluators, they and three other young hunters from Live Oak qualified for the championships in North Carolina this fall. Catie Rae described the competition to her Live Oak friends after a recent hunt, telling them about the final round for the Hill Topper Division where three of the top ten contestants were Live Oak riders.
Catie Rae explained that, after the first day of hunting in North Carolina with the Moore County Hounds, those who were selected had to follow an established hunting course, jump a fence, open and go through a gate, dismount and then lead a hound with their hound whips.
In the Hilltop Division, Catie Rae and her horse Nitro took home the championship ribbon, and friend Ada Watt came in fourth with her mount Root Beer. Eliza Fisher and Domino placed ninth out of an original field of thirty-six riders. Emma Watson, 19, an older and more experienced Live Oak rider, took seventh place in the First Flight Division. She had previously received significant accolades from Liz Howard this past fall for her horsemanship and empathy when she readily came to the aid of a fallen rider at this year’s qualifying event. In doing so, she quickly dismounted her enormous horse, Finch, untangled the double reins from the legs of the cropper’s horse, gave the fallen rider a leg up and then managed to remount from the ground without holding up the Field.
Photo Credits:
Pam Jensen, Amanda Fisher and Janna Crane