Always Something to Chase
By Gerry Gesell
The Greatest Horse She Never Was
In our lifetime, we are fortunate enough to ride many great horses and in that same lifetime we are just as fortunate to ride as many, if not more, bad horses. We learn a great deal from both, but only the great horses will make you famous. If we are even luckier, we might own a great horse or train one. I’ve been fortunate to have had the opportunities to ride many incredible horses and I’ve been respected and trusted enough by those who owned them to play polo on them, work a cow on them, or even train on one a little bit. It showed me the difference between greatness and everything else. The horsemen I worked for didn’t settle for in-between.
In 2002 I bought a little thoroughbred mare from Mom. Mom had bought the mare from Charlotte Crider, out of Uvalde, Texas. She was 15 hands high, short backed, had a heart girth as deep as the ocean, a front end like a Mack truck and a hip to match—and boy howdy could she shake her head like one of those paint mixers you see at the Home Depot! Unfortunately, that was a terrible attribute that plagued her career as a polo pony and frustrated me to no end. She almost could’ve been a great horse… almost.
Telena took to polo easily. She would lower her head and fly down the polo field. She was as handy as any cowpony. When you lifted your hand to stop and turn or check her up, she would shake her head so hard, she’d damn near jerk the reins out of your hand. I loved how hard she ran and the fact that she could stop so hard and swap ends before she came to a complete stop. I wanted her to be great and I did my best to just ignore the head shaking. It went against all I had been taught, but I just couldn’t give up. I used the process of elimination and we could find no cause, medically, for her head shaking. She was not in pain.
Time went by and many players and horsemen that I played and trained with took notice of Telena. They complimented her size, conformation, color, and how incredibly fit she was. Telena was quick off their mark, had speed down the field and rate. All of my polo heroes wanted this little grey mare to be great. They would ask if they could ride her, which was an honor, but then it was a quick ride and the mare was handed back. Every one of them told me the same thing: “She’s almost a nice mare, but her head shaking won’t do.”
Time went on and I was playing a lot of polo. This mare got a lot of polo in a short amount of time. She never burned out or became hot. She loved polo but she wouldn’t give up the head-shaking. I started to realize she wasn’t going to become the great horse I imagined her becoming. Still, some of the best polo players and horsemen in the world gave her the benefit of the doubt. So, in a way she opened a lot of doors for me and helped me to get into a group that was a rare privilege. Well, for a nobody from Adkins, Texas it was an amazing opportunity. I want to name some of those who either rode Telena or played her. I’m not bragging, just illustrating that she was almost a nice mare and that what others saw in her is what I too had seen.
The late Carlos Gracida tried her only after his brother, Memo, had tried her. He told me that if Memo didn’t buy her, he would try her. Adolpho Cambiaso sat on her for a minute. He took her down the field, stopped her hard and turned her around and quickly brought her back. Luis Escobar rode her and actually asked if he could play her. He wanted to see if he could ignore the head shaking. Mike Azzaro played the wheels off of her and gave her back with absolutely no comment, just a polite “thank you.” The late Allen Corey played her twice. Julian Daniels played her after the polo pony sale in Aiken, South Carolina. She was so tired but did her best. It was the first time I had heard someone say that she was slow. That one hurt me. I felt like I had finally worn her out. I remember sitting in the barn in Florida one day, Whistle Uys and I were trying to figure something out and he decided to tie her tongue. We thought we had just solved it! He took her down the sandy road, stopped her and turned her into the fence. Gosh, she stopped so hard and turned so quickly, but it didn’t work. Whistle worked her for a bit and had her scratching her ass and her belly at the same time, she was getting so low and deep in her stops and turns. It was awesome to watch, if you just watched her body and ignored her shaking head. Whistle rode up to me and said, with a huge smile on his face, “F**k I hate this mare!” He felt the same frustrations I did. He wanted her so badly to be great.
Some time had gone by and I had farmed her out here and there and just let players I trusted take her and play her. I just couldn’t give up on her as a polo pony and as a horse I owned. I knew she was no good but she was still making it as a polo pony. Years had gone by and I ended up on a blind date with Cecilia Steel, who played polo. I was back in Aiken, South Carolina training and playing a little bit. As we sat there eating dinner, she began telling me a story about playing a grey mare that Craig Frasier owned. She told me that she was going to turn the ball and this horse slipped and fell with her. Cecilia went down and landed on her polo mallet and broke her arm. When she said the mare’s name, I damn near yelled “I own that horse!” What a small world the horse world is.
Further down the road, I was back in Texas, riding cutting horses and day working. I had a phone call about catching some cows. I needed a fast horse. I had heard that Telena was in College Station, Texas playing polo for Texas A&M University. I called the barn down there and found out she was no longer there. She had finally been sold to a player in Dallas, Texas. Of course, I knew nothing about it and it took me a couple of awkward phone calls to get paid and it couldn’t have come at a better time. I was leaving the trainer I was working for and that money sure came in handy.
In the end, Telena was successful as a polo pony. Not because of me, but because she found a home with a player who accepted her lack of greatness and her heart to play polo. She lived a long life and played polo until she passed away in Dallas, Texas, the same year I lost Mom and Dad. In the end, she succeeded as the greatest horse she could be, but not the greatest horse she almost could’ve been. We don’t all have the luxury of riding the best horses, the greatest horses, or even close seconds. As horsemen, some of our most valuable experiences come from riding those horses that show us things we could never learn from the easy ones. Telena’s Dancer showed me what I could do and she sacrificed her greatness, so I could become a better horseman.
Nick Rennekamp, one of my mentors and polo heroes, used to tell me that some of the best horsemen in the world are the best because they know how to pick horses and when to give up on one. I guess I am the greatest horseman I never was, because I couldn’t give up on the greatest horse that never was.
The obsession for making the best horses comes down to the obsession for making the best bridles. Angles, weight, length, width, loose, stiff, copper, and more. Part of the fun of the entire process is splitting hairs. Every horseman I know has a good relationship with a bit maker. They are like family in many cases. It is a kinship and friendship that does not come easily and is never taken lightly. Having a bit maker who understands horses, your respected discipline, and the form and function of bits is as valuable as the bridles they make. There is nothing like having an idea for a bit, calling up a bit maker, and having a long conversation about what you are thinking about and in need of. A few days later, you are rigging up a prototype for your next futurity prospect. Experience tells you it is going to work, and so does your bit maker.
I have been watching the growth of the rope horse futurities and what it is doing for the industry as a whole. I believe it is making better horsemen and better horses. A side effect of this is the bridles and the importance placed on them. These horses have to look correct, and I believe the bridles play a key role in this. The difference between a winning futurity show and a losing one can be that half inch.
With that being said, I have also seen the growth and evolution of the handmade bit versus the production bit. There is nothing wrong with a production bit anymore. Yes, I am a handmade bit snob. No, it is not practical when you have a barn full of prospects in training. The next best thing is a production line of bits made by a handmade bit maker. Someone who knows the horses, the discipline, and the industry. A bit maker who is also eager to listen to and learn from the best in the business and also not afraid to experiment with patterns.
In the end, it is all for the horse. As long as we are making good horses, the horse industry as a whole will grow, and this will allow us to make a good living and a great life with horses.
I have bought, sold, traded, and been gifted a lot of bridles over the years. I have owned hundreds of bridles. I have hung them in many tack rooms and saddle houses across many states. I am still obsessed with bridles, and there is no cure. I have been in one place for fourteen years now, and I have a collection that I am very proud of. I know the makers I like, and I am still learning about others I am interested in. My interests have grown, and I am now learning about the form and function of bridles I thought I might never use. It is a lifelong education, and just like the horses we ride, we will never know it all.
I look back and smile when I think about Mom asking me my opinion on a certain bridle, or asking if she could borrow a certain bridle for a horse she was having an issue with. If she were around today, I know she would be proud of my obsession.
Show me a bridle that does not work, and I will show you a horse that it will work on. -Jeff Grey
