Return to Longacres Home Page

 UPDATING for 2008 soon! (12-7-07) -

Below article was written by Director Tom Kranz:

In the 2003 season, Patti was 21 years old. She's a bay mare just about 16 hands tall. She is a great horse to take on a trail ride, but her purpose in life is to enter show jumping classes, almost automatically go clean in the first round, then move on to the jump-off round and run and turn like the wind!

I was chatting with some of our students last summer and asked them what they liked most about Longacres. One of them answered, "At Longacres girls who don't own their own horses have a chance to ride REAL show horses - not just your usual lesson horses."

Peppermint Patti is a dramatic example of this opportunity. I can think of six different 2003 LA students who had a chance to ride Patti in shows this past season. ALL of them won ribbons, mostly blue!

Peppermint Patti has had an extraordinary showing career, winning just about every possible show jumper Season Championship in western New York over the past 15 years. She has been a champion at Erie County Fair "A" rated show (again this year, and grand champion in the highest jumping division several years ago). She has been Summer Show Series season jumper champion numerous times. She has been season champion of the Buffalo Winter Show Series. This is a very special horse. Longacres has owned her since she was three years old and she learned to jump her first X-rail in our own training rings.

Show jumping puts some stress on a horse, and it is not uncommon for jumpers to develop soundness issues as they get older. As she got to her mid-teens, Peppermint Patti started to show some signs of arthritus in her hocks. By the end of the 1999 summer season, Patti began to come up quite lame fairly often. With rest she could be ridden again, but things did not look promising. At the beginning of the summer in 2000 Patti went badly lame. We did extensive X-rays and vet diagnostics. The diagnosis was advancing arthritus. We treated her in the usual ways, with various drugs and injections. Results were not good. Patti spent most of 2000 and 2001 resting and doing some light trail riding during periods when she was feeling better. During one period in 2001 when she seemed a little better we actually put her in a very low jumper class just for old times sake. At this very low height she did well and showed she had not lost her "heart", but she came up lame again soon after this effort.

In the fall of 2001 we seriously considered whether the sad time had come to "put Patti down" to make sure she did not suffer pain as her arthritus got worse. But we found a good winter home that promised to let Patti spend many hours grazing in a nice pasture and occasionally go out for a light trail ride if she seemed up to it. We decided to give her this final winter and evaluate her level of discomfort in the spring.

Patti was vanned back to Longacres in the spring of 2002 and I went down to the barn to see how much worse her arthritus had become over the winter. When I got to the pasture, Patti was GALLOPING AROUND THE field with her tail in the air! Once in a while an older horse suffering from arthritic conditions will experience a fusing of the hock joints around the irritated joint and become sound again. They are sometimes very useful again at least for gentle trail rides.

Over the following few weeks we very gradually gave Patti more and more exercise. Nothing fazed her! A miraculous cure. We started to show Peppermint Patti again in the summer of 2002 and it was as though she had never left the show ring. Peppermint Patti won again and again in jumper classes over the 2002 season, and came back even stronger this past summer for the 2003 horse show season.

Patti has a good winter home where she gets only very light work this winter. We hope she has a couple more years of show success giving memorable rides to Longacres students. At her age, the arthritus could recur, but the past two years have been wonderful - a true gift!

More about Patti from her riders: -

From Marce: Peppermint Patti:
Hands down the awesomest show jumper mare ever, or at least my personal favorite! She can be a hard horse to handle simply because she has the go-go-go jumper mentality, but as she is getting older she is calming down a lot. When she is listening she turns like a snake and somehow manages to get her hooves out of the way as she turns in mid-air! Has had arthiritis problems the past couple of summers that kept her out of action, but Summer 2002 was awesome - she won many many show jumper classes anywhere from 2'3-3'3 with me, Tovah & Nora, including back-to-back division championships at the A-rated Erie County Fair show (2'9-3' division with me, and 3'-3'3 division with Tovah). As a side note, in the pasture she loves the geldings, but only big bays like Quantum, Shebang & Justin - she hates chestnuts (just ask Danielle's horse Freddie!).

More from Tovah: Patti- Patti is an incredible horse. She is an older mare who knows her job as a jumper, and thoroughly enjoys it. She is probably the most experienced jumper I have ever ridden, and it shows. You can totally miss a spot to a jump with her and be sure that you are going to crash through it, but Patti somehow manages to get her legs up and out of the way. Patti can go fast when she needs to and collect to make tight turns during jumper courses. It is a nice feeling when you go into a jumper class on Patti… knowing that the chances of winning are good! Patti is one of Longacres’ great jumpers and anyone who has the chance to ride her is lucky! PS: (Note from Tom) - Tovah is serious when she tells you that you know you have a chance to WIN every time you go in the ring with her. This summer (2003) at the Erie County Fair several different girls were given the chance to show Patti. All got ribbons, but after the second day of showing, Longacres had yet to win a blue ribbon. I got the girls together and told them I was glad they all had a chance to try this great horse, but it was time for Longacres to try to rack up a blue ribbon. I said, "I think Tovah on Patti give us the best chance to win, so I am going to let her ride Patti in the final two jumper classes of the show."

There were 18 horses in one of those classes and 19 in the next. Tovah and Patti enterer the ring for the first class, and WHAM! - first place out of 18. One class to go before the end of the show, and "BAM!", Tovah and Patti first again out of 19 horses!

Merlin is way far definitely the cutest pony you will ever in you life meet,
hands down!! I had sooo much fun riding him this summer, and especially
showing him jumpers, he may be small but that little pony can book! He has a
big, big heart and does anything you ask him :)

-Submitted by Jr. Counselor Emmy H. fall of ’06

Merlin a.k.a - "FAVORITE,BEST, MOST BEAUTIFUL GREAT BOY AT HORSE SHOWS, ETC.!" -submitted by Amanda E. in the fall of ’06 from 10 year old camper

The following description was submitted by one of Merlin's favorite riders, Jess:

Merlin is an awsome pony! he is about 14.3 hands, and he is 7 years old. I have showed merlin for the past 2 years at Longacres. Merlin can be skittish at somethings, like a jump on the side of the ring, but if you push him, he will go by it, your just have to show him what it is and tell him it is ok. Merlin Jumped as high ad 3 feet and does beautiful flyings, you just have to ask him the correct way! I showed him as "One in a Million" why this show name because Merlin is really one in a million, Lillian who goes the first half of the summer showed him as "Tickled Pink". Merlin is a very easy horse to get going squeeze and he will go.He just get scared somtimes... he is still a baby so little things scare him. But thats ok he is a great horse! If you do come to longacres the one horse you have to ride is merlin!

Tovah's description of Merlin: Merlin- Merlin is definitely one of Longacres’ best ponies right now. We got him in 2001 when he was a 3 year old and hadn’t done much more than play around in the pasture. He is extremely friendly and willing, making him a pleasure to train. In 2004 he will be 6 years old (our baby is growing up!!). He has learned an incredible amount since we first got him… everyone loves to ride him. He even showed at the fair the past two summers. He does occasionally spook, but it is never anything big. He is extremely fun to ride and he’s great on the trails.

Jess's 2002 description:

If you want to a great pony to ride at camp this is the pony! Merlin is a 4 year old Arab/Throughbred.he had had so many show names "Somebody's Mystery"was my favorite.I showed him last year the whole 2nd session. He jumps 2 "9 and does flying lead changes! And he is only 4! it was his first time at the Erie County Fair, he was a little afraid but he over came his fears by the end of the day. And the best part about him is that, he is the BEST horse at longacres!!

• Jessica N

"I have been working on making my transitions smoother as she is very
sensitive to aides. Everyone is jealous because she looks so beautiful,
moves so smoothly and puts such energy into everything. "athletic" and
"floats" are the two most common comments." -submitted by Sharon W. in the fall of ’06 describing her experiences with Zanzibar while she is leasing her from LA in the off season Sharon has attended mother/daughter week for several years with her daughter Laura.

 i like to tell you something about my favorite horse Bobert!! he is a bay 15.3hh thoroughbred,and a total sweetheart!!! bobert is the best horse! he is so cute and will do anything you want him to do
( when he is not being lazy!!) lol yea thats one major part about Bobert.. he is soo lazy!! but everyone loves him anyway. You need a lot of leg to get him going, but its worth it. he is a doll, and i loved riding him for a month. i miss him so much!!! truly the best horse at longacres in my mind!! :)

*MaRy*

The story behind her show name from Meghan:

She earned her show name because we wanted to buy her in 2003 but were unable to buy her then. I thought of her every time I drove near her barn and checked up on her the next year to see if there was any way she was still for sale. She had left a lasting impression on me and I wanted her for Longacres! As you can see we got her so the name only seems appropriate!

Quantum Leap is by far the most amazing horse I have ever ever ridden!! He's
a total sweetheart around the barn and lets you kiss him and hug him and
make weird smoochy noises and whatever, and he just puts up with it with a
little horsey rolling of his eyes :) But when you get on top of him, the
whole game changes, and he is SO powerful and SO incredible and SO amazing
and SO energetic to ride!!! He's really challenging to ride, and you have to
always keep him busy and focused on his work, or else his little,
ahem...."expressions of delight", shall we say (a.k.a quantum leaps!) will
take over and you're in for a little sailing! But I totally fell in love
with his personality and energy and power and yes, even the quantum leaps,
this summer! Quantum is the most amazing horse ever!!!!

-Submitted by Jr. Counselor Emmy H. fall of ‘06

Below - A description of Quantum by his most regular rider, Tovah: Quantum- I don’t know what else to say about Quantum besides he has the biggest heart ever. He is a jumper, and an excitable, exuberant one at that. In 2004 he will be 12 years old and it will be his fourth summer of showing. He could be a bit more careful over the jumps sometimes, but he can out-run and out-turn most of the competition! He is a powerful horse and when you ride him you can really feel the energy underneath you. Quantum does have a few quirks (leaping, breaking cross-ties, etc!), but he will always try his hardest to do what is asked of him and he is extremely talented.

-submitted by Jr. Counselor Kim S. fall of ‘06

-submitted by Jr.Co. Emmy with input from campers during the summer of 2006

Tovah's Star description: Star- Star is another great Longacres pony (you can thank Meghan for her!!). She is a flashy little paint who needs a little schooling once in a while because she IS a pony mare, haha, but most of the time she is a lot of fun to ride and jump. She takes a little bit of leg, but once you get her listening she is very responsive. In 2003 she did very well at shows, including the fair! She is a pony that most people enjoy riding.

 Brownie--(a.k.a Pony Express, Charlie Brown, and Brown Cow)
Brownie is the all around wonder pony. Everybody whos ridden him knows
exactly what I'm talking about. I showed him in hunters, but he can do jumpers to.
(He did 3ft jumpers with Tovah at the fair and did very well!) He lovesssss
the trails. I rode him in a hunter pace in the cantering division with Marce
and Hannibal, and we caught up to them!!! He's really cute. He looks a
little like a cow, which earned him the nickname "Brown Cow." He's a great pony
and I really miss him.
Elissa Buchman

Below: More Brownie descriptions from previous years: Our great all-around wonder horse, Brownie, on a pond day! Brownie is truly an all-around horse. He is one of our most reliable and safe horses with beginners, yet willing to jump up to four feet with advanced riders. He loves the water, as you can see in this picture and is one of the most sought after horses whenm we do a pond day exercise. He is excellent in the hunter and equitation ring, and can turn on a dime when you ask him to perform as a show jumper. (His inclination is to take it easy, so it takes a good rider to get the best out of him in speed classes, but his talent is second to none. I wish I had fifteen Brownie's !!!!

Following is a copy of an e-mail I just got from 1998 and returning for 1999 LA rider, Claire. "Hello Tom-
Brownie is Pony Express. You called him Charlie Brown. Also, You should put a picture of me & Brownie up. U could put one up from the hunter class we won and one of one of the jumper classes we went in. Yup. That's what you should do. Is Megan still @ longacres? Tell her hi.
See ya later- Claire Taylor

Julie/Meghan comments- "Charlie Brown" "He has the best gaits out of all of them!" "He loves the water."

"The best pony in the world!" -quoted from a Longacres rider, Joetta .

Below - Tovah's Ebony description: Ebony- Ebony is one cool pony. In fact, she is one of my favorites. Sure, she does have that pony mare attitude, but you just have to let her know that you’re in charge and that you’re not going to let her push you around. Once that is established, she is extremely fun and a blast to jump. She is still young and has only been at Longacres for two summers so far (2004 will be her third year). 2003 was a good year for her. Her jumping became much more solid and consistent, she became proficient with her simple changes, and started work on her flying changes.