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Pattie
Click here to read more about
this horse
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The Miracle of
Peppermint Patti and other old stories follow below. Here are tributes to Patti and some
pictures sent in by some of you in the past few days: As
memories came and went over the past few weeks, I often thought of some of
the great riders in Longacres history who had a chance to show and win on
Patti. But some of the best
Patti memories are of younger riders who were just beginning their show
jumping experience. Girls who
had a chance to take one of their first “BIG JUMPS” on Patti or who showed
the guts to try this sometimes rather strong willed horse! We
heard from one of those riders yesterday. The picture below was sent in by Joetta who was given a
chance to jump Patti when she was a very young, and tiny rider. Check out the picture! Joetta was fearless in every way
during her many years at Longacres!
(Amen!) This was her
first really big jump on a horse, but she went on to be one of Patti’s most
regular show riders and won many ribbons in the coming years! Joetta’s letter
follows the picture.
Above: Joetta and Patti on a “Big Jumping”
day! Below: Joett’a memory: Hi, this is
Joetta. I just happened to come across the Longacres website and I am so sad
to hear about Patti. I thought you might like to add this to your collection
of pictures of Patti. This is one of my personal favorites of her, and one of
my favorite memories of Patti. Patti was an amazing horse who taught me so
much and helped me to become the rider I am today. I have so many great
memories of Patti. I still miss Longacres and Patti. Those were some of the
best times of my life. Patti is one of the greatest horses I have ever rode
and I will always remember her. Joetta Oh my God. I
cannot even imagine a Longacres without Patti. She was an integral part of
the experience, and even though I hardly ever rode her (she didn't like my height
very much!) I am just at a loss for words at how I felt reading her obituary.
I was shaking in my down jacket and tears even pricked my eyes! Extremely
rare for me! Longacres without Patti is like...Lonacres without Brownie, or
Merlin, or Star! It just isn't right. My condolences go out to you. When I
told my mom, she said, "What? A Longacres without Patti? Who's gonna be
the third Big Three horse? And who's gonna be in the stall?" Laura I've been so busy
the past week but I want to take some time to write my story about Pattie.
- This was the first year that I actually rode her and she was still ready to
go and wanted to do everything that every other horse did. She went
mostly on trails and everytime we would be on powerlines she always wanted to
gallop but she did listen when I told her no I'd let her do some light
trotting and she seemed to enjoy that. I even got to jump her in one of
Tom's lead exercises and she was ready to go and really surprised me the
first time. She was a great horse and I really felt honored to ride her
and I can't imagine how great she was in her prime.
Alexa Ah, where to
begin. I’ve been around Longaces since the early 1990’s when my nieces used
to ride & show there, and then as the “picture man”, the unofficial
Longacres horse show photographer. Those wonderful battles between Missy and
Patti and then Quantum & Patti. And then there was Tom’s famous ride at
Bechtel Stables, a blue ribbon ride at that! All those blue ribbons at the
Erie County Fair Horse Show. What a great horse she was. So many different
riders over the years, so many great rides & victories. Unfortunately I
was only able to ride her a few times. As an inexperienced rider, Tom let me
hack her around the fenced in ring by the barn. Then a few years ago when
camp was over, as a more experienced rider, Tom let me ride Patti and jump
her a few times in the hunter ring. I warmed her up in the jumper field. Man,
she was “full of it”, prancing around just raring to go. We cantered around
the hunter ring quite a few times. I was having so much fun, I didn’t want to
stop. I believe my comment was “when you grap her reins, you know you got
something”. You could just feel the energy, the spirit! Just as there are
great human athletes, Patti was a great equine athlete. She was fast, quick,
could make great turns, always got over the jump, and had a big heart. I
believe humans have a place to go when this life ends, and if there is a
place for horses too, Peppermint Patti, may you always have a gentle breeze
blowing through your mane, and never ending lush green pastures to graze in. God speed Patti Uncle Billy Hi guys. I was
scrolling down on the latest news page and I saw the news. I was so sad when I
heard the news about Patti. I am so sorry! She was a great horse and will be
missed greatly. I hope she will rest in peace. I know Patti was very special
to Longacres, so I know you guys are in great pain. I still miss you guys
bunches and bunches!!! Sincerely, Kellie Hunn dear tom and meg. its jess nash ,i
was just on your site and i saw that pattie had passed away. I remember the
first time I saw her in her stall at longacres. I was twelve and it was my
first year there. I had to feed her and I went into her stall , and I went in
there , and she was alot bigger than I though she would be. She was athletic,
strong and had a heart bigger than any horse there. She was an amazing horse,
and i also remember the first time and only time i rode her. I was fourteen
and it was my last year at longacres, and i did a little verticle fence on
her . But boy, was she powerful, she was just jumping over a little fence,
but she jumped it like it was 3'. She will be greatly missed at longacres to
anyone who got to meet her , ride her or win on her. rest in peace, shes with
the greatest horses at longacres. Hi Tom Just so
happened I was scrolling through your website and saw that PepPat is
gone. As an "older" alumni, I remember the first year that
she came. I remember her being lunged in the front of the barn while a
saddle was put on her for the first time. Correct me if I am wrong, but
didnt she come from Laura Hayes?? She turned out
to be an amazing horse and I will always feel fortunate that I was able to
ride her and watch her turn out to be that way. I am glad she
has taken her place among the Longacres greats... Tip Off, York, and China
Heart. Wasnt Deamon buried there also? I think of Camp
often and you can count me in for your big reunion in 2013. I would love to
hear from you and would love even more to come for a visit sometime soon!!! Fondly yours, Ali Kirst I am so
sorry that Patti had to be put down. That is really sad. I suppose she had a
long and happy life and that she probably wanted to die...I never really rode
her but I did lead her back from the pasture and feed her a few times. She
was always very patient and respectful of me, not pushy at all, and I think
thats what she wanted others to do to her. Rest in
peace. Rhiannon
Above picture
done by Michelle. I'm so sorry to
hear about Patti. She had a long and happy life. She was a great horse and
will always be remembered in our hearts. I made something to remember her by,
I attached it to this email. Not-so-little
Michelle As much as we
all knew it was coming it is still a shock to read about the legendary
Peppermint Patti being put down. She was kind of like the energizer
bunny...she just kept going and going. We all knew her great and famous
career would come to an end someday but Longacres will never be the same
without her. Patti was an amazing horse with more heart than most and she
will be greatly missed by everyone who ever had the honor to ride her and
even by those who just knew her. She was truly an amazing horse that will
never be forgotten. ~Mandy
Above: Tovah on Patti at Erie County Fair I'm sure you're
getting a ton of emails right now, but I just wanted to send my condolences.
I'm lucky I got a chance to ride her, thank you. I can't really add more than what
has already been said about this amazing mare... It's always a hard decision.
This past week at school we put down three horses... two because they were
suffering and it was time (ironically at the same time), and the other
because he broke his leg. It's been a tough week with losing horses. But
I'm sure you made the right choice with her and she's in a better place. I attached an old
pic I had on the computer of me riding patti at the fair, during one of her
"comeback" years. Hope you guys are doing ok. Tovah Dear
Tom and Meghan, I
am very sad to hear about Patti's death. It is nice to know that she
died at home though. I only rode her a few times, and from those couple
rides I was convinced she thought she was a young horse--she always had
energy and insisted on leading trail rides. What a sweet mare. I
think ALL the horses at Longacres will miss her tons, as well as all the
campers. One of my family's cats recently died, so we were also very
upset about that as well. I'm sure everyone will certainly remember
Patti and her talent forever. Ofelia
Del Principe
Above: Annie on Patti at Longacres
Above: Annie again on Patti Hey Tom and
Meghan, So i just sent my
message about patti earlier. I was describing that jumper round when we beat
the leading time i had with sha-bang. I just so happen to have a picture of
the VERY turn i was talking about. The one in front of the pulverman to the
road line. I thought it was pretty cool that i had a picture of us doing that
turn (which really wasn't alllll that tight looking back on it, but at the
time i certainly thought so!!!) So I'm going to attach it to this email for
you to see :] I also have another action shot from that course that i like so
i figured I'd send it since it is one of the best memories of have of patti -Annie hi i
am so sorry about Patti i
would have cried a lot i
know it is just the way of life but she was such a good pony i
remember when we were cleaning off the horses and Uncle Billy was walking
around and she was trying ro get boo [her " boyfriend"] to come
over . again
im so sorry with
lots of love for Patti Griffin Patti was an
absolutely incredible horse. Although, i don't
think anything i could say could live up to what she was. She had a heart of
gold and never stopped trying. I remember riding her for the first time, it
was so exhilarating! She was so fast, and powerful I could hardly catch my
breathe by the end of the ride. (and this was just two years ago!) Yet, it
was never 'scary'. It didn't matter how fast Patti was going, she knew
exactly what she was doing and I felt completely safe and secure. She was one
of the first, true "jumper" horses I rode, and what an honor that
is! For the first jumper horse i rode to have been Patti, a champion all over
the state of New York. I can only imagine what it would have been like riding
her in her younger years. She was a special type of horse. She had so much
talent, but really knew how to take care of her riders. She didn't require a
very advanced rider, just someone that didn't mind a thrill! She had such a
solid mind, leading any trail ride, not spooking at silly little things. One
of the best memories I have is riding her in Puddle Jumpers in 2007. I wasn't
too experienced with the whole "jumper" thing. I had already
completed the course once on Sha-bang (putting us in the lead). Then it was
time to try with Patti! This time, Tom told me to take the inside turn, infront
of the pulverman, to the road line. I have to admit, I wasn't to confident
that the turn could be made (or at least by me)! None the less, Patti took me
around that course flawlessly, and when it got to the turn she knew just what
to do. I'm not sure I could have beat my time with any other horse, but Patti
had the experience and kindness to help me navigate the course swiftly.Then
theres the time Tom used her to demonstrate voice commands! Tom got up,
trotted her around, and made her stop just with his voice. What an honest horse! My heart goes out to
anyone that knew Patti, because theirs no doubt that shes one of the best
horses we'll ever meet. -Annie Hankins Tom and Meghan, everything I said
was 100% true. (including the part about not being confident that i could
make the turn you suggested :p) When you told me to get on her last summer i
was astounded by the will she had to keep going! Her attitude was that of a
spirited young horse, she just kept going and going and going, a little (or
big?) energizer bunny! I'm so honored to have been able to work with such a
great horse. Not everybody can say they rode a champion jumper, that truley
took care of them. I'll always remember her as one of the best horses I've
ever met. Tom and Meghan, I am so sorry
to hear about Peppermint Patti. It must be hard. I can't imagine how it must
have been to lead her to Jumper Hill. It is nice that she can stay with you
at Longacres. You have some great memories and I am sure a ton of pictures to
remember her by. I am looking forward to reading about her and looking
at the pictures. Mike The Miracle of
Peppermint Patti: 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. The Patti Miracle: 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. Spring 2002 - Miracle
Time! 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: (the girl
in the BIG Peppermint Patti picture!)
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! Pattie
- Peppermint Pattie Patti
is another very energetic horse who is a very fun ride! She is also amazing
jumper, and she and Emily Peterman did well at the Quaker Field show in jumpers.
She's a been there, done that, kind of horse, according to Shelly. -submitted
by Jr.Co. Emmy with input from campers during the summer of 2006
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