Absolutely nothing seemed to go right for Jenny Moyer at the Horse Park of New Jersey Horse Trials I on Fourth of July weekend.

That is, until she won.

“It was very, very exciting, especially considering I didn’t think I’d be competing this horse again this season, let alone competing at all at this point in my life,” said Moyer, 31. “It’s very cool.”

Moyer, of Unionville, Pa., captured the blue in a section of beginner novice with the 10-year-old chestnut Quarter Horse cross Roaring Leo, owned by Meredith and Michael Rotko.

The duo finished on their dressage score of 36.0, giving Moyer her first ever win in a recognized event. It was an especially sweet victory for the mother of two, who had dreams of eventing glory as a teenager but stopped riding for 15 years to focus on her family.

“I knew at that time that I just couldn’t do it halfway; I either had to be all in or not do it,” Moyer said. “I just knew that I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to really do it, and I couldn’t afford it, so I stopped. I guess this was meant to happen when it did for whatever reason.”

But she didn’t envision such an outcome four months ago, or even the morning of her competition. She was traveling to the Horse Park of New Jersey in Allentown when her trailer tire got a flat. With time of the essence, her husband Jason was able to change out the tire, and they made it to the horse show just in time for Jenny to get on for her dressage test.

Jenny’s husband, Jason, changing the trailer tire with minutes to spare.

“If my husband hadn’t come, we wouldn’t have made it, because there’s no way I could have gotten that tire changed or gotten roadside assistance to come in time,” Jenny said.

Jenny and Leo had only 15 minutes to school before trotting down the center line, but Jenny was just happy to be competing her mount again. In February, after completing a horse trial in Aiken (S.C.), Leo became ill with a form of Lyme disease.      

“We went to Aiken and were 10th in a big open beginner novice division, and then three weeks later, he just was not himself,” Jenny said. “He was mopey and lethargic. 

“There’s nothing like taking a horse to [the New Bolton Center at the University of Pennsylvania] and having five vets stand around and say, ‘We’re not quite sure what to tell you,’” she added.

Leo was treated with some antibiotics and given time off, and within a few months he returned to his normal self, never to display another symptom.

“I saw him running around the field bucking and cantering along like he normally does, and I just gasped and said, ‘You’re back!’” Jenny said. “He just went right back into it. It came as quickly as it went, and he’s just acted like it never happened. It was very interesting.”

Living Her Dream

“When I was a kid in high school, I wanted to graduate early and go to England and train with Mary King for two years and come back and be some kind of super star!” Jenny said.

In her youth, Jenny became a competitive event rider and brought a 4-year-old off-the-track Thoroughbred mare named Foster The Vaughn up through the preliminary level. She served as a working student for Kim Ziegler in Lincoln University, Pa., and qualified for the North American Young Rider Championships, but after her mare was kicked in the knee by another horse in turnout, she was forced to miss the competition.

At 18, Jenny had to sell Foster The Vaughn to attend college, during which she met her husband. Raising their two daughters Rosalee (14) and Adrianna (9) further deferred her return to the saddle, as did caring for her grandmother, who suffered from dementia, in the final two years of her life.

“She was one of my biggest supporters growing up,” Jenny said. “She would come and be at every horse show she could. I knew I needed to do that for her. Now I have the opportunity to kind of show my kids that you can be a mom and have a dream and do something you love but still be responsible and balance your responsibilities at home with work.”

In September of 2014, Jenny started volunteering at the Plantation Field Horse Trials (Pa.), and she became close to then-volunteer coordinator Melissa Wright. Wright pushed her to get back in the saddle and offered Jenny the ride on one of her former advanced mounts to help get her back into the swing of things.

“[Wright] was really one of the people who told me, ‘You need to do this. You need to get back into it and start somewhere,’ “ Jenny said. “Between her and a weekend job at a local barn, where the boarders let me exercise their horses when they were on vacation, I got my riding life back a little bit. I would ride in whatever weather, and I would ride whatever anybody would let me get on.”

Jenny began spending her weekends working at Maresfield Farm in Unionville, that fall, and while riding one of the farm’s horses down the road on a trail, she met Meredith Rotko.

“I met this woman in passing who said she was looking for someone to ride her horse. I had no idea who the woman was, but we exchanged phone numbers on the road,” Jenny recalled. “I ended up riding her horse a few times, and then it became more frequent, and a month into it, she asked me if I wanted to compete. She gave me this great opportunity to start taking Leo to some shows.”

Jenny became the barn manager at the Rotkos’ Westview farm in Unionville in September of 2015.  

“I live in this world where, technically I can’t say I’m an adult amateur, but I’m an amateur!” Jenny said. “I’m no Boyd Martin! I just happened to have found two people who have a private horse farm and enjoy the horses and prefer having someone to help with the day-to-day running of the farm. I’m fortunate they were willing to employ me to do it and allow me to compete one of their horses. I’m taking off the 10-15 years of rust and finding my way.

“I’ve been very fortunate that I’ve had a few people that have been willing to work with me and work with my schedule and help me get where we’re going,” she continued. “I cannot believe that every day I get to wake up and go to this beautiful barn with cool horses, and the kids get to come here after school, and it’s just a dream come true.”

I’ll Have That Ribbon, Thanks

At the Horse Park of New Jersey Horse Trials, Jenny and Leo started out in fourth after their dressage test, then produced a clean show jumping round and finished with 40 seconds to spare on cross-country.

“I was so ecstatic,” Jenny said. “I must have told [Leo] ‘Good boy’ over every jump! I gave him a big pat at the end, and when they said I had no time [penalties], I was so thrilled. That was all I cared about. My goal was just to try to finish on my dressage score. That was it. Nothing else mattered.”

Jenny Moyer and Roaring Leo on cross-country at the Horse Park of New Jersey Horse Trials I. Photo by Amy K. Dragoo

Jenny had moved up to second after show jumping, but she didn’t know it; she hadn’t been following the scores. “I didn’t even know you could go online and look at the scores up to the minute,” she said. “I had no clue! Back in the day, you had to mail in your entries and walk up to a scoreboard and find your score at some point later in the day.”

After she took care of her horse and packed up her things, Jenny went to find out the final scores. There, the show secretary told her she had moved up to first.

“I was like, ‘Really?!’ “ Jenny exclaimed. “I was such a little kid about it. I said, ‘Can I have my ribbon?’ “

Jenny was told she would need to wait a half hour to receive her ribbon. At the end of a long day, her husband and Rosalee were ready to go home. “They had toughed it out with me all day, and when I told them I had to wait for 30 minutes to get my ribbon, they said, ‘Seriously?’ “

Yes, seriously. “I sat there on a bench until I could pick up my ribbon,” she said.

It was worth the wait.

“The homework has paid off,” said Jenny, who hopes to qualify Leo for the American Eventing Championships (N.C.) in September. “He and I are both learning together again. He’s back in action and better than ever.”