It’s only fitting that Pablo Barrios won the $25,000 Horses Helping Horses Grand Prix, which benefited the Old Friends Horse Rescue (see sidebar).

Barrios’ mounts for first and second place in the class, held during the Atlanta Summer Classic I in Conyers, Ga., on June 15-19, came to him through an old friend of his own.

First-placed Wild Cat and second-placed Justice each belong to Dr. Juan Carmona, a family friend of Barrios’ from Venezuela. Wild Cat and Justice arrived in Barrios’ barn in November 2004, after Carmona’s son, Alberto, stopped riding. Olympian Lisa Jacquin had ridden both horses before Alberto.

Barrios rode the two to the only clear jump-off performances among the four who qualified for the deciding round. Susie Fried on Cheenookee and Tommy Feigel on Contendress finished up in third and fourth.

“I tried to go quick with Justice, but with Wild Cat I just tested him in the turns. He needs a little bit more experience to go really fast,” said Barrios. Wild Cat’s time of 37.49 seconds still ended up edging out Justice’s of 38.78 seconds.

Wild Cat was laid up with an injury until March. “Like every good horse, he has a little bit of an attitude, but we get along well. He has a lot of natural ability. He’s very elastic and natural, and quite scopey and careful,” Barrios said.

Wild Cat, a 9-year-old, Westphalian gelding, is Barrios’ first choice for a spot on the Venezuelan team at the 2006 World Equestrian Games, and he’s planning the bay’s schedule carefully with that goal in mind. Barrios, who competed for Venezuela as an individual in the 1998 WEG in Rome, looks forward to representing his country again. “This time, I think I have a better horse, and a better chance,” he said.

Barrios begins his journey to qualify for the WEG in August, when he will travel to Colombia to compete in the South American Games. He’ll ride Nice To See You, a young mare, there.

Barrios, 40, moved to Wellington, Fla., three years ago. In Venezuela, he’d been a successful architect, but he decided to start a riding and training business in Venezuela. He’d bought a farm and built a healthy business, but then a new president was elected and the political climate caused him to consider relocating.

Having spent a few winters in Florida riding and showing, Barrios knew it was an obvious choice for a new home. “I came with not too much,” he said. “I came with a few horses to sell, and that’s the way I started. I sold a few here and there, and eventually I bought a house, and then a farm.”

Barrios now runs an active riding and training business along with his wife, Joaquena. One of his most notable sales was Chappie, who went on to have a grand prix career with Debbie Stephens.

Barrios has ridden with Pierre Jolicoeur and Stephens, and he travels to Europe to train with friends there. “I try to always learn, and I never stop watching,” he said.

Barrios appreciates that Carmona chose him to ride Wild Cat and Justice, and he said he’s happy that he could deliver results so quickly. “It’s the first time that this has happened to me–to be first and second–and it’s a great feeling, especially for a new owner,” he said.

“Dallas” Started It All

Robbi Meisel met Rich In Dallas, one of the equine stars of Seabiscuit, at the 2003 Metropolitan National Horse Show (N.Y.), while the gelding was on a promotional tour for the movie. She fell in love with the charismatic horse, and she was shocked to later find out that “Dallas” had returned to his racing career, running in a $2,500 claiming race in California.

“I was under the impression that he was going to a nice, cushy farm, but unfortunately, that’s not what happened. I never thought that a movie star could end up in such a bad way. It was life-changing–I realized that if it could happen to him, a horse who was so popular with the public, God forbid what was happening to all the other horses,” said Meisel.

Meisel assisted in the crusade to find a better home and life for Dallas, who’s now at the Kentucky Horse Park. And so began her interest in horse rescue. “I made a promise to Dallas to help get him out and to honor him by helping other horses,” she said.

Meisel, half of the duo of Flashpoint Photography with her husband Greg, thought that a charity grand prix would be an ideal fundraiser for horse-rescue causes.

“It’s a tangible way of giving back to a community that I make my living from,” she said. Show manager Bob Bell of Classic Company agreed to help, and the $25,000 Horses Helping Horses Grand Prix came to be.

Bell offered the venue during the Atlanta Summer Classic I in Conyers, Ga., and Meisel went to work organizing. She put together a silent auction that raised more than $4,000, raffled off course walks with the grand prix riders, and put the word out. Bell donated the prize money for the event and also donated the class entry fees to the effort.

The primary recipient of the funds raised by the event was Old Friends Horse Rescue, the organization that helped save Dallas. “It was a huge success as well on an emotional level,” said Meisel. “It was a lot of effort, but if it makes a difference for one horse, it’s all worth it.

“The support from the public boggled my mind,” she added. “On Friday before the class, I got 250 e-mails of support from all over the country.” Meisel plans to visit Dallas and read him some of the e-mails while feeding him his favorite peppermints.