Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025

Former Buggy Horse With ‘A Little Sass And A Lot Of Class’ Wins USDF Year-End Award

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When former equitation rider and Mount Holyoke College (Massachusetts) graduate Tara Korde attended an alumni mixer six years ago, she never imagined that a casual conversation would lead to finding her “horse of a lifetime.” But that’s exactly what happened, and Korde and In The Nick Of Time made 2024 their winningest season yet, earning the Adequan/U.S. Dressage Federation second level musical freestyle year-end championship with a median score of 76.39%, placing eighth in the Adequan/USDF second level adult amateur standings, and taking home a pair of USDF All-Breeds Awards championships in the same categories from Friesian Heritage Horse and Sporthorse International.

But as they say, timing is everything, and when Korde, 42, first learned about “Nick,” the timing wasn’t right. Back then, Korde was recovering from major back surgery; she’d already been informed that jumping again was out of the question, and she wasn’t sure if she would even be able to ride at all. However, she knew that if she were to return to the saddle, she wanted a small, quiet, sensible, experienced dressage horse, and she shared that with Jutta Lee, at the time Mount Holyoke’s dressage coach.

“She looked at me and said, ‘I have that horse,’ ” Korde, of Old Greenwich, Connecticut, remembered with a laugh. “I said, ‘That’s great—someone is going to be really lucky to have this amateur-friendly horse who knows so many things.’ But at the time, I wasn’t looking.”

Tara Korde and In The Nick Of Time, a Friesian cross and former buggy horse shown here in 2022, have now competed three times at U.S. Dressage Finals and recently won the second level musical freestyle year-end championship from the U.S. Dressage Federation. SusanJ.Stickle.com Photo

Fast forward to 2021, and Korde—now recovered—had started horse shopping, but without much success. On a whim, she sent a social media message to Lee and asked if she still had “that amateur-friendly” horse she had mentioned several years ago. To Korde’s surprise, she did.

Lee explained that she had not yet found just the right home for Nick, who had been in her program since he was a 4-year-old. Sired by a Friesian stallion called Derek from the Fr. Connection, Nick got his start in life pulling an Amish buggy before being sold at auction and finding his way to Lee. Since then, the gelding, who Lee registered as a Friesian-Tennessee Walking Horse cross—her best guess due to his sweet temperament—had earned decent scores through Prix St. Georges and developed solid piaffe and passage. But Korde, who grew up riding in the United Kingdom on “all-rounders” and had mostly focused on hunters and equitation since moving back to the U.S., was still uncertain.

“One of the scary things about buying horses is sometimes you only get to sit on them once, for a few minutes, and then you have to decide,” she said. “I told Jutta I was looking for a partner, so if there was any chance of getting to know him a little bit, that would be so helpful.”

By then, Lee and Nick were located in New Hampshire, so Korde asked a friend to go look at the 15.3-hand gelding on her behalf. When she received a video of Lee opening an automatic garage door from Nick’s back while he quietly looked on, Korde knew he had the temperament she was looking for. And as luck would have it, Lee and Nick were scheduled to compete at Mount Holyoke a few weeks later. Korde made plans to meet them there to try Nick herself, and almost immediately, she was smitten. He arrived in her barn in early August.

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Nick, shown here in an obstacle course lesson with Sara Vanecek, is “a large personality in a small-horse body,” Korde said. “One of my friends says of him, ‘He’s a little sass with a lot of class.’ He’s very sweet, and I’m going to say smarter than the average Joe—sometimes too smart. He doesn’t give anything away, which is why he has been such a fabulous teacher for me.” Photo Courtesy Of Tara Korde

“He is a large personality in a small-horse body,” Korde said. “One of my friends says of him, ‘He’s a little sass with a lot of class.’ He’s very sweet, and I’m going to say smarter than the average Joe—sometimes too smart. He doesn’t give anything away, which is why he has been such a fabulous teacher for me.”

Korde is the first to say that not only is she still a green dressage rider, she is relatively new to competition in general. But Nick made her feel both competent and confident, and bolstered by encouragement from then-trainer Andrea McCauley, Korde and Nick made their official debut at first level in August 2022. In just one weekend, they qualified to compete at the GAIG/USDF Region 8 Championships (New York) the next month, where they placed second in a large adult amateur championship class. 

“Not only was that the first year I had him, what was almost beyond me was we went in the arena, and halted and saluted and proceeded toward the judge—and he stopped to poop,” Korde recalled with a laugh. “It was like something you could put on America’s Funniest Home Videos of dressage. I just thought, ‘That’s it, we lose. Let’s just ride our test.’

“To do so well in that test, after that, it was just complete shock and awe,” she continued. “It is still one of my proudest accomplishments with him.”

Tara Korde and “Nick” with trainer Andrea McCauley at their first show in August 2022. Photo Courtesy Of Tara Korde

Their strong finish at regionals also qualified the pair to compete at the U.S. Dressage Finals in Kentucky later that fall; they rode there in the rain on a chilly 32 degree day and did not place, but nonetheless, Korde was proud of their performance.

“Neither Nick nor I like the heat, so I said, ‘I’m not complaining. I’m going to do this,’” Korde remembered with a chuckle. “What a trouper he was.”

Bolstered by their successful debut season, Korde looked forward to achieving new goals in 2023. But she was unexpectedly sidelined with medical issues requiring further surgery, and the pair only made it out a few times, later in the season. Despite the setback, they once again qualified for the Region 8 championships and the U.S. Dressage Finals, this time at second level.

“He still got me to nationals, despite having multiple months off,” Korde said. “He’s incredible; such a good boy.

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“Nick is very steady, and usually, nothing is terrible,” she continued. “So if you ride a little better, you can get some really nice marks on him. He’s really excellent that way.”

Korde says that Nick’s canter work is a particular highlight—especially his simple changes—so when she began putting together her first-ever musical freestyle for the 2024 season, she knew she wanted to highlight them. With choreography and design assistance from trainers Jannike Gray and Megan Tursi, Korde decided to complete the canter work first, set to the 80’s hit “Yes” by Merry Clayton.

“I was born to ride to the music,” Korde said with a laugh. “I was so excited to finally do a freestyle, and it was kind of our thing—we did really well. Nick loves an audience; he’s a ham. The more people who come watch him, the more he shows off.”

Korde and Nick at the 2024 GAIG/USDF Region 8 Championships with some of their crew (from left) Sara Vanecek, who long-lines Nick; friend Milena Mokhov; trainer Megan Tursi and friend Katie Bachli. Photo Courtesy Of Tara Korde

The pair debuted their new freestyle in May 2024 at Sperry View Farm (Connecticut), scoring a 76.39%. With consistent results for the remainder of the season, Korde and Nick found themselves heading to Kentucky for Dressage Finals for the third year in a row, qualified both at second level and in the freestyle. But Korde admits she got a bit “overzealous” in the freestyle championship class.

“I just thought, ‘We’re going in the Alltech [Arena], and we’re going for it,’” she said. “I kind of gunned with my spurs going across the diagonal and lost my stirrup. It wasn’t the test we had ridden during the season—it wasn’t as good—but that’s OK. We went for it, and it kind of backfired. That’s why I’m still green, and I’m still learning.”

Korde isn’t quite sure what’s next for her and the now 15-year-old Nick, but she is grateful for the journey they have taken together so far, as well as the many people she has met as a result of their partnership—including trainers Molly Maloney, Rob Waine, and Ben Franklin, and Casey and Scott Satriano, the owners of Chestnut Hill Farm where Nick lives in Stamford, Connecticut.

“They say it takes a village, but for me, it’s more like an entire town,” Korde said. “So many people have helped me, I’m at an amazing barn with amazing owners who are so supportive of their clients; it’s been a lot of people who have helped me and been so generous.

“I’ve made so many friends with him,” she continued. “He’s just been like a dream, and I’m having the best time ever.”

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