In late summer 2014, a well-bred, registered Morgan mare and her 3-month-old foal were taken to an auction in Pennsylvania. Sue-Ray Glory Glory was attractive, trained both to harness and saddle work, and she sold immediately. But neither her buyer nor anyone else bidding at the auction that day had any use for her unweaned black filly. Instead, the buyer and seller shut the filly in a stall as they led her dam away. Panicked and terrified, the filly unsuccessfully tried to escape, lacerating her shoulder in the process.

Luckily for the filly, later named Eclipse, representatives of a rescue organization were also at the auction that day. After the sale, they were able to secure ownership of both Eclipse and another Morgan, a yearling filly. The rescuers put the pair together for comfort; at first, Eclipse was so lost and confused, she attempted to nurse off the yearling.

But soon, both fillies were on their way to a quarantine facility in New York, and later, Solitude Farm Morgan Horse Rescue in Stanardsville, Virginia. There, under the watchful eye of longtime Morgan enthusiast Karen Sansom, the fillies were given time to heal and mature in the rescue’s “nursery.” Eclipse would ultimately spend several years there, until the day a fortuitous conversation between friends helped her find her home for life.

From Warmbloods To Morgans

Amateur dressage rider Wendy Breeden has owned a number of different mounts over the years, including a special 17.2-hand Hanoverian gelding named Waltzing, on whom she earned her U.S. Dressage Federation bronze medal and the fourth level scores needed for her silver. But as a child, her first horse was a liver chestnut Morgan named Pied Piper. Although their partnership got off to a rocky start when he dumped her into a flock of sheep, they later went on to compete in saddleseat, western and dressage. Over the years, Breeden has never stopped holding a soft spot in her heart for the breed.

One day, the retired first-grade teacher was speaking with a former student turned friend, Lillian Fernandez, who assisted with training the horses at Solitude Farm. For decades, the two had stayed in touch, bonded over their mutual love of horses in general and Morgans in particular. At the time, Breeden was feeling frustrated; recently, she had experienced several setbacks with her dressage horses, and she knew she was coming to a crossroads.

“I had had warmbloods and paid a lot of money for a lot of them,” said Breeden, 63. “I had good luck with some, and bad luck with others. I just needed a change. Lillian knew I was into dressage, and she says to me, ‘Wendy, what about a Morgan?’ ”

At first, Breeden wasn’t so sure, but Fernandez encouraged her former teacher to check out the horses available for adoption on Solitude Farm’s website. A few months later, Breeden’s attention was captured by a short video of Fernandez longeing an unbacked 6-year-old mare; the liver chestnut pony had “a lovely trot” and reminded Breeden of her beloved Pied Piper.

“So, like a crazy person, I said, ‘I’ll take her,’ ” Breeden recalled with a laugh. The pony had “one long stocking,” so Breeden named her Pippilotta, “Pippi” for short.

Breeden took Pippi home to her 5-acre farm in Casanova, Virginia, and for nearly a year concentrated on getting her new mount started under saddle. But it wasn’t long before Breeden began to wonder if she should acquire a second horse, “just in case.”

“You always have to have a back-up horse,” she said with a laugh. “That’s why I wanted my own farm years ago. I’m not paying board, and I said to myself, ‘I’d like to have another one.’ So I contacted Lillian and asked her to keep her eyes open.”

In response, Fernandez promptly sent a video of a now 4-year-old Eclipse on the longe line, along with a head shot. 

“Oh, that big, beautiful eye,” Breeden remembered of seeing Eclipse for the first time. “It was love at first sight.”

And that was how, almost unintentionally, Breeden returned to her roots with not one, but two, Morgan rescues. The mares share some traits in common: Both are “spicy” and sensitive, and neither was fully started under saddle when she arrived at Breeden’s farm. But even though Pippi, now 13, has successfully competed through second level, it was “Elli” that proved to be a precocious student of dressage. 

Getting Accustomed To The Spice

Green as grass when she was adopted by Breeden at age 4, Elli made her show ring debut in the Commonwealth Dressage and Combined Training Association summer schooling series (Virginia) at age 5, and the next season, won the series year-end championship at training level. In 2021, as a 7-year-old, she moved up to first level, and again won the CDCTA year-end title. By 2023, 9-year-old Elli had made her debut at second level, ultimately earning the adult-amateur year-end championship for both CDCTA and the Virginia Dressage Association/Northern Virginia Schooling series, with an average score of 66.42%.

From the beginning, consistently positive feedback from judges and trainers bolstered Breeden’s belief that Elli is truly “something special.” But she also quickly learned that many of the training techniques and systems that had worked well with her warmbloods were not as effective in developing her Morgans, and Elli in particular. 

“It was quite a transition,” Breeden said. “I really had to take my time with Elli, because she is ultra-sensitive and ultra-spicy. She’s not dangerous by a long shot, she’s just spicy. I had had a really dull warmblood that you had to make go. I went from that to my hot mares. I needed some help learning how to ride them. At first, I couldn’t figure out how to put my leg on.

“I remember the first time I cantered Elli, I came into the house and said to my husband, ‘I will never be able to sit this canter,’ ” she continued. “And now, it’s divine. Everything just takes time.”

In working with various trainers, Breeden learned Elli responded best to a program in which her natural high energy and enthusiasm could be positively channeled into the work, rather than tamped into submission. Over the past few years, she and Elli have worked most extensively with Allison Spangler in Marshall, Virginia, supplemented by clinics with Aviva Nebesky of Maryland.

“Allison has just been wonderful with Elli. She says her favorite horse is a spicy mare,” Breeden said. “Recently, she said, ‘Wendy, we could have her fourth level next year, because she has the talent, but it would be with tension.’ So, she totally gets Elli.

“Elli can’t really be pushed,” Breeden continued. “It has to be a little bit her idea, and you have to build her confidence and build her body, which you should do with any horse, of course.”

Breeden believes that learning to ride Elli and Pippi effectively has raised the expectations she places on herself as a rider.

“I’ve definitely had to analyze everything,” she said. “Nothing is forgiven on either of these horses. For example, I really couldn’t put my leg on Elli until last year. Of course, Allison reminds me all the time that for the hot ones, you have to put your leg on, and I’d read that and read that and read that. But to do it is a different thing. It’s just a totally different ride from what I was used to.

“The nice thing is, because I’m retired now, I can just focus on it a little bit more,” she continued. “People say, ‘Are you bored now that you’re retired?’ and I just stare at them.” 

Silver Medal Ambitions

With the possibility of competing Elli at third level in 2024 on her mind, Breeden is also contemplating some additional goals for her mares. To date, she has shown them primarily at schooling competitions, which Breeden said leaves her with a bigger budget for lessons and clinics. But given Elli’s continued success in the dressage court (showing under the name Glorious Eclipse), Breeden is thinking about entering a few U.S. Equestrian Federation-recognized competitions—which could lead to USDF All Breeds recognition, or even a trip to the National Dressage Pony Cup & Small Horse Championships in Ohio. Both mares would be eligible for the latter show; Pippi just received her USEF pony card, and at 15.2 hands, Elli is an official small horse.

“If you saw Elli at a clinic, you’d probably think she was a miniature warmblood,” Breeden said. “She has more of that modern Morgan look. Pippi, you look at her, and you know she’s a Morgan. She has the wavy mane and tail. She’s short and strong; she has a cresty neck. But with Elli people aren’t so sure.

In the long-term, Breeden hopes that one day Elli will help her to earn the scores she needs at Prix St. Georges to complete her USDF silver medal. But she also believes that when people see her and her Morgans out competing, it helps to promote the idea that the sport of dressage is truly accessible to all. 

“Dressage is really seen as an elite sport for rich people—but she is my $1,000 horse, and Pippi was $700,” Breeden said. “Obviously, I’m not going to the Olympics with these horses, but I can still be an ambassador for the Morgan breed, and for rescues, and show you don’t have to be a multi-millionaire and buy a pre-trained horse if you have the skills, patience and help to do it the long, slow way.”

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Do you know a horse or pony who has been rescued from a dangerous situation to become a healthy, trusted competition partner today? If you think you have a good candidate for “From Rescue To Ribbons,” let us know by emailing mwright@coth.com.