When eventer Mikenna Hallock and her husband, Andy Hallock, established Three Beat Farms in Oregon City, Oregon, in 2021, the new professional looked for any opportunity to showcase her training skills to the equestrian community. That, in part, was why 28-year-old Mikenna decided to partner with a Clackamas County, Oregon, nonprofit rescue called Sound Equine Options to assist with training some of their intakes. She never imagined the decision would lead to finding her own equine partner in the most unlikely of animals.

Sally Cat was one of a trio of horses surrendered to SEO when her owner entered hospice care after a long period of declining health. The majority of SEO’s intakes come to them via law enforcement, so it was an exception that these animals were all in good physical condition. A homebred, Sally Cat, was by the Oldenburg sire Gatsby, and was an attractive, athletic type, with a refined face, two socks behind, and a big star. Although her original owner had hoped Sally Cat would become her next dressage horse, the woman’s long illness had put the mare’s training on indefinite hold; when she arrived at SEO at the age of 7, Sally Cat had never even been separated from her dam.

“When we went to load her dam, we could put her in the front slot of the trailer,” recalled Kim Mosiman, executive director and co-founder of SEO. “But we had to use some panels and push Sally Cat into the trailer. You could put a halter on her, but I wouldn’t call her halter broke. You couldn’t really lead her.”

Upon arrival at the rescue, Mosiman and her team “pulled the BandAid” and separated mother and daughter for the first time in Sally Cat’s life. The dam, who had previous training and was likely some type of draft or warmblood cross, was soon placed into a new home, leaving Sally Cat at the rescue without the one animal who had always given her a sense of security and support.

“I keep telling people in our rescue that we need to have a name for this type of horse,” Mosiman said. “They’re usually a mother-daughter pair who have never been apart, and never been on their own. Those horses take a lot longer to settle and adopt out, because they are big, insecure, and there aren’t that many people now with the skills to help them.

“I think Sally Cat liked humans, and I’m sure her original owner cared for her,” she continued. “But horses are such herd animals, and if an animal hasn’t been taken out of that herd and out of that security blanket, and you put them on their own in a stall or an arena, all they can think is, ‘How do I get to my herd?’ That was the biggest hurdle for Sally Cat.”

It took nearly a year of groundwork to gain Sally Cat’s trust and improve her bond with people. At that point, she was adopted by a local dressage trainer who seemed to have the necessary experience to continue Sally Cat’s education. Unfortunately, the situation didn’t prove to be a good match, so Sally Cat was returned to SEO and placed in a foster home until they could determine next steps.

“She is a beautiful horse, was always super sweet, and had all the physical potential,” Mosiman said. “But she couldn’t go at the same pace in her training as another horse. I think it was too much for her mentally; she needed to go slower and really work on the foundation a lot longer than you would normally have to do.”

By the time Sally Cat returned to SEO, Mikenna had successfully worked with four other horses from the rescue and participated in the organization’s 2021 Lucky 7 Training Challenge, with plans to do the event again in 2022. Loosely modeled on the Extreme Mustang Makeover, in the Lucky 7 Challenge, trainers have 120 days to work with one of SEO’s horses before returning for a one-day demonstration and competition; afterward, the horses are auctioned off to pre-approved and pre-matched buyers. Knowing that Sally Cat would require a savvy and experienced trainer to help overcome her emotional baggage, in February 2022, SEO reached out to Mikenna, who was happy to give the mare a fresh start.

Upon arrival at Three Beat Farms, Mikenna gave Sally Cat two weeks to decompress, adjust, and gain a little weight—and gave her a new name. 

“I thought she looked like a ‘Kitty,’ ” Mikenna said with a laugh. “So we switched her name. At this point, I did not know I would end up with her; I was thinking of her as a restart. I figured I would get her going, and hopefully we’d find her a good home.”

That all changed just a few weeks later, when Mikenna’s husband longed her and Kitty together for the first time. 

“We trotted for a bit and then went into the canter,” Mikenna remembered. “We maybe made it around the circle one time, and I looked at my husband and said, ‘This one cannot leave.’ Any horse with a canter this nice, who is in this early stage of getting going again, is going to be a good one.”

By the end of March 2022, with only about three weeks of work under saddle together, Mikenna officially adopted Kitty—and began to gently peel back the layers of her new equine partner. From their first sessions together, Mikenna already recognized that Kitty was extremely sensitive to any pressure in her mouth; initially, she worked the mare only in a rope halter, both on the ground and in the saddle. While Kitty was sweet to have in the barn and easy for the staff to handle, she still displayed signs of nervousness and insecurity when working on her own, away from other horses.

“She was stunted emotionally,” Mikenna said. “You would think she was 4, not nearly 9 years old. But she was essentially not weaned until she was 7, and she had never had to do anything, really, without her mommy’s approval. It was hard to grow up a bit.”

But as Mikenna kept working with her, Kitty’s confidence slowly began to build. Then one day, Mikenna asked the mare to back up—and after just one or two steps, Kitty froze and did a “weird leapy sideways rear.”

“It was like she got stuck,” Mikenna said. “At this point, I realized we maybe had a little bit more baggage than I’d thought.”

She turned to two trusted friends for advice: equine bodyworker Marci Voorhees, and dressage trainer Jenn Mack. Voorhees determined the mare seemed to be experiencing discomfort in her shoulders and carried tension throughout her body, which a regular schedule of bodywork improved over time. Mack proved indispensable in helping Mikenna not only to find a bit the sensitive mare was comfortable in (most of the time, she wears a lightweight Herm Sprenger Duo), but also in helping to deepen the connection between horse and rider.

“Jenn is really in tune with how horses bond, and how that could help put Kitty on the right path not just physically, but also mentally,” Mikenna said. “It’s about learning how you fix some of the traumas these horse have, and help them find relaxation and comfort under saddle.”

“They have to let you in a little, in order for you to get the most out of them.”

Mikenna Hallock

Mikenna has experience in several disciplines and believes it is important to help horses find their best niche, but eventing is her personal passion. In January 2023, Mikenna and Kitty competed at their first horse show, jumping crossrails at a schooling competition hosted by the local Pony Club. Encouraged by Kitty’s performance there, Mikenna began preparing for the Inavale Farm (Oregon) schooling horse trials at the starter level in June. Wearing just a simple leather bit on cross-country, the pair not only completed the event, they walked away with a ribbon.

“She took to cross-country like a fish to water,” Mikenna said with a laugh. “The only silly thing she’d do, instead of just going into water like normal, she characteristically likes to leap in. I have to brace for impact a bit.

“We placed third in her starter division, and it really was her first full-day show ever,” she added. “For me, that was huge: There was still lots to work on, but she did it.”

From there, Kitty and Mikenna completed three U.S. Eventing Association-sanctioned horse trials in 2023—two at starter level, and the last at beginner novice—finishing in the ribbons each time. With each outing, Kitty’s confidence grew, and she seemed to especially enjoy the jumping phases—at least, once she was on course.

“The first year of showing Kitty was definitely the most exciting, as it would be with any green, young horse going out into the world,” Mikenna said. “The only real struggle on cross-country was leaving the whole group of horses in warm-up to go to the field by yourself. But even by the second show, she felt way braver and more confident to be on her own.

“Anything you pointed her at, she was happy to go over it,” she continued. “It didn’t matter how silly it looked. And despite the spookiness and nervousness and all the normal green-horse things, I was so impressed by how hard she tried. No matter what you asked her to do, she would always try, and I appreciate that about her, even to this day.”

Encouraged by the mare’s successful debut season, Mikenna spent the winter polishing up her dressage skills, even competing at a few schooling shows at first level. They started this year at beginner novice, qualifying for the USEA Area VII Championships at their second outing of the season. By early August, Kitty successfully moved up to novice at the Area VII Young Rider Benefit Horse Trials held at Caber Farm (Washington).

“That was not only our first novice, it was the first dressage test I rode where I felt I had her attention on me, and she was relaxed,” Mikenna recalled. “I was excited and shocked to place fourth there, and we qualified again for the championships, now at novice.”

In September, the pair finished their season at Aspen Farms (Washington), earning seventh place in the Area VII novice championships there. And while Mikenna is proud of Kitty’s competitive success (to date, the mare has never had a cross-country fault), she is also appreciative of what she has learned as a trainer through working with this sensitive animal.

“Kitty has taught me so much about, I want to say ‘patience,’ but it is so much more than that,” she said. “It’s about being able to look at a horse, see the paths of tension, and identify where that tension might be coming from, and how to connect with a horse on an emotional level.

“They have to let you in a little, in order for you to get the most out of them,” she continued. “So many people are quick to write off a horse because he doesn’t have the best breeding, or the papers don’t speak for themselves, or they come from nothing. I am so grateful all the stars aligned, and Kitty ended up at my place, because she has been the most wonderful, rewarding project I think I’ve ever had.”

Looking forward, Mikenna plans to continue training Kitty with help from Mack and eventer Sarah Lorenz, with the goal of moving up to training level next season. But regardless of what their future holds, Mikenna hopes that Kitty’s story might inspire others to take a chance on a horse with an unknown or limited background.

“Any horse, despite how rough he may look on the outside, can be useful,” Mikenna said. “A trail horse that is loved by his family and goes on rides once a week is just as valuable to that family as a top-rated eventing horse or show jumper. They all deserve the chance to have someone actually listen to them and figure out what we can do for them.”

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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.