September 24, 2024 
Three years ago Charlotte Reeve, then 15, had just moved to a new province and a new barn—for the third time in seven years—and was looking for her next horse when Corona OS entered the chat.
The Dutch Warmblood gelding had a proven show record, having competed at the Royal Winter Fair with Carly Stevens in 2016 and up to 1.30m with Brooklyn Deacon in 2020, but had lost confidence by the time he landed at Andrea Strain’s Villa Training Stable in Langley, BC.
“When we first had him at the barn, you couldn’t stay on him for more than 10 minutes without him spinning,” Reeve explained.
Still, Reeve and her new trainer saw the potential and, importantly, the lease fit her budget.
But if the junior rider was looking for reassurance they could make the relationship work, Corona didn’t offer it willingly.
“The day we signed the lease on him, he spun me off and ran around the property,” smiled Reeve.
And so began their long journey to the equitation ring.
While Reeve’s peers were moving up divisions, she spent her first year with Corona (aka Ronie) in the .80m to 1.0m jumpers rebuilding the horse’s confidence.
“I just had to be really gentle with him, really easy on him. Don’t ask him to do too much. And it did take a lot of time. We brought him to [Thunderbird Show Park] in April the first year and I didn’t show him at all. I just kind of walked around the property with him,” she recalled.
“We probably spent up until this year in the 1.0m jumpers because he’s just so technical [to ride]. He’s not easy.”
Reeve invested much of her efforts on the ground with the horse, slowly developing their bond.
“I spent a lot of time with him. Even now, I’ll go and sit in the corner of his stall or spend time grazing him and just kind of be around him, one on one, so he can understand I’m here for him and that I am a person he can trust,” she continued.
“He’s the type of horse that likes having one person only. He doesn’t want a bunch of kids or people riding him.”
When the lease came up in February 2023, the Reeves bought the horse.
“I just felt a bond with him. I had put so much work in during the year that we leased him. I knew he had a big heart and he just needed someone to put the time and effort in. And I was willing to do that.”
Still, it was two years before her belief in the horse started to pay consistent dividends in the show ring.
“There wasn’t a moment when it clicked. It happened slowly. I could ask him to do more while I was riding him, I could ask him to use his body correctly. Before, he would throw a tantrum and spin you off. That was his escape plan. His favorite way to go around is with his head up in the air and his mouth wide open,” said Reeve.
“I couldn’t ask him to [go in a frame] up until probably a month ago.”
This year the pair has come full circle at tbird, finding their stride and considerable success as a triple threat in the hunter, jumper and equitation rings. They’ve moved up to the 1.20m height and earned top placings and multiple wins in all three rings. Notably, in the final two weeks of the tbird show season, they swept the 1.10m Thunderbird Good Hands & Seat Finals and the Regional Finals for the Jump Canada and the Equine Essentials CET Medals.
It’s their most successful two weeks on record.
“I mean, I’m still in shock. None of it has really like sunk in yet. But I’m super, super happy and I going to try to enjoy this moment. I think I’ll give him a little break mentally—it’s asking a lot of them to do all the medals and I think me and him both need a little mental break. Then probably October we will start really focusing on prepping for [the National Finals in] Toronto.”
In the meantime, Reeve is feeling grateful for her trainer—”I don’t think I would be where I am now without Andrea”—and for her best teacher, the now 17-year-old Corona.
“I had to work with the horse I have, and it ended up being one of the best things that’s ever happened to me. He’s my heart horse. I don’t think I would ever let him go. We’re going to let Corona decide when he’s done jumping and as soon as he is, we’ll probably end up retiring him ourselves,” said Reeve.
“He definitely taught me patience and to take it slow—and how to sit a good spin.”
This story originally appeared on tbird.ca.
