Personalities match for Tim Delovich and his buddy Lafitte De Muze
While Tim Delovich is a seasoned barn manager – having worked alongside his partner leading Hunter rider and trainer Amanda Steege for 20 years – he cherishes every day he spends with the horses in his care, none more so than Hunter star, Lafitte De Muze.
“He has such a fan club,” Tim said of the 14-year-old Belgian Warmblood. “He is pretty famous and I sometimes forget that. So many people are so invested in him. He’s just my buddy and I am lucky to get to hang out with him every day. I often say it is like being friends with Brad Pitt before anyone knew who Brad Pitt was.”
Lafitte came to Amanda and Tim at Ashmeadow Farm seven years ago. He is still competing at the highest level – and taking the stage tonight for the Saturday Night Lights’ $150,000 WCHR Peter Wetherhill Palm Beach Hunter Spectacular at the Winter Equestrian Festival [WEF]. He has an accolade of victories across the Hunter show world but he has equally had a huge impact outside the show ring. His owner, Cheryl Olsten has generously donated a majority of Lafitte’s prize money to support the EQUUS Foundation’s mission to help horses at risk of suffering abuse or neglect. “We added it up the other day,” Tim said. “The total money donated is now over $500,000.00”
Cheryl wrote a children’s book about Lafitte ‘Big wishes for Little Feat’ and as a result he has a big fan club often following him at the showgrounds. “It’s kind of crazy when I am walking him around the horse shows and hear whispers around me of fans that recognize Lafitte. I try my best to be aware and share him with his fans, whether it be them wanting to pet him or take a picture with him.”
Three years ago, after the final round of the USHJA Derby finals – held in Lexington, Kentucky – Lafitte came across a special fan. Tim was walking him back from the ring late that night when he was approached by a family on their golf cart.
“And I can tell pretty quickly they’re not horse people,” Tim said. “And they’re like, can we pet your horse? And Lafitte’s all amped up from doing well in the class and the excitement of everything.”
The family asked if their son, Colton, could touch Lafitte. The boy had suffered severe head trauma leaving him with cerebral palsy and brain damage and unable to speak. “They carried him over,” Tim recalled. “And the minute he reached out Lafitte turned into a statue and lowered his head.” The boy continued to pet Lafitte until his family thought they should let Tim get back to the barn.
“They went to take the little boy away and he started crying,” Tim said. “We were not in a hurry and had no better place to be. So they brought him back over, and he petted Lafitte until he was content and happy.” The family now return to the campground at Derby finals every year and spend time with Lafitte at the barn. “The little boy always wants his mom to read the children’s book about Lafitte to him. He took up therapeutic riding because of this. And they really think it helped them.”
Lafitte, Tim says, loves the big venues and the fuss. “He always rises to the occasion.” He also knows when the competition counts, and when it does not. “We did a practice class this week to take him in the International ring,” said Tim. “Amanda was asked to do an interview afterwards and normally he’s a total ham. But all he wanted to do was go back to the barn. He did his practice, and he had other things to do to get ready for Saturday night’s class.”
On the flip side of Lafitte’s showmanship, he does not always appreciate the reception he gets from the crowd for his job well done. “He is sometimes surprised by applauding and cheering for him. We have lost a few classes, including Derby finals this past year. He gets exuberant and scoots off and bucks. We think he’s just so focused and then all of a sudden the crowd erupts and it surprises him.”
Tim’s approach to horsemanship is to take a customized approach to each horse. “They’re all individuals, and you have to figure out what works best for them at the end of the day,” he said. Like many horse operations, the team is the essence of their success. “We’ve built an amazing team over the years,” Tim said. “We have four guys that I’ve worked with for a long time. I have a great vet, massage therapists, chiropractors, farriers, and owners. We have open conversations all the time about all the horses. Nobody’s trying to be a hero and we don’t tell them how to do their jobs. Our team is made up of people with mutual respect for each other’s knowledge. We tell them what we’re seeing on a daily basis and then discuss what needs to be done. I feel like the most important part of my job is listening to all these people. Taking all the information and then making the plan for that horse.”
In Lafitte’s case part of the plan turned out to be a radical decision to ditch his hind shoes. “He’s quirky,” said Tim. “And then one day, at eight years old and for reasons only he knows, he decided to not allow us to shoe his hind feet anymore.” The initial transition to the shoeless concept proved stressful. “It was very worrisome to our whole team,” said Tim, who had more anxiety to deal with than most, addressing the horse’s daily care. Lafitte showed his stubborn streak – Tim says his personality matches that of the gelding’s – and he refused to let anyone other than Tim or Amanda pick up his hind feet. For a year or more, Tim was left with the task of trimming Lafitte’s feet. And to add to the challenge, Lafitte would not have anyone else in the stall while that was happening.
“If someone forcefully picked his foot up, he would just shift his weight back [on that person] and slam it back down to the ground,” said Tim. “Not in a dangerous way. Just that he said “No!” and that was the end of the conversation.”
Aside from a nervous initiation to going without hind shoes – Tim stressed about taking the horse on different surfaces. “I worried about on pavement, off of pavement, hard surfaces, gravel, rock like all those things could chip a foot,” he said. “And definitely our vet was very concerned. I was like, okay, well, this is where we’re at. I don’t know what to tell you.”
To this day, Lafitte remains without hind shoes and without any related problems – and has consented to other people picking his hind feet up. “That mental attitude is what makes a great horse,” said Tim of the horse’s strength of character that translates to success in the show ring. “He is very professional. He always gives 110 percent. That will and drive. I feel like he enjoys it just as much as we do. He gets the thrill out of it and we always joke that he doesn’t know a different way than giving his all every single time.”
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