Wellington dressage rider overcomes the elements

The destruction caused from tornadoes in Wellington, spawned by Hurricane Milton last week, continue to have a knock-on effect for dressage rider Susan Thomas.

This was what was meant to happen – practice in the arena. Instead Susan had to spend hours picking up nails. Photo: Suzanne Carroll

Susan flew in from her base in Guadalajara, Mexico to prepare her horse for the upcoming Iberian Horse Spectacular at the World Equestrian Center [WEC] in Ocala next weekend. She landed at the same time as Milton and was faced with riding a nail magnet sweeper for hours in the sand arena at Flying Cow Equestrian, Wellington when she should have been rehearsing her dressage test.

“We were lucky that the tornado narrowly missed us – it hit at the back of the property,” she said of one of the spate of tornadoes that touched down on Florida’s eastern side last Tuesday afternoon, heralding the arrival of Milton. One hundred and twenty six tornado warnings were issued – the highest number issued in Florida in one day. The tally of those that were confirmed included three that hit Wellington hard – uncharacteristic for their size.

A trailer on a neighboring property was destroyed – the owner survived.

“I spent two hours driving over the arena and lost count after 200,” she said of the nails and screws she magnetically picked up, which had come from the complete destruction of neighboring properties. “The ring was dragged and I went over it again and found at least 70 more. The debris that covered the property was unbelievable.”

For some time Susan, a longtime trainer and seller of PRE [Puro Razo Española] and owner of MEX PRE Horses, had been planning a fourth level dressage competition debut for her horse Rondeño SN, a 12-year old 16.2hh PRE at the inaugural Iberian Horse Spectacular. This week features four days of events, competitions and discussions related to PRE and Lusitano horses culminating in an ‘Iberian Horse Spectacular’ on Sunday, which promises to be ‘an equestrian theatrical production like no other’ according to the buzz.

“This is a big deal,” Susan said. “It’s the first time they’re doing it at WEC in Ocala and the best horses are coming from all over the United States and many of the top trainers and riders and breeders are coming from Spain and Portugal to be part of it.” Top names include well-known Iberian horse breeder, Enrique de Benito, Spanish Olympic dressage rider Rafael Soto and leading Spanish dressage rider Jose Daniel Martin Dockx.

Susan Thomas and Rondeño SN will be winging it in Ocala this week after Hurricane Milton thwarted plans to practice. Photo: Lili Forjado

Without an arena to try out the test, Susan is faced with the possibility that her first opportunity to do so could be in the competition arena in Ocala. “We have to wait until Friday morning before we can bring horses on to the showground. So it’s possible I will be riding him at Level 4, with a test we haven’t ever done, in front of the judges at the show. Not having an arena to practice in is not ideal but we were so lucky and grateful to have survived the tornado with as little damage as we had.”

For Susan, the show will go on. She knows her horse and knows that she needs to be as calm as possible to soothe him. “He’s very sensitive,” she said. “So if I tense up, he’s going to pick up on that. But you know, there’s always an excuse if you look for it. But if you’re somebody that really goes out for your dreams, you’ve got to put it out there. And sometimes you have to show up before you are ready.”

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