Caitlin Zech knows she probably took the scenic route to U.S. Dressage Finals (Ky.) this year, and she’s OK with that.

Zech qualified her half-Arabian, Double XL, at Prix St. Georges and her full Arab, Groovin, at training after nine years as a student of dressage. She estimates Double XL, or “Ike,” spent a total of two full weeks in training with her instructor in the 10 years she has owned him; the rest of his knowledge, from the ground up, is all her handiwork.

Zech grew up riding Arabs, as her mother did before her, mostly in what she calls the main ring classes, including hunt seat, western and sidesaddle. When she first saw Ike, then a yearling, she knew instantly he wouldn’t fit in any of the traditional disciplines.

“Coming from the Arab world, we’d never seen a horse move like that,” said Zech. “We were shocked when we watched him go. My mom was like, ‘Do you really want to do dressage?’ and I was like, ‘I don’t know. I’ve never done it.’ ”

Caitlin Zech and Double XL at the Region 4 Championships. Photo by Carolynn Bunch Photography.

When she wasn’t showing Arabs, Zech also rode at a hunter/jumper barn and began taking dressage lessons on her hunter pleasure horse while she waited for Ike to get old enough to begin training. It was slow going at first, she remembers.

Her hunter was 14 years old, fairly hot, and accustomed to draw reins, martingales and kimberwicks, so riding him in a snaffle seemed impossible at first. The dressage seat was also an adjustment from the way she had been riding.

“I had sat in dressage saddles before, but I’d never liked them,” said Zech. “I was lucky enough to find a really good coach that was willing to work with a main ring hunter horse that had no idea what dressage was, and I had no idea what dressage was.”

Despite her experience with the hunter-turned-dressage horse, Zech found it could be slow-going teaching Ike what she wanted from him while she was still learning herself. Once a week she took lessons with Ike, and in between, she had to figure out how to put the pieces together herself.

“Sometimes, that has made the process a little slow, but that’s OK,” she said. “I feel like actually having to teach the horse and do it all myself has made me a better rider.”

Adding to the challenge is Zech’s work schedule. She’s an office assistant at the office of residence life at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.

Caitlin Zech and Groovin at the Arabian Sport Horse Nationals in 2015. Photo by Bob Tarr Photography.

Most of the time, her hours allow her to work Ike and Groovin before her shift starts. She doesn’t have access to an indoor arena however, which means her choices are sometimes between riding in the rain or not riding.

In the amateur classes, she sometimes faces other riders like her, who are taking lessons and squeezing in rides whenever they can. Other times, she squares off with riders she knows have their horses professionally trained with liberal opportunities for coaching.

“It can be intimidating, like, ‘Are we good enough? Are we going to be good enough we can actually do well?’ ” she said. “It’s always been one of those things where I’ve felt like an underdog. I still feel like a backyard person trying to compete against the big dogs.

“In my Prix St. Georges class [at Regionals], Ravel’s owner was in my class. I know she’s just Ravel’s owner, but I know she has some of the best coaching you can get in the country,” she continued.

As Ike grows older, he has become physically less like an Arabian. Standing at 17.1 hands, Zech said he is often mistaken for a warmblood, particularly in open dressage classes—even by other riders on warmbloods.

In terms of personality, he’s all Arabian. Despite riding in the same arena since he was 3, Zech said he still has days where a previously-familiar tree will suddenly pose a serious mortal threat to them both. Ike has also become the type of horse who demands an increasingly-exacting ride as he learns more about what Zech wants him to do. Sometimes a tweak from her instructor will be as simple as needing her leg to come a few inches forward or back, and he instantly moves differently.

“It can be frustrating. Sometimes I have days where I think, ‘Why am I doing this?’ ” she admitted. “I have to give credit to my horse too because he’s a very willing partner, even though sometimes neither of us know what we’re doing.”

In the end, Zech said this year’s trip to the USDF Finals was a mixed bag; although Ike came up with a poorly-timed foot bruise on the weekend of the show, Groovin stepped into the role of old pro and put in a beautiful test to delight Zech. Horses, she said, never run out of lessons.

Caitlin Zech and Double XL. Photo courtesy of Caitlin Zech.

The self-made path to the Finals wasn’t just a point of pride for Zech; it’s how she was raised. Zech and her family couldn’t afford to have her show Arabs in training with professionals, so she had to learn to work problems out in lessons or on her own time. Dressage has made it easier to know what she needs to work on. Zech admits she has a goal-oriented personality, and the numeric scoring makes it easier for her to set those goals.

“[At Arabian shows,] you felt like if you weren’t with a big trainer, you couldn’t be successful,” she said. “With dressage, you go in, you get a score every time. You know where your lost points are. You’re not going in and feeling like you had a perfect class, and not understanding why you got the score.”