Last year, Molly Ashe got to celebrate an exhilarating career high point when she won the Budweiser American Invitational; this year, she reached that peak again in a second thrilling victory (see story p. 16). But what most of the audience that night didn’t realize was that in the 12 months between those wins, Ashe had to persevere through a challenge that she didn’t expect. Following last year’s Invitational, Ashe and Kroon Gravin were the new hot items in American show jumping, but by the end of the summer season, Kroon Gravin had faded from the news because she hadn’t been seen in the ring. Kroon Gravin developed abnormalities in her ovarian cycle that not only made competition impossible, but also made her daily life miserable. A puzzling health problem, which the veterinarians aren’t positive they’ve solved, had seemed to cut short a promising career.

But inventive solutions and careful care brought “Kroon” back to health, and Ashe got to live out yet another fairy tale when she and the feisty bay mare jumped the only double-clear rounds to win the 2002 Budweiser American Invitational. Kroon’s triumphant return to the ring was testament to Ashe’s horsemanship, patience and belief in the game mare. She didn’t compromise her horse’s health for short-term triumphs, but waited until she was sure she was fit and ready, and her long-term planning paid off.

After the class, Ashe said, “Kroon made my night after the first round’she didn’t owe me anything after the effort she put in to jump that course as beautifully as she did after so much time off.” While the $60,000 top check in the class certainly made for a memorable night, Ashe’s true reward was a healthy horse who returned to the ring in magnificent form. In a few hours, the memories of months of frustration and pain were overlaid with jubilation.

Not everyone gets to experience leading the victory gallop in the Invitational, but just about every horseman can tell a story about a horse who defied the odds to achieve something remarkable. And just about every horseman can tell a tale of a horse who showed tremendous promise but was kept from greatness by injury or circumstance. That’s what makes sport with horses such an incredible rush. Horsemanship, at its heart, is controlling the factors that are controllable’you do everything you can to ensure that a horse is healthy, happy, sound and prepared physically and mentally. But there are so many more uncontrollable factors that enter the equation with horses.

A stray kick, a nail driven a fraction of an inch too high, a misstep, a nagging physical problem, a horse who decides the task is simply too much’so many things can cut dreams short. You can put years of training, effort and devotion into an animal. Sometimes it results in spectacular wins, recognition and glory. More frequently, it ends in disappointment and frustration. Life with horses is full of heartbreak. But it’s also filled with joy, because when all the controllable and uncontrollable factors come together correctly, and the dream comes true, there’s no greater thrill.

That’s what keeps us getting up at the break of dawn, putting in endless hours of hard physical labor, and risking the heartbreak. Horsemen are dreamers at heart, and you just never know when all the work might pay off in a fairy-tale ending.