When Michele Morseth decided she wanted to get down the centerline at a regional championship with her gelding Floyd Patterson, the cards seemed stacked against her. Based near Santa Fe, New Mexico, without a regular trainer, and fighting an aggressive form of breast cancer, Morseth knew accomplishing her goal would require sacrifice. 

“I didn’t know what I was going to do,” Morseth said. “There’s nobody here, and people don’t want to travel. So either I had to trailer my horse somewhere far, or somebody had to come a long way to me. In the winter, that’s especially hard because we’re at 7,000 feet.” 

Competing was nothing more than a daydream of Morseth’s until she had a conversation at a clinic with New Mexico native and dressage professional Lauren Ogden, who now runs Asunción Valley Farm in Templeton, California. 

“Lauren said, ‘Just come out here for the winter.’ And so I did,” Morseth said. “I decided, ‘OK, I’m going to do this.’ ”

Permanently relocating to California was not an option for Morseth, who also had her health to consider. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012 that subsequently metastasized to her liver, requiring aggressive treatment that included chemotherapy, radiation and a mastectomy. Today, the growth of her cancer is controlled by subcutaneous injections of monoclonal antibodies every three weeks. Though the side effects make her uncomfortable, Morseth has done her best to power through. 

“I have joint pain and muscle cramps from the injections,” she said. “It’s irritating, but I’ve always kept riding unless I’m really too tired.”

Knowing that she would have to fly back home at least once a month for treatment, Morseth bought a horse trailer with living quarters so she could stay close to Ogden’s farm without breaking the bank. When RV campsites were all booked, she stayed wherever she could find, including cheap motels, friends’ places and a short-term rental apartment in Morro Bay. 

“I can be sort of a vagabond,” Morseth said. “I just kind of made it work, and I didn’t worry about where I was staying as long as I was close enough to get to my lessons and be by my horses. If I have some clothes, a book and my toothbrush, I’m fine.”

Soon after moving to California, a PET scan revealed Morseth had developed spinal metastases. The horrible surprise meant that she would have to go back home for three weeks to get radiation therapy, which cleared up the metastases. 

“It’s a very aggressive type of cancer, but my doctors have also been quite good at finding ways to stop it from advancing,” she said. “They can’t get rid of it, but they can stop it from advancing.”

While Morseth was undergoing treatment, Ogden kept “Floyd,” a 7-year-old Hanoverian (Floriscount, Piccolina—Prince Thatch), in work. 

“I always say that he’s just an A-plus student,” Ogden said. “He’s very smart. He learns really quickly, and he loves to do his job. He loves to please. So it’s pretty apparent that he and Michele have a really nice relationship. He really likes her and really trusts her. Likewise, she’s very soft with him.”

Morseth found the gelding for sale online during the COVID-19 pandemic. She bought the young Hanoverian off a video at the recommendation of another trainer. 

“I really enjoy the process of bringing them along,” Morseth, 66, said. “I don’t I don’t really enjoy riding other people’s already trained horses. But I didn’t want to get one that was totally untrained because I’m older and more decrepit, and I don’t need to be injured.” 

Though the now-17-hand gelding grew to be taller than Morseth had hoped, everything else about him exceeded her expectations. 

Ultimately, Morseth and Floyd succeeded in getting to the GAIG/USDF Region 7 Dressage Championships, held last month at Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank, California. The pair left the competition with four championship sashes, taking top honors in every first and second level championship class they contested. They finished their show season on a high note, earning a 71.31% in their first level musical freestyle. 

“I’m over the moon—just amazed we’ve done so well,” she said. “I have a feeling he was very spoiled as a baby, because he’s pretty mouthy, but he’s super sweet, and he really likes people. 

“I wish I could clone him and give copies of him to all my friends—maybe smaller versions of him though,” she adding jokingly. 

Ogden did not share Morseth’s surprise at their competitive success. 

“She’s just one of those people that shows up and does the work and does her homework. She’s got a really good feel for her horses. She’s a very soft rider, and she’s easy to coach,” Ogden said. “I mean, if you watch Michele, she’s just a really tough person, given everything that she’s going through.” 

Floyd’s good-natured personality shone through in and out of the dressage arena while at the competition, his owner said, especially when her husband, Mark Lupinetti, would help care for him.

“During regionals, my husband was taking him twice a day for long walks,” she recalled. “I’d watch them and think, ‘They’re both walking so slow. I don’t know how they could possibly walk that slow.’ But Floyd was perfectly happy to walk along, check out the showgrounds, and do whatever. He’s really just a wonderful horse.” 

Prior to accomplishing her goals—earning her USDF bronze freestyle bar and getting to regionals—Morseth thought that this would be her last show season. She brought Floyd back home to Sante Fe after regionals, and next spring, she is scheduled to have a knee replacement that will keep her out of the saddle for several months. But their recent competitive success has made her reconsider their future plans. 

“I thought I wouldn’t show again, but now I think I really want to. Hopefully, next year, we’ll be doing third level,” she said. “When I was a kid, I was in 4-H; riding Floyd, I feel like I’m back in 4-H with my little pony.”