When Hallie Coon was 11, she inherited the ride on Namaste’ from her sister. Even then Coon had dreams of galloping around the Rolex Kentucky CCI****, like many horse crazy young girls.

Now eight years later, that unlikely dream is becoming a reality as she prepares to tackle her first four-star with the gelding. But first, they’ll make a stop in Norwood, N.C., this weekend to contest The Fork CIC*** as a final prep run.

“From when I was a young teenager, [Rolex Kentucky has] always been the gold standard,” Coon said. “It’s just been a question of when the horse and I were ready as a team, and it all came together this year. It’s really what makes it special—that this horse and I are pretty much of one mind now. The partnership is nothing like I’ve ever had.”

Coon grew up in Dover, N.H., by the seaside and had competed through training level when she took over the ride on “Yogi,” a now 15-year-old Dutch Warmblood (Recruut—Absurd Hours, Screen King).

Her family bought Yogi from Bobby Stevenson for her sister, Aryn, to ride, but when she realized Yogi was a bit unmanageable and unfriendly on the ground, she handed the reins to Hallie.

“She’s more of the type of person who wants a horse who’s happy to see you when you get to the barn, and he’s a little bit of a vicious horse in the stable—not physically, he would never do anything to you, but he’ll growl at you and bite the air next to you,” Hallie explained. “He was awful when we got him, but he’s improved so much over the last eight years. He was a bit terrifying to be around on the ground, but I think I could always see it was kind of an act. I think he was a bit scared of people.”

Hallie and Yogi moved up the levels steadily with help from her longtime trainer, Ferial Johnson of Ledyard Farm, and dressage trainer Jackie Smith.

“My parents really supported me in it, and we could all tell he was a really special horse,” said Hallie, 19. “He wasn’t dangerous—he looked it, but we all knew he wasn’t. I think not many people would have kept going with him. It was a bit of a fantasy in my head that I had this amazing, big chestnut horse that could jump the moon, and I wanted to pursue it. I just kept going with him.”

The pair learned together as they moved through the levels, but Yogi always tolerated Hallie’s mistakes and surpassed her expectations.

When she was 16, Hallie moved up to intermediate, and when that seemed easy for Yogi, she sought help from Buck Davidson as she eyed a move up to advanced in 2013.

“I never really doubted he would take me to advanced since he’s always been so game and athletic and talented,” she said.

Hallie’s been training with Canadian eventer Kyle Carter in Ocala, Fla., for the last year as she prepares for her first four-star.

She and Yogi completed the Cloud 11-Gavilan North LLC Carolina International CIC*** (N.C.), the Poplar Place CIC*** (Ga.) and the Dutta Corp. Fair Hill International CCI*** (Md.) in 2014 with clear cross-country jumping rounds and started off the 2015 season with an eighth-placed finish in the advanced at Red Hills (Fla.).

Two weeks ago at the Carolina International, Yogi didn’t feel quite right in the CIC*** show jumping, having a refusal at an in-and-out, so Hallie withdrew and had him checked out by her veterinarian.

“For the past month or so I could tell something wasn’t really right with him, and no one could pinpoint it, and everyone thought I was crazy,” she said. “You trotted him out, and he looked like a really sound horse. [At Carolina] he was kind of jerking his head up on landing and taking a very short stride after. Everyone who watched said he was in quite a bit of pain. I had my vet come out and injected his hocks. He said everything was stemming from that. He’s felt better than he has the last three months now.”

As long as Yogi still feels good, Hallie’s plan for The Fork is to “cruise around somewhat fast,” but not go for broke on cross-country.

“He’s super fit, and he doesn’t need to prove himself,” she said. “The best thing about him is how careful he is cross-country. You can hammer him on down to things, and he backs himself off and is really, really careful and a good jumper.”

For the moment, Hallie is riding and training full time as she prepares for Kentucky. She also has a two-star horse, Azrael, and a green advanced horse, Celien, that she’s been campaigning this spring. She’s planning on taking college classes online this year and isn’t sure yet if she’ll dive into the horse world professionally.

As for Rolex Kentucky, Hallie’s brimming with confidence and excitement as the days count down.

“It’s never been my goal just to complete,” she said. “Obviously the names on the entry list are ridiculous and a little bit intimidating this year, but I would love to get a good dressage and do my best to go out there and really conquer the course. I know he can do it, and it’s just a question of my riding and getting him around fast and clear.

“There’s no other feeling like riding a horse that’s a literal extension of yourself,” she continued. “Out there on cross-country, I don’t think for a second—there’s just instinct. I think one thing, and I feel like I don’t even have to communicate to him, and he’s already on it. I feel so lucky to be able to take that to Kentucky for the first time. I’m ecstatic about it.”