By Donny Hurwitz
As someone who has been competitive my entire life, I have always tried to put my personal competitive efforts in context. Winning is great but sometimes we lose sight of what is really important and the real purpose of a competition we sign up for. That has been especially true with my horse-showing experiences. I started showing horses myself over 35 years after being involved with Peruvian Horses. I was following MRA Carajal, our colt/stallion, all over the country and finally figured out it was a lot more fun to go to a horse show and actually ride horses than just watch our horses compete being ridden by Pam or Willians Castaneda. Many of my most memorable horse show experiences have come as the result of riding in classes or observing Novice and Amateur riders exhibiting horses. In my opinion, the people you meet and the friendships you build are the best part of owning, riding, and exhibiting Peruvian Horses.
Lessons Taught by Elizabeth Tierney:
One of the people who has been particularly inspirational to me is Elizabeth Tierney of River Grove Ranch in Hailey, Idaho. Nicole Brass introduced me to Elizabeth at the 2018 Gold Coast Show in Las Vegas. Elizabeth has been involved with Peruvian horses for decades and had ridden hundreds if not thousands of hours on Peruvians in the beautiful mountains in Idaho. However, she had never personally exhibited a horse in a show. I talked to Elizabeth before her class and she was extremely nervous about riding in the class. I did my best to encourage her because I remember how I recently felt when I was going to show in my first class in a show. Elizabeth and her extraordinary gelding HLC Casanova had a brilliant ride. Her smile was so big you could see it from across the entire arena. Her ride was very inspirational to me and something I will never forget. I caught up with Elizabeth after the class and she was super happy. Her joy was infectious and it gave me perspective on what is really important in showing…having fun! I don’t remember what place Elizabeth was in her class but her smile and exhilaration of taking the challenge and achieving her goal of riding Casanova is something she was proud of. A great lesson to learn. Elizabeth, Nicole, and their great group of ladies have gone on to successfully show more by not only winning prizes but exhibiting winning attitudes and smiles.
Without knowing it, Elizabeth taught me another lesson on perspective. At the 2021 NAPHA National Show in Oklahoma City, I heard that Elizabeth had been working hard to achieve a goal she had set…to win a Blue Ribbon at the National Show. She had practiced on her mare and had done the hard work required to be competitive and achieve her measure of success…a blue ribbon. I am not sure how many classes Elizabeth rode in during the show but two are forever stuck in my memory. The first was when she won her Blue Ribbon on LEA Viviana. The 10,000-watt smile was there and from a distance, I think I also detected a tear or two. I know I had a few in my eyes as well. It was so cool to see someone as special as Elizabeth achieve a goal that she had set. I was fortunate enough to ride my mare SOF Safira in the Championship Class with Elizabeth and LEA Viviana. Elizabeth and I were very nervous but as friends and competitors, we encouraged each other. Neither of us won Champion or Reserve Champion in that class but it was one of my most memorable and enjoyable rides in a show ever. Elizabeth Is an extremely accomplished woman and she works hard to achieve the goals she sets. I have been told that her blue ribbon on LEA Viviana is one of her proudest achievements. So, Thank You Elizabeth for your friendship, your love of our horses, and for providing life lessons by just being your awesome self.
