Watching Carousel in his pasture, or as he carefully carried little beginner riders in their lessons, no one would think he could be a medal winner in international competition. Standing only 14.1 hands tall, the horse world labels him a pony. Gray hair on his dark brown head and a saggy topline betray his age, while his legs show the lumps and bumps of years of jumping.
The little bay Connemara cross was a fox-hunter at Midland, a noted Georgia hunt. He was a trusty, sturdy horse and carried guests of the hunt for 16 years. Midland provided excellent care and kept him sound and useful for years past the usual. At about 20 he was sold to a young woman who rode him in shows and three day events. He won many awards for her in the years she owned him. The time came, though, when he just wasn't up to jumping. Very fond of the horse, they chose to give him to someone who could give him a good retirement home, with easy work.
His kind, new owner provided him with a, big green pasture and a nice dry stall when the weather was bad. Carousel grew fat on the good grass, and no one cared if he was a little stiff or lame, he had a good home. Unfortunately, things went badly for his new owners, and after the woman's husband died of cancer, she decided the pony would be better off with someone else..
Friends, thinking he might be a useful for riding lessons told me about Carousel. Expecting a little pony, stiff with arthritis, I was hesitant at first to consider him. Eventually, I went to see him and was surprised to find a plump little bay, just an inch short of being considered a horse. He seemed gentle and well trained and the little lameness appeared to be something we could deal with, so we took him.
He quickly became one of our most valuable lesson horses. His smooth gaits and manners made him safe for little eight year olds. While they found their balance and learned how to use their legs and reins to guide him, he walked and trotted gently around the arena. Some were even able to take him to local shows.
In 1996, the Olympic and Paralympic competitions caught the imaginations of people all over the world. When articles in horse magazines appeared, searching for horses to use in the Paralympics, I thought of my Quarter Horse mare, Dusty and a new warmblood gelding, Paladin. Their dressage training and gentle natures made them possible cantidates for the ccompetition..
In Paralympic competition the riders all use borrowed horses. No one can use a horse they have ridden in the last year. The horses are tested and checked out by experienced horse people, and then classified as to the appropriate group. The riders profiles are then matched with suitable horses.
The time finally came to leave for the Paralympics. Dusty, Paladin, and a friend's Morgan, Buddy, went to the Horse Park in Conyers to prepare for the games. Carousel remained in the pasture with his companion, Kaley, a little, blind, Arab mare. He was too small, and too old to take to an event of this caliber.
We had been at the Horse Park for five days, preparing for the arrival of the riders, when I heard there was a need for more horses for the level 1 (most disabled) riders. The horses must be both gentle and well trained, with smooth gaits. I thought of Carousel, and offered him, if someone could pick him up.
One of the volunteers drove 140 miles south that night and took a rather surprised, sleepy little horse from his pasture about midnight. The next morning he found himself in the mist of preparations for the biggest horse show of his life.
The excitement of the surroundings and strange horses had him full of energy. The first rider didn't work out, but in the afternoon he was called to try out for Denmark. Brita, the potential rider, looked tiny in her wheelchair. I tried to talk her out of trying him, but she smiled and said she would like to try anyway. I put a leadline on the horse and took him to the ramp where her team members helped her mount and I led them off.
When asked if she had ever fallen off, she laughed and said "Many times". I liked the spunky little woman, and started noticing that she seemed to have good control of the horse. At last I removed the lead and watched. By the second ride I knew I was watching something very special.
Carousel had been well trained in his life, and Brita was a very skilled rider. She had no use of her legs, and sat to one side on the saddle, but had a beautiful communication with her horse. He moved forward, smooth and balanced, appearing proud to carry this rider. She somehow asked him to bend his body into the turns, a movement that usually requires precise leg aids. He did everything she asked, even difficult lateral work. From a distance it was hard to see that the rider was tiny and the horse really a pony. No warmblood carrying his Olympic rider in the same arenas, just weeks before, had been more beautiful. People stopped to watch as they worked.
They went on to win the warm-up, gold in the championship, silver in the Kur (musical ride) and silver for the Danish team. They had the highest score of anyone in the Championship. No longer a wheelchair bound, disabled woman and an aging lesson pony, Brita Anderson and Carousel became a team, competitors in international competition.
Inspired by the people and horses of the Paralympics, I saw riders we labeled "disabled" who could, and did, outride the rest of us. I decided, on the long drive home, to somehow open a riding center. Brita and I had discussed writing a book about her and Carousel, a book for children with disabilities, and their families.
It has been a two years since the Paralympics. Establishing the riding center took more than I had ever imagined, but Carousel grazes in a pasture near a sign saying "Carousel Riding Center, for people with disabilities" At the bottom of the sign it says "Home of Midland's Carousel, 1996 Paralympic Gold Medal winning horse".
Here, children who cannot walk, or have other problems in their lives, can see and pet the horse who made a fairy tale come true for himself, and a small woman from Denmark.
The night of the last competition, Brita told me she had dreamed she rode Carousel through the forest. Our farm logo is a silhouette of Brita and Carousel among the trees, a tribute to a woman who who followed a dream to be among the best riders in the world, and an old pony with the talent, training and heart to take her there.