MISTER FOSTER | 11 YEAR OLD THROUGHBRED | VERSAILLES, KY

Foster, Mister Foster, is an 11 year old Thoroughbred. His sire is Rocking Trick and his great grandsires are Clever Trick and Storm Cat. His dam’s name was Schwank. HIs bloodlines include Secretariat, Northern Dancer, and Affirmed.

Foster is owned by Sara and the pair trains with Kalena Richards and Ashley Watts of Liftoff Equestrian in Versailles, KY. Foster had a rough start from the beginning. His dam passed away when he was three days old, so he became sort of a giant puppy dog. He would rather spend his day with his owner Sara, than his herd mates. He is a giant goof ball in the pasture with his horse friends and has a couple of horses that he is really attached to. I think most horse people know that the goof ball horses can be trouble, and Foster is no exception. He tends to get himself in trouble a lot.

Although foster is 11, he acts more like a 4 year old. Everyone is always surprised to hear that is is really 11. He loves to be in your pocket and will do anything for a peppermint. He is also very smart, and can be too smart for his own good, but he also picks things up very easily. One of his biggest quirks is that he sucks his tongue. It started out as a comfort thing, but now he only does it after he gets a peppermint.

Since the pair has moved to Liftoff Equestrian, Kalena now rides him once a week and that has made a huge difference in Mister. He is really starting to blossom and realize his full potential. Sara’s favorite thing about riding him is his work ethic. He is always willing to do whatever she asks, sometimes even before she asks for it. “Sometimes I get stuck in the past and start worrying about how he’s going to be about something, but once I ask, most of the time he says “I got you, Mom. Don’t worry so much.” He’s teaching me so much about myself and my riding ability.”

Sara shares how the pair met, “I was interning at the Kentucky Equine Humane Center back in November 2016. I went out into the gelding field to grab a new horse to work on. The moment I stepped through the gate, this funky looking horse came up to me, begging for attention. I’ve always adored horses with lots of personality and who like to cuddle, so he and I hit it off right away. Before I went home for winter break, I finally got to ride him. I was so worried because he and I had hit it off so well on the ground, what if we didn’t click under saddle? Of course, I shouldn’t have worried. He was on his best behavior and I managed to fall even more in love with him. I (somehow, still don’t know how) convinced my parents that it was finally time for me to own a horse, and they gifted him to me on Christmas Day. I signed the papers January 11th and he’s been mine ever since (and every so often, he does something that, somehow, makes me love him even more).”

This big “puppy” loves peppermints.

Sara shares that her parents made a huge mistake of letting her take a pony ride in a Wal-Mart parking lot many years ago. After that day she begged for lessons for years, read every book she could get her hands on, and acquired dozens of toy horses. When she was seven she started lessons. She started western and switched to hunters when she was 15. Sara leased numerous horses over the past few years, and has only had Foster for about 9 months. “My favorite thing about owning him is that his bond with me is with me and me only. He’ll never have that kind of relationship with anyone else. I also love being able to answer “Yes!” when asked if I have my own horse. Talking about Foster is one of my favorite things to do.”

“Even though I’ve only had him a short time, we’ve made leaps and bounds in such a short time. These past few weeks have been the best, though. All of our hard work has finally been clicking for both of us. We’re doing things I never thought we’d do. The biggest is jumping in our outdoor arena. The first time we rode outside and tried to do anything (this was back in June), Foster kept bucking, to run through my outside leg and just being an all around turd. Last week, we rode outside in a lesson. We cantered. We jumped. We cantered jumps (this is still very new to us, since we’re trying to teach him that he doesn’t need to rush towards jumps. He gets very excited). I’ve never been more proud. This weekend, we’re at his first real over fences show. Friday night, we schooled over cross rails and even cantered 4 of them! This morning, he had a wonderful flat schooling, being relaxed enough that I felt it would be okay to let him canter (this was another “I’ve got this, Mom. Chill,” moment). I’m just so proud of how much he’s growing up.”