Ratnik, Comrade, is an 8-year-old Thoroughbred Gelding. He lives at Capitol Farms in Wildwood, MO, where the pair train with Ellen Sadler.
Dana’s favorite memory of Comrade is one that she shares from the time she first got him. Dana went to look for horses, and Comrade wasn’t on her list of horses to see but caught her eye and she decided to take a chance! “I met him at the Retired Racehorse Project (show) after 6+ months of horse shopping in 2017. That Friday evening, I had just finished trying another gelding and was hanging out in the outdoor arena talking to some new friends. Comrade came walking down the hill casually, accompanied by his bareback rider Suzie. I complimented her on how lovely and calm he was and we started chatting. Within a few minutes, she was trying him on the barrel pattern for the first time ever… bareback… in an outdoor schooling arena at the horse park! That’s all I needed to see to know he had the best brain. I got the chance to sit on him the next morning and was smitten! After some back and forth and some pre-purchase exams, he was on his way from Florida to Missouri in early November! I can’t help but think we had a bit of a “meet-cute” if you want to use rom-com terms. Finding him at RRP when he wasn’t even on my list of horses to see that weekend was such an unexpected, lucky occurrence. He was SUCH a professional about the big KY horse park environment and I’m so glad the rescue that brought him to RRP was willing to “take a chance” and see how we did together. I just love that big lug!”
Dana and Comrade have been taking it slow to start. Comrade was very green when he first arrived and unfortunately had a lot of trailering baggage. Dana has been working through that with him, all the while working on his consistency. He’s been learning more about jumping lately and she hopes to get him out to a local schooling event (starter level) before the end of the year. Unfortunately, COVID sort of wrecked her dreams for their 2020 debut… like many!
Comrade is such a sweetie on the ground and absolutely loves attention. He is 100% the barn greeter. He LOVES puppies, cats, dogs, etc, and is incredibly patient with kids. Though under the saddle, he’s more workmanlike and a bit grumpier. “I’ve been playing with my riding style to try to find that sweet spot of asking just enough without putting so much pressure on him that he gets upset. It’s a conversation!”
“It’s been so much fun watching him learn over the last couple of years. He had the BEST brain when I bought him, but was still pretty green. Lately, we’ve been spending more time with grids and I love that he’s become less frustrated by them, and instead, seems eager to puzzle them out.”
