Tennessee Walking Horse OnLine Congratulates

Adult Supreme Champion

Mary Lou Happoldt, New Hampshire

Chance’s Magic Dream

By Harold Twitty

The intuition of a veteran horsewoman and the thirst for learning of a laid-back, often overlooked black mare led to a Supreme Versatility Championship for Chance's Magic Dream (Maggie) and Mary Lou Happoldt of Concord, New Hampshire.

"Hearing that a four-year-old black walking horse mare was for sale, I took a look and determined that she was a nice mare," Mary Lou said. "She was rather quiet but appeared to be very smart.

"Having several walking horses of my own, I decided to help her find a good home. I took several potential buyers to see her. . . the more I saw her the better I liked what I saw.

"When it looked like no one else would buy her, I decided I would."

Busy with other horses, Mary Lou really didn't do much with Maggie until one of her horses went lame. The black mare quickly showed her natural ability to learn.

"She has always been fun to work with because she likes to learn, and anyone that knows me knows that I don't like boring horses," Mary Lou said.

She said Maggie has always been her "guest horse" at her farm, Sign Of A Horse, and the "school horse" at various walking horse clinics.

Maggie was entered in various events when she wasn't being used by someone else and when there were no events to enter, Mary Lou taught her all the equitation tests. The mare was also worked by Dale Seidel, a walking horse trainer from Danville, Pennsylvania.

"I brought in Gail DiScippio, a British Horse Society instructor and trainer, to teach her how to jump," Mary Lou said. "We were both amazed that Maggie learned to lengthen in the bridle and jump beautifully in only four weeks!"

In competition on the hunter circuit in New England, Gail directed Maggie to a second place in her first class of 18 horses.

"We didn't tell anyone what breed she was and it was the end of summer before anyone figured it out," Mary Lou said. "They all said they wondered why we cantered her in the warm-up ring rather than trotting her."

Shanna Gregg, a junior rider, won the Virginia Heyday's trail class, riding western side saddle on Maggie. The mare qualified another junior rider for the Eastern States regional 4-H show and she has won a trail class at the Pennsylvania heyday.

Chance's Magic Dream is truly a versatile mare. She has been shown for versatility points in model, e-z rider, plantation, water glass and trail classes. She has also successfully competed in hunter classes and on competitive trail rides.

"This mare has true grit," Mary Lou emphasized. "She was in several competitive trail rides, some of them over horrible terrain. She not only never gave up - she jumped up embankments, out of deep mud holes and when, due to trail conditions, we were running out of time to finish, she cantered in at the end of a 30 mile ride to meet our time."

According to Mary Lou, Maggie loves everything that she does - she loves to load in the trailer, to trail ride and to jump. For rest and relaxation she swims in the pond.

"Not only did she accept the many disciplines I asked of her, she excelled at them and that's a true versatility horse," Mary Lou said. "Every horse, if you're lucky, will give you that one fantastic ride. Maggie gave me mine at a show in Kensington. A horse in front of her blew up in a canter lead. I stopped Maggie, sidepassed her four strides and picked up the canter lead, all in front of the judge's eyes. We placed first in that class."

Mary Lou expressed her thanks to Gail DiScippio and Dale Seidel for helping "this mare to be everything that she could be; thanks to the Breeders' Association for organizing such a program and for supporting the pleasure horse, and a big, heartfelt THANK YOU to Chance's Magic Dream for making the Supreme Versatility Award a possibility for us both."

Mary Lou Happoldt, for many years active as a TWHBEA director and pleasure horse committee member, has helped establish the Tennessee Walking Horse as a breed to be reckoned with. And she has accomplished much, becoming the partner of a laid-back black mare with a touch of magic in her name

(Reprinted from Voice of the Tennessee Walking Horse magazine, November, 1993)

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