Thoroughbred Incentive Program December Youth Ambassadors

Meet Anna Phillips & Sydney Standing!

T.I.P. presents December’s featured Youth Ambassadors: Anna Phillips and Sydney Standing! Anna, 18, is from Washington. Anna has had four Thoroughbreds that participate with T.I.P. in Eventing, Jumpers, Dressage, and Hunters. Sydney, 15, is from Ontario. Sydney and her Thoroughbred, Rosie, participate in Western/English Dressage, and Extreme Cowboy.

Anna Phillips. Photo by Prodan Boyadzhiev

Anna Phillips (18, WA)

Horses

• Grid North
• High Water Cat
• Appealing Artie (Rosie)
• Mia’s Mystery

How did you start riding?

I was 8 years old when my mom got me my first riding lesson at a barn in Kent, WA.

What is your favorite thing about riding/or your horse?

The feeling of flying and the pure happiness and joy I feel. I love working together with my horses.

What would you like to do when you are older?

I want to buy OTTBs, retrain them, and sell them to good homes. I also want to achieve my gold/silver medals in Dressage.

Tell us your favorite quote and why:

“The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times. This is my favorite quote because it is versatile, accurate, and wise. When you are working with horses, off-the-track ones especially, you have to remember no matter how many steps you take backwards, the only thing that matters is the one step you took forward.

What do you think the most important aspects of horsemanship are?

I think the most important aspects of horsemanship are: patience, timing, self-control, and consistency. Patience to understand that this beautiful animal you are working with may not understand you at times, and you may not understand him. Timing to clearly relay your message to accurately communicate with your partner. It takes two to tango. Self-control to know when to act and when to not. This is important since horses learn from release of pressure. Consistency to help your horse understand you and for you to understand him. Your horse teaches you to speak horse while you teach the horse to understand human. It’s a mutual relationship, all these aspects are crucial to horsemanship.

More Fun Facts

How many pets do you have (and what kind)?
We have 5 horses, 3 are OTTBs and the others are half-Thoroughbreds.

What is your favorite animal (apart from a horse)?
My favorite animal is a dolphin

What is your favorite color?
Red

What is your favorite food?
Chicken Fettucini Alfredo

What is something unique about you?
I was born on a Leap Day, so even though I was 8 I was technically only 2 years old.

What is one word that your friends would describe you as?
Amiable

What is one thing you would like to tell people about Thoroughbreds or the Thoroughbred Incentive Program?
Thoroughbreds are the diamond in the rough. They are the most versatile, athletic, hard-working horses out there. They hold a special spot in my heart and they have shaped me into the person I am today.

What are your goals for your horse in 2018?
Kitty: develop a solid training level frame; Mia: Compete in the 4’6 jumper circuit; Faline: to further develop her ground skills (she is 1.5 years old); Mouse: to help his leasee rider learn to jump properly; Brendon: to teach my mom how to ride.

Is there anything else you would like to tell us?
Our first horse, Brendon, flew over to America in an airplane from New Zealand. He was so nervous at first, and a bit jet-lagged, he did his best to understand what we asked him. We did the basics with him and learned to ride and jump. We got Mouse once Brendon was reaching semi-retirement. I was 11 and mouse was a 5 year old, 17hh, 1650 lb shire x TB cross gelding. He was barely saddle broke, but he had a heart of gold. He tried so hard to push through his fears. Now he’s a preliminary level eventer teaching a 13 year old girl how to ride. After I leased mouse, I rescued a 4 year old pregnant OTTB. She had her beautiful QH/TB filly July 6th, 2016. After she was weaned and Rose was re-habbed, I began her saddle training. I then sold her as a novice-level eventer ro a woman in WA. Then, I obtained Mia. We did some retraining, since she was primarily a kids lesson horse for the last 8 years. We competed in the 4 foot jumpers for a while then I got my next project, Kitty, as a 7 year old OTTB mare. Now I show Mia and retrain Kitty. This is my passion.

Sydney Standing. Photo by Tracey Thompson

Sydney Standing (15, Ontario)

Horse

• Registered Jockey Club Name: Cocoria
• Show Name: Philadelphia Philly
• Barn Name: Rosie

How did you start riding?

When I was eight years old, my best friend at the time used to take riding lessons. She would bring me to the barn lots, so I started riding too.

What is your favorite thing about riding/or your horse?

I love that when I ride, I can forget all my worries, and it can make any bad day better. I love that Rosie can always cheer me up, and we have built such a strong bond.

What would you like to do when you are older?

I want to be a doctor when I am older. I have always been interested in medicine and I think I would enjoy that profession.

Tell us your favorite quote and why:
My favourite quote is; “To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.” Oscar Wilde. I really love this quote because I feel like it really speaks to how important it is to put yourself out there and experience everything you can. It is especially important to do that in the sport of horseback riding. Even though every time we sit in the saddle we are taking a risk, if it makes you happy and it is what you love to do than nothing else matters. If I decided not to ride just because it is dangerous, than I would simply be “existing”, not “living”. I don’t believe that you can truly feel like you are living a good life unless you are doing what you are passionate about, and what makes you happy, even if that means risking your life.

What do you think the most important aspects of horsemanship are?
I strongly believe that the most important aspect of horsemanship is being able to listen. You need to always be listening to what your horse is trying to tell you. Horses cannot speak, but they are always communicating with you in so many other ways. For example, their attitude could be a very large indicator that something is not right, and if you are not listening to them, you could miss something very important. You and your horse are a team, and you need to be listening in order to be communicating with them. A team doesn’t work if you don’t have communication to tell each other how you are feeling, in order to be your best.

More Fun Facts

How many pets do you have (and what kind)?
I have two little dogs at home. Charlie is a morkie and Pepper is a shi-poo.

What is your favorite animal (apart from a horse)?
Dog

What is your favorite color?
Purple

What is your favorite food?
Tomatoes

What is something unique about you?
I started cooking and baking at only nine years old.

What is one word that your friends would describe you as?
Competitive.

What is one thing you would like to tell people about Thoroughbreds or the Thoroughbred Incentive Program?
I always like to tell people that Thoroughbreds are more than just ex-racehorses and that they have so much potential. I often tell them that they need to give Thoroughbreds a try before they buy any other horse, because they will be very impressed with their ability.

What are your goals for your horse in 2018?
My goals for Rosie and I are simply that we both do our best and hopefully have another very successful show season. I hope to try some eventing shows with my mare just to see how we do.

Is there anything else you would like to tell us?
My coach has recently gotten involved with Harmony Horsemanship, and has started to integrate it into her riding program. I immediately took an interest in it and really enjoy it. Rosie has been doing well with it, so I decided that I am going to teach Rosie how to be ridden without a bridle. I am looking forward to starting this journey with my mare, and seeing how our relationship will grow and what we will learn.

The Thoroughbred Incentive Program was created by The Jockey Club to encourage second careers for Thoroughbreds when their racing days are over. The T.I.P. sponsors Thoroughbred-only classes and high point awards as well as Performance Awards, special year-end awards specifically for Thoroughbreds. The T.I.P. also recognizes non-competing Thoroughbreds through its Young Rider program as well as a special award for Thoroughbreds in careers such as therapy horses or other non-profit outlets.

To learn more about the Thoroughbred Incentive Program, please visit the organization’s website.