Ohio Amateur Denise Gary’s story began in the same manner as many in the horse industry. At nine years old, she rode Thoroughbreds and showed in the hunter arena. Sadly, her horse passed away when she was fifteen and it wasn’t until years later, once she’d graduated from law school, that the horse bug bit again. Gary shares, “My friend bought her daughter a pony and I couldn’t walk away. I knew I wanted to be involved with the horse world again.”
In 2004, she bought a farm and that is where the next chapter of her journey began. As it turned out, Gary’s farm was next door to long time quarter horse breeder Bill Hibbs who owned Righteous Invitation.
Hibbs convinced her to breed her mare to the young stallion. The aptly named, Chance, was Gary’s first AQHA foal. The pair competed in longe line futurities throughout Ohio, but when the gelding developed health issues as a two-year-old, Gary decided to look for another project.
Enter Black Tie Gucci, a 2007 gelding by Gucci Only out of Shez Too Snazzy. “I had always dreamed of a black horse. Righteous Invitation was black, and my first foal was sorrel. So, when I found a beautiful black two-year-old for sale I knew I had to look at him.”
According to Gary, the horse was everything she’d ever wanted. “He was beautiful and well-bred, but I didn’t have a big budget and we couldn’t agree on a price.” For Gary the dream of a black western pleasure horse wouldn’t be swayed, and they finally came to sale terms. “The next day I went from work in my heels and skirt, hooked up the trailer and brought him home.”
Gary’s journey with Tie started out with the hope and promise shared by all who begin with a new prospect. But, shortly after bringing the green broke colt home, her progress with the horse began to deteriorate. She says, “Within first few months his behavior kept getting worse and worse. I had a friend who trained and she couldn’t get through it with him. He’d pin us to the wall and fly backwards. He was dangerous to ride.”
The pair took the young horse to several shows for exposure. Gary says the horse became known for his dangerous behavior, making it difficult for her to find help. “I was devastated. I was new to the business, and I knew the horse was in trouble, but I couldn’t find anyone to help me.”
Despite the advice of many to give up on the horse and move on, Gary refused to turn her back on Black Tie Gucci. As fate would have it, attending a small introductory show early in 2010 led her to the person that would put both she and the horse back on track.
According to Gary, “I knew the horse had potential and that I just needed to find the right person. For me, giving up was not an option. That’s when I met Gregg Lambert and told him we needed help. He was the first person who said he would try.” Lambert specializes in training all-around competitors in West Jefferson, Ohio.
When the horse continued his string of bad behavior with Lambert, the trainer wasn’t phased. Within the first few weeks, Gary says she saw improvement. After thirty days, Lambert told her he thought he could show the horse in Ohio’s three-year-old futurities. Because Lambert and Tie were making so much progress together, she decided it best that she leave the riding to the trainer. In 2011, Lambert succeeded in showing the horse in open classes. In 2012, the pair earned an open ROM and took home Ohio’s year-end high point award in Green Western Pleasure.
In 2013, Gary saw her once seemingly unattainable dreams come to fruition when she began showing Tie in Novice Amateur Western Pleasure. While not every ride is perfect, and there are some classes better than others, Gary says that every good ride and every glimmer of greatness makes the years of effort to save Tie worth it. “I finally feel like we’ve overcome many of his issues. We still struggle sometimes, but I’ve learned that progress comes in many different forms. When we qualified for the Level 1 Championships, I knew I had to do it, no matter the outcome.”
While Gary admits the progress she and Tie have made may not seem significant to some, the small steps of progress have meant the world to her. She says, “First the goal was just to be able ride him. Then it was for him to show, and then it was for me to ride him, and now the goals just keep progressing. When this all started my only hope was to save him, and, now, here we are at the Level 1 Championships.”
This past weekend in Virginia, the pair competed in Level 1 Amateur Western Pleasure at the East Championships. Though they didn’t make the finals, Gary was pleased with their performance. “I said coming into this that whatever happens, happens. I came because it was a dream and something I’ve always wanted to do,” she says.
After accomplishing so many once far-off goals, Gary says that she’s continuing to make plans for the gelding’s future. She shares, “Eventually I’d like to get his superior. I will probably give him a break while I start my two-year-old and let Gregg show him for a while. I really want him to be shown at Congress again. Our goals now are long term.”
Looking back over her journey with Tie, Gary says she doesn’t know what caused the horse’s issues, only that like so many horses he’d soured and that if she didn’t work to save him, he would never make it. In the process, she’s learned that matching the right person with a problem horse can make all the difference. “It meant everything to find Gregg Lambert. As an all-around trainer, it was a bit of an anomaly for him to take on my pleasure horse, but he saved us. No one else would try and his commitment to Tie has meant the world to me.”
Through it all both Gary and Black Tie Gucci have grown in ways once never imagined. She shares, “I’ve learned confidence. It was nerve wracking and intimidating to start showing a problem horse, but I’ve worked through it. You start to learn you can take on and do anything if you really try hard at it and have the right people to help you. Five years ago, I never would have seen myself at the Level 1 Championships and successfully showing. It’s a process, but there has definitely been a lot of joy in my journey.”
