Dakota Diamond Griffith and Brandy Halladay have a traditional trainer/client relationship, but they are also the best of friends who enjoy showing horses together as well as fostering and rescuing dogs. Brandy almost gave up showing horses altogether a few years ago, but luckily, she reconnected with Dakota who reinvigorated her love for showing horses.
About ten years ago when Dakota was still in youth, she met Brandy while showing in Florida. “l really liked her right away because she was funny, down to earth and just a really nice person,” Dakota remembers. Fast forward a few years later, Halladay approached the Griffith family about donating the full brother to Kristin Martin’s World Champion gelding, A Certified Edition, to their Ohio State Hunt Seat Team. Then, they reconnected again a few years later when another one of Halladay’s hunt seat horses, Master Of The Skys (Goose) was sent to them as a potential team horse.
“Goose was a big silly baby who had a bit of an ornery streak, so we decided after a few unsuccessful (Ohio State) team rides that perhaps he just needed a year off to grow up and be a horse,” Dakota remembers. “Over a year later, I was playing in the barn with a friend one day who loved gray horses, so we pulled him out like two little kids, and I rode him for fun. It was an interesting ride, to say the least, but I called my mom and dad and said, ‘I think I can get him ready for an upcoming show in Kentucky. Of course, my father rolled his eyes.'” (Goose pictured right)
Dakota recalls, “Brandy was also shocked when my mother told her that I was actually going to try and show him. She was a little emotional and said that Goose had been her dream horse, and that things hadn’t worked out for one reason or another, but that she was stunned to hear about my plans for him. I told her that I was going to give it a try, but that I had no idea what I could expect from him. With trepidation on both of our parts, I headed off to Kentucky. Let me just say, it wasn’t exactly a flawless first ride, but I had an overwhelming feeling about the big, silly acting horse.”
Over the past year and a half, Dakota and Brandy have created a special bond through many experiences including the difficulties and challenges of getting Goose back in the show arena. Currently, he is leading the nation in the All Age and Senior Hunter Under Saddle, but it certainly wasn’t an easy task to get him to where he is today. Dakota affectionately calls him her “unicorn” which all came about when she went to the hospital for kidney stones.
“I was hospitalized a year ago, and on medication that caused me to say some silly things. My mother took a video of my conversations while in the hospital. One infamous one is where I said I wanted to buy a unicorn and show it in the Congress Masters,” Dakota recalls and laughs. “My favorite movie growing up was The Last Unicorn. I would watch it for hours on end every single day for years. Since my video (which she posted on social media for all to enjoy), people have sent me unicorn items, tagged me in unicorn posts, and had a pretty good time with it.”
After a while, Brandy and Dakota decided that although he wasn’t a Master’s horse, Goose was probably the source of her adult fixation. “Since then, we use unicorn emoji’s when we refer to him and call him our unicorn.”
Dakota adds, “Everyone seems to take it in the lighthearted spirit for which it was intended. When Kristin Martin designed our ad this year, we both talked about adding a horn on him for fun (pictured right). When he is really good, we say he was ‘Magical Mysteria’ which comes from one of my favorite songs, Hysteria. I know it all sounds crazy to those who don’t know me, but that’s part of the reason Brandy and I get along so well. We simply have fun. If you don’t still dream about horses, and unicorns, it wouldn’t be fun anymore, right?”
Halladay, who lives in Odessa, Florida has a fun filled life. She has been married to the famous, now retired Major League Baseball pitcher, Roy “Doc” Halladay for 18 years and has two sons, Braden, 16, and Ryan,11, both of which are pitching prodigies (pictured below).
On May 29, 2010, Roy Halladay pitched the 20th perfect game in MLB history. Later that year in the playoffs, Halladay threw the second no-hitter in MLB postseason history. It was his second no-hitter of the year, making Halladay just the fifth pitcher in MLB history to throw multiple no-hitters in the same season. The next day, Dakota wrote an article for GoHorseShow with Brandy and Roy about the perfect game.
“Roy and I originally met when we were nine and 12 years old; the first time I lived in Denver. His older sister was one of my best friends through Junior High until my family moved to Chicago in the middle of my freshman year in high school. So yes, I married my friend’s little brother!” Brandy recalls. “We met again seven years later when I’d moved back to Denver. We were engaged in 10 months, married the next year and we’ll be married 18 years in November. Roy is supportive of my interest in horses and loves to be at the shows, but does not have any interest in showing them himself…yet!”
So what’s it like being married to an eight-time All-Star and two-time Cy Young Award winner? “The biggest difference is when he goes to work, it’s in front of a large group. At times you feel like you’re under a microscope and you crave privacy but the baseball community is amazing. The wives and players come from all different aspects of life, different cultures and nationalities and upbringings but we all have this career and lifestyle in common,” Brandy says. “The most challenging part of being an athlete’s wife is the amount of time that you are really on your own. Especially in baseball because of the length of the seasons and the amount of games they play, you really have to be independent, capable and confident.”
These traits have also helped Brandy in the show arena. This year at the Congress, Brandy is showing her mare, Pleasures Impulse (pictured above), in the Amateur Performance Halter Mares, Novice Amateur Showmanship, and the Amateur Showmanship. Dakota will show Master Of The Skys in the Senior Hunter Under Saddle and the Open Hunter Under Saddle Maturity. Griffith will also be showing Caughtupintheseirons (pictured left) in the Two Year Old Hunter Under Saddle – limited and open division.
“I’m really excited that my youngest son, Ryan, is going to show in the Youth Performances Halter Mares and Youth Performance Halter Geldings this year. He showed this summer for the first time and loves it!” Brandy told us. “My expectations for Congress are to do the best I can that day. What else can I expect? I am realistic about the entire horse show experience. It is a process, a long process and I’m competing against people who have done this their entire lives. I will do the best I can and hopefully my horse and I will be rewarded for my efforts.”
The other activity that Dakota and Brandy are passionate about together is rescuing and fostering dogs. “My grandmother adopted a foster dog of Brandy’s, who is an older German Shepherd that was grieving over her owner who passed away and had stopped eating. Roy actually put the dog in his airplane, and along with Brandy, they flew her to my grandmother in Venice, Florida who still tells everyone, ‘The Halladays, personally delivered my dog to me in their airplane,'” Dakota says and laughs. “Inspired by her goodwill, I am blessed to have helped Brandy and Suncoast Animal League with a major rescue last winter. We spent a long weekend in the most challenging conditions and brought nearly 70 dogs and cats of all ages who had been dumped in a suburb of Miami, back to the safety of awaiting foster families in the Tampa area in my seven horse trailer. ”
According to Dakota, it is nothing for Brandy to have up to 20 foster dogs and puppies at one time (typically whelping mothers) where she and Roy provide 24-hour care personally. There is no staff that comes in and does the work for them – they are completely hands on. “You never know if you will find newborn squirrels taking bottles or tiny Mallard ducks in their master bathroom bathtub, but always expect a menagerie at their beautiful home. Brandy’s youngest son, Ryan shares his mother’s love of animals and has even started riding and showing as his baseball schedule permits.”
Dakota adds, “As a young trainer, I am eternally grateful for her friendship, mentoring, and thoughtful words of praise and encouragement. Whether I am first or last, Brandy always finds the positives and reminds me how happy she is to be doing what she loves and watching her horses in the show ring. She says she is living her dream, but in the end, her gift is making dreams come true for others, including one very blessed unicorn trainer.”
CLICK HERE to view their ads in the Congress issue of GoMag
Photos courtesy of Harold Campton, Holman and Brandy Halladay, ad design by Kristin Martin, Certified Images
View a slideshow of more pictures of the Halladay Family and Dakota
