11/01/2026
A year ago from today I was hosting our Filetti Farms jumper show while bidding on Mustangs for the 2026 Mustang Classic. It was total chaos calling out classes, helping students with their patterns, while bidding on mustangs on the phone.
We took a leap of faith and won 2 horses. Both horses were out of state and had to be shipped in. Only a few pictures and short videos of them were posted so we didn’t really know what we were getting. I had my heart set on 2 grays but was sadly outbid. We won a 5 year old bay mare and 5 year old black gelding. Both were plain and not eye catching. I was a little sad at the time but was also excited to meet my new show horses.
On November 5th we picked up Doug and Maddie. They were both quiet, friendly and brave. I soon realized I bit off more than I could chew trying to find time to train 2 horses, be a mom of 5 children, and run a lesson program. I had to pick one of the horses to let go so I could focus all my time on the other. If you know me, I DO NOT LIKE MARES! There was something about that plain bay mare though that won me over. We gave Doug away to another trainer and put all our time and energy into Maddie. She was WELL worth the investment!
Being a busy mom and running a business she was put on the back burner. I decided to send her off to our c**t starter named David Hollywood. He has started several horses for us and does an amazing job! We sent her off in January and picked her up in March.
During this time period, we learned the 2026 Mustang Classic had been canceled. That left me with an extra horse I had no intention on keeping. After getting Maddie back from training, David told me NOT TO SELL THIS HORSE! Boy was he right!!!
I’m not a fan of mares, but Maddie is special! After having her for just a month and still semi wild, she was letting my daughter already snuggle with her while laying down. She has no marish attitude, is a love bug and has the BEST brain!
As David said, she is a keeper! So glad we got her for the show even though it was canceled. She is my daughter’s heart horse and they will do AMAZING things together!!!
We have already been to several Hunter/Jumper shows, speed shows, hunter paces, cow sorting, to the beach, trail riding, horse camps, swimming at the lake and are now using her in our lesson program. So blessed to own this sweet MARE! 💜
