Tango

Show name: Year of Birth: Height: Breed: Markings: Favorite treat: Famous for: Riders and Givers of treats:

It Takes Two to Tango 2000 16.0 hh Draft cross star, RH sock His ears perk up for crunchies, but don't bother giving him carrots or apples- he won't eat them! His huge drafty head and feet! leased by Stephanie Sylvestre and Leah McKenzie

:::PROFILE:::

Tango was brought to Shadyvale in June 2002 after Tanya found him while she was lesson-horse searching for Shadyvale. His current owners had bought him at an auction the previous year, intending him for resale once he had been started. Although not quite what she had been looking for, he was just too sweet to leave behind, and the Shadyvale owners purchased him soon thereafter. He looked like quite the oddball, being skinny and not very tall, but having a huge head and feet. Unsure of his breeding, we estimated him to be part draft. He carried his relaxed nature into the paddock with him, taking his place as the newcomer at the bottom of the chain. However, this didn't last very long. Within a month of free-choice feeding, he shot up and filled out. Upon realizing his new found size he decided that HE should be boss instead, and to this day we can't convince him otherwise. Soon after Tango had arrived at Shadyvale, Stephanie's current coach encouraged her to start working with him. She soon found out how green he really was: he couldn't steer, ran straight into walls, wouldn't canter, and seemed to think he had 7 feet (many more than he knew what to do with!). Stephanie, however, was not discouraged, and took this on as a new challenge when she began leasing him in August. Tanya once said, "training a green horse is the most humbling experience", and boy was she right! There were many ups and downs along the way, taking you on the bumpiest road you will ever meet. Although not every ride will leave you smiling, there are many rewards if you stick with it. One wouldn't think that picking up a certain canter lead would be all too exciting, but after finally succeeding, Stephanie felt as if she had conquered the world! They have come quite a long way since then, now jumping 2'9" courses and doing consistent dressage work. Early in the year 2004, we discovered that Shadyvale was being sold to a new owner. Many of their horses were to go with the barn or be sold, including Tango. As you can imagine, this was certaintly upsetting, because although Stephanie had put so much work onto him, with such high hopes for the future, she was not financially able to be the one to buy him. Once again, Tanya came to the rescue of the horse that is still just too sweet to leave behind, and decided to buy him herself (something for which Stephanie will be forever grateful!). Stephanie will continue to lease him, and take him as far as he can go in both jumping and dressage. This will be quite the exciting year for them, as it will be both of their first show seasons, and they are testing out the discipline of eventing. They hope for nothing more but good experiences, and lots of fun along the way!

Go back to Horses Go back to homepage