This year will be the Central Park debut for eleven-year old grey gelding Ggrand Slam+/. What remains to be seen is whether sixteen-year-old Alicia or her mother, Kim Bergeron, will be doing the honors as the amateur rider for the Hunter Pleasure pro/am class. The idea of competing at this show was Alicia’s! After watching the show last year, she asked her trainer if it would be possible for her to show Slam at the 2017 Open and he said yes! Unfortunately, a recent knee surgery might get in the way of that plan, but luckily, mom is standing by in the wings to ride if need be. But, no worries, because Alicia and her mom have been sharing riding opportunities on Slam all along.
Slam (by the stallion Grand Applause+++/ and out of the mare Autumn Rose PA) was 7 years old and Alicia was 12 when he was specifically purchased as a hunt seat equitation and pleasure mount for her. “At the time, he hadn’t done the kind of pattern work that is expected of an equitation horse, but he has a great mind and learned to do patterns quickly,” says Kim. Alicia won a National Championship in hunt seat equitation when she was still in the 13 & under division, and this year Kim won the AATR hunt seat equitation Championship at Region 16.
Aside from being an awesome hunter pleasure and equitation horse, Slam is quite a character. It turns out that a horse that can quickly learn how to do pattern work can also learn to unlatch a double ended snap in 30 seconds flat. Kim says they have the video to prove it! Kim says “Slam loves peppermints, treats and Alicia. He’s a goof ball! He can grab anything with his mouth and nose. He can roll his tongue and flip it upside down. He does not like cold water, golf carts and is petrified of cows! All in all, he’s a pretty easy going gelding and is a part of our family for sure.
