A Noble Champion Emerges

One dedicated rider and her team bring an unlikely dressage hero into the spotlight.

- Jennifer Grossman

Several months after losing my long-time dressage partner to a tragic accident, I set out on a 10-degree day in December 2014, to see a skinny, homely looking little Haflinger pony I found on Craigslist. He was tacked up in an oversized Western saddle and headstall. He had no formal training. He would not pick up his feet to be cleaned, would not stand still to be mounted, had no desire to trot and no idea how to canter. Despite these shortcomings, I could not leave him behind. So for the cost of basic vaccinations, a Coggins test and $700 cash, I became the owner of what appeared to be a shaggy and unkempt pony. Little did I know that he would turn out to be a future rock star, living up to his registered name, Noble Champion, or “Champ.”