MARLEY'S CORNER
Marley (registered name Honest Smile) is a horse that honestly does make me smile every single day. Marley is a 2015, 15.2 h thoroughbred mare that I have been lucky enough to have in my life for about two years. I first met Marley in a field in Kentucky the same weekend as the Land Rover Kentucky 5 Star. I was there on a horse shopping/resale prospect trip and had already selected a nice gelding that checked all the boxes. But then I saw Marley- galloping full tilt across the field, tail straight up in the air, neck arched, full Arabian horse mode. She caught my eye, so I asked about her. She had just come off the track and they called her “the greyhound.” I still don’t know if that’s because she was fast, or skinny, or both. Caught up in her athleticism and all the magic of Kentucky weekend I asked if I could see her under saddle. We had a bit of trouble catching her, discovered she had pulled a shoe, and then couldn’t find a girth small enough for her! Even so, after watching a very brave and balanced exercise rider trot around on her with a dangling loose girth, I offered them all the horse shopping money I had left after the gelding- $750. And to my delight, they agreed!
Fast forward a couple years and Marley is truly becoming the event horse I had hoped she would be. She is incredibly athletic, confident, has amazing natural instincts, a wonderful temperament, and has truly taken to the sport like a fish in water. She is still young and just starting out, but I truly believe she has everything in her to be an Advanced horse. I feel incredibly lucky to have such a promising young horse and am beyond excited to see what the future holds for us, but after a decade of trying to self-fund my way to the Advanced level I have come to the realization that if Marley and I are going to make it, we are going to need some good people in our corner. And that is why I am writing you today.
We are starting a club of sorts that we are calling “Marley’s Corner” and we are looking for some awesome people “members” who want to support us and go on this exciting journey with us. This is an opportunity for you to invest in a promising young horse and be there every step of the way, from her first training level events all the way to (hopefully!!) the top. We are offering an avenue to get involved in a very meaningful way without the financial burden or long term commitment of joining a syndicate. We will also be hosting social gatherings for club members throughout the year so that everyone on the team can get to know one another and have fun while cheering Marley on. And, of course, you would be supporting me and my dream to ride at the top level of the sport.
HOW TO GET INVOLVED
How it works:
Membership in Marley’s Corner is $50 a month and we ask for a six month commitment to start. After the first six months you can discontinue at any time. The membership fees will be used 100% directly for Marley to cover her daily care, farrier and vet fees, lessons and clinics, competition entries, travel, etc.
What you get:
Members will truly be MVPs on our team and as such you will get access to all the behind the scenes stuff as Marley moves through the levels. We will send out monthly updates about how her training is going, competition highlights and exclusive pictures/videos of her progress. We will also be inviting members to observe training sessions, lessons, and clinics. And of course we hope that members can join us at competitions to cheer Marley on! We plan to have Marley’s Corner tailgates at some of the bigger shows as well as social gathers once or twice a year. Of course, we hope some day to have all the members of Marley’s Corner who were with us from the beginning at the supporter’s tent watching her head out of the box at Land Rover Kentucky Five Star, but more importantly we want to have a blast getting there. We really want to cultivate a team and we want this to be FUN!!!!
Invite a friend:
The more the merrier! If you have a friend who might want to get involved, please pass this information along. We love getting to know new people within the eventing community, across other disciplines, and even non-horse people. No matter who it is, I can guarantee Marley will put a big smile on their face!
Corporate Sponsors:
We will also be pursuing corporate sponsors, so if you know of a business big or small that might be interested, please let us know!
