Profiles

The Mouse That Roared

Around the barn, Rachel McDonough's Irish Rhythm (Oliver) has been dubbed 'Mighty Mouse.'

Allen MacMillan/MacMillan Photography

By: Tracy Hanes | June 4, 2014

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you're listening to an article from horse sport.com. the mouse that roared by: tracy hanes. the 15.1-hand, 15-year-old thoroughbred gelding was the mouse that roared around the rolex kentucky cci**** course in april, incurring no cross-country time or jumping faults. he and rachel, 22, finished 25th, an impressive outing for their four-star debut. competing at the highest level of eventing was not something rachel ever imagined doing, growing up in toronto as a horse-crazy child in a non-horsey family. “when i was seven, i begged my parents to let me go to horse camp,” she says. “then i begged to go for a second week, then begged for lessons.”. rachel started riding at parklane ranch in tottenham, on, where her first experience was in a western saddle. as she continued with lessons, her grandfather, without her parents’ knowledge, bought her a $500 pony. on that welsh pony, menai silver style, known as angel – “which she was not!” according to rachel – her young rider started going to hunter schooling shows. some older kids at her barn were eventers and rachel wanted to try it, but her 11.2 -hand pony “absolutely hated it.”. advertisement scroll to continue with content next rachel fell in love with a fat icelandic/ haflinger, apollo, that was barely broken and had never shown, but convinced her mother to buy him as “he was big enough (13.2 h) and cheap enough.” linda hauck became rachel’s coach and repeatedly urged her to sell apollo. “we got eliminated all the time. if we weren’t eliminated in dressage and made it to stadium, that was a great day. if we made it to cross-country, it was like the heavens opening up. with him i learned how to lose and how to be a really good sport.”. a clinic at dreamcrest with british eventing legend lucinda green was a turning point, when green convinced rachel that apollo could – and should – do what was asked of him. rachel took a tougher stance and the pair went from regular eliminations to winning at the lower levels. when rachel was 14, hauck took her to fort erie to select an off-the-track thoroughbred that might take her to preliminary. she found him in irish rhythm, who raced until age six and retired sound, winning just one race in his career. by then, her mother had developed a keen eye for horses and approved the choice. the gelding took to his new job as an eventer with gusto, and was a neat and careful jumper. after competing in the cci* at the 2010 north american junior and young rider championships, rachel started training with momo laframboise. “preliminary for me was like the olympics,” recalls rachel. “when i got the chance to move up to intermediate, it was overwhelming.”. in 2011, oliver injured a tendon in a pasture accident and after a long recovery, the pair qualified for the 2012 najyrc cci**, where they helped earn team bronze for canada and finished 10th individually. rachel took time off after high school to ride and supported her horse habit by working as a bartender in downtown toronto. in 2013, she and irish rhythm were eighth in the cic*** at jersey fresh in the spring and completed their first cci*** at the fair hill international three-day event in the fall. those results landed them on the national eventing team short list. rachel had never been to the rolex event in kentucky before she arrived as a competitor. the first couple of times she walked the course, “i was really quiet and really intimidated,” she recalls. but by a fourth solo walk, her confidence returned. “a lot of people told me oliver would only be a two-star horse, but no course has ever been too big for him,” she says. “it was nothing for him. he literally eats up cross-country and ran it like a veteran and came off course with gas in the tank. it was the most amazing ride of my life.” dressage and stadium jumping are still works in progress, as irish rhythm is “a very forward horse” and it’s a challenge to keep him calm and relaxed during the non-galloping phases. buoyed by her successes, rachel has recently acquired a “fantastic” three-year-old thoroughbred named cajun chrome and is hoping to take irish rhythm to europe to gain more high-level experience. “he’s enjoying some down time after rolex and my goal is keeping him sound and fit and happy, and maybe trying for rio (olympics) in 2016,’ rachel says. ‘that gives us a lot of time to work on improving our dressage and stadium jumping.”. &&>

The 15.1-hand, 15-year-old Thoroughbred gelding was the mouse that roared around the Rolex Kentucky CCI**** course in April, incurring no cross-country time or jumping faults. He and Rachel, 22, finished 25th , an impressive outing for their four-star debut.

Competing at the highest level of eventing was not something Rachel ever imagined doing, growing up in Toronto as a horse-crazy child in a non-horsey family. “When I was seven, I begged my parents to let me go to horse camp,” she says. “Then I begged to go for a second week, then begged for lessons.”

Rachel started riding at Parklane Ranch in Tottenham, ON, where her first experience was in a western saddle. As she continued with lessons, her grandfather, without her parents’ knowledge, bought her a $500 pony. On that Welsh pony, Menai Silver Style, known as Angel – “which she was not!” according to Rachel – her young rider started going to hunter schooling shows. Some older kids at her barn were eventers and Rachel wanted to try it, but her 11.2 -hand pony “absolutely hated it.”

Scroll to continue with content

Next Rachel fell in love with a fat Icelandic/ Haflinger, Apollo, that was barely broken and had never shown, but convinced her mother to buy him as “he was big enough (13.2 h) and cheap enough.” Linda Hauck became Rachel’s coach and repeatedly urged her to sell Apollo. “We got eliminated all the time. If we weren’t eliminated in dressage and made it to stadium, that was a great day. If we made it to cross-country, it was like the heavens opening up. With him I learned how to lose and how to be a really good sport.”

A clinic at Dreamcrest with British eventing legend Lucinda Green was a turning point, when Green convinced Rachel that Apollo could – and should – do what was asked of him. Rachel took a tougher stance and the pair went from regular eliminations to winning at the lower levels.

When Rachel was 14, Hauck took her to Fort Erie to select an off-the-track Thoroughbred that might take her to preliminary. She found him in Irish Rhythm, who raced until age six and retired sound, winning just one race in his career. By then, her mother had developed a keen eye for horses and approved the choice.

The gelding took to his new job as an eventer with gusto, and was a neat and careful jumper. After competing in the CCI* at the 2010 North American Junior and Young Rider Championships, Rachel started training with Momo Laframboise. “Preliminary for me was like the Olympics,” recalls Rachel. “When I got the chance to move up to intermediate, it was overwhelming.”

In 2011, Oliver injured a tendon in a pasture accident and after a long recovery, the pair qualified for the 2012 NAJYRC CCI**, where they helped earn team bronze for Canada and finished 10th individually.

Rachel took time off after high school to ride and supported her horse habit by working as a bartender in downtown Toronto. In 2013, she and Irish Rhythm were eighth in the CIC*** at Jersey Fresh in the spring and completed their first CCI*** at the Fair Hill International Three-Day Event in the fall. Those results landed them on the national Eventing Team short list.

Rachel had never been to the Rolex event in Kentucky before she arrived as a competitor. The first couple of times she walked the course, “I was really quiet and really intimidated,” she recalls. But by a fourth solo walk, her confidence returned.

“A lot of people told me Oliver would only be a two-star horse, but no course has ever been too big for him,” she says. “It was nothing for him. He literally eats up cross-country and ran it like a veteran and came off course with gas in the tank. It was the most amazing ride of my life.” Dressage and stadium jumping are still works in progress, as Irish Rhythm is “a very forward horse” and it’s a challenge to keep him calm and relaxed during the non-galloping phases.

Buoyed by her successes, Rachel has recently acquired a “fantastic” three-year-old Thoroughbred named Cajun Chrome and is hoping to take Irish Rhythm to Europe to gain more high-level experience. “He’s enjoying some down time after Rolex and my goal is keeping him sound and fit and happy, and maybe trying for Rio (Olympics) in 2016,’ Rachel says. ‘That gives us a lot of time to work on improving our dressage and stadium jumping.”