I’m Missie Nicholls, a 70 year old retired speech Pathologist, I continue to coach swimming for now 53 years, I’m an amateur adult!

I was busy showing my Small Horse Tally Ho’s Dalwhinnie a 21 year old Shire/ Morgan , American Warmblood. Though she was my event horse, and we pop over small fences to keep her happy we mostly live on a steady diet of dressage. She is a lovely opinionated mare, and would rarely be considered submissive.

Meanwhile a pony came into our barn for training but I didn’t really give it any attention. One day I complained that I didn’t own one submissive horse (I owned three) my trainer thought about this and the fact that she was trying to sell the pony in training, she suggested I try the pony, I said that I was too big for a pony, she said “just try him!” He was like a red sports car! He HAD BEEN a feral pony that lived in the woods unwilling to stay in a pasture, when the caretaker told the vet ”if you can catch him you can keep him!” Finally darted and gelded he was then passed around a bit, he did a little trail riding etc when the farrier suggest that he was a “nice pony” and he should go into training with his wife and my trainer, Kari Felton.

I bought him in July of 2019. In 2020 he participated in the American Warmblood Society Inspection, he was the top scoring pony for that year and the second highest scoring horse of all horses inspected in 2020. Our woodland creature, Brigadier’s Blackwatch, is now a dressage pony helping me complete my requirements for Vintage Cup for the USDF. He is 13-3 hands and when DNA testing was completed for the inspection they indicated that his results demonstrate that he most resembles Arabians, Tennessee Walkers, and Quarter horses. Our ten year old mutt was not bred for this, but we have a promising dressage partnership!


Success comes in many forms.  This weekend at the NEC April at the Arch Show I witnessed all the big, fancy horses doing amazing things, getting huge scores with very serious, driven competitors navigating through their tests. I recently heard Dressage is for the type A person, it’s what draw us to it. Over  the years, I have had dreams of being that rider, working for scores, achieving regionals, Nationals, medals, vintage cup and the like.  It did not serve me well, it left me frustrated and depressed. If only I had that horse, had that trainer, we’re younger, had more time, could throw more money at it.  Over the years, I have revised my dreams several times.  These days it looks like staying safe, improving my position, learning a little at a time, and decreasing that fear that starts with a bit of self doubt and sneaks into your head like a spy, sometimes paralyzing your best efforts.


This weekend brought scores not worth bragging about, but the real gains were made in ways that are never factored into that final mark.  For me, seeing comments of “learn to lengthen stride and improve and sustain connection” are the norm, but then I read the part that made me cry, first I must admit that I am not as young, nor as shiny as I used to be, you get to age where you feel like you blend into the background, a supporting player, no longer the main event.  Life and love have pushed and pulled you into someone you barely recognize, and yet someone saw the “me” I am today and valued that image. The judge wrote, ”that being said, I really enjoyed watching you enjoy your pony! Our sport should make us smile!”  My pride in what I accomplished on Tartan shown through all the self doubt, the gale force winds, and life’s loses.  So there I was smiling like Miss America on the smallest guy at the show, and in the end, that was more than enough.  This makes me feel alive and always full of gratitude!