There are many reasons riders might pick unconventional breeds. Sometimes it is due to financial concerns, or a buyer might come across an exceptional horse that has the talent and temperament to succeed outside of their traditional role. Some riders have a particular attachment to a breed and are determined to make headway no matter what “tradition” dictates. For many equestrians, it’s a combination of all these factors.  

Off-the-track-Thoroughbred MVP “Captain” ran just two races at Oaklawn Hot Springs racetrack, in Hot Springs, Ark. — and he lost both. When amateur hunter rider Tess Fortune, of Louisville, Ky., saw his for-sale flyer from Illinois horse adoption agency, Galloping Out, she decided to go look at him with a friend.   

Since childhood, Fortune had ridden mostly warmbloods, the more typical breed for the hunter ring, in her successful Junior and Adult Amateur show careers. Then her loyal show companion, a warmblood gelding named Epic, sustained a career-ending injury. Fortune had limited funds at the time, and the $2,500 adoption fee for Captain fit her budget.     

“He was a narrow, smaller-framed, cribbing chestnut gelding, but when we got him out of the stall his movement immediately overshadowed his less desirable traits,” Fortune said. “I could see the slowness that held him back on the racetrack might make him the perfect hunter. In fact, my friend who came along said that if I didn’t buy him, then she would!” she laughed.   

It proved to be $2,500 well spent. Since 2015, Fortune and Captain have twice won the Take2 Hunter and Jumper Finals at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky. They have ribboned several times in the 3'6" Amateur Hunters against top horses at elite shows including the National Horse Show, also in Lexington, and the Pennsylvania National Horse Show in Harrisburg, Penn. Fortune and Captain have even dabbled in international derbies, earning ribbons when competing against much more expensive horses.  

Endurance rider Niki Beck, of Gillette, Wyo., grew up on the West Coast and always loved horses “but could never really afford them,” she said. Years later when Beck was married and working as a nurse, her OB/GYN husband accepted a job in Wyoming. “I said that I would only move to Wyoming if I could get a horse!” she said. Beck soon became interested in endurance riding and started competing in 25 to 100 mile-races.  

Along came Majestic Cloudy Boy (a.k.a. Cloudy) an Appaloosa/Quarter Horse/Arabian cross, who is registered as an Appaloosa because of his markings. Cloudy had been ridden in endurance competitions but was an unlikely competitive candidate for the higher levels of the sport, which is mostly dominated by Arabians.    

“I was at a race and saw him with his previous owner, and I approached her after and asked, ‘would you sell that horse?’ I hadn’t even ridden him or looked at his race record. I just knew that I wanted that horse,” Beck recalled. “He has a very human expression. He just stares into your soul. I feel like I’ve known him my whole life.”   

Despite Cloudy being an unconventional breed for endurance, he and Beck started on shorter distances then quickly began competing in competitions of increasing difficulty. “People can compete with any breed of horse,” Beck said. “The thing I like about the Appaloosa combination with the Arabian is they have an incredible brain. So mixed with the Arabian and the athleticism of that breed, it's just a perfect combination.”  

When she and Cloudy first paired up, Beck’s only goal was to earn qualifications — moving through the FEI CEI levels, finishing the one-star, and then aiming for a two-star. “But then we got a three-star, and suddenly Cloudy was the top-ranked horse for the 2023 U.S. Pan Am team in Chile,” she said. The pair traveled to Chile, competed in the 75-mile ride but unfortunately were pulled at the final vet check. “It was 90 degrees, the ground was hard as a rock, and his heart rate went up to 68 (it had to be no higher than 64). Ziggy’s heart rate came down, but popped back up while the vet was examining him for completion. It was a huge bummer, but he was amazing. He did so well.”   

Cloudy has won 19 endurance and limited-distance races with his prior owner and Beck combined. Beck is particularly proud of Cloudy’s remarkable completion rate — out of 38 endurance rides he has completed 35 — and he’s also been recognized 11 times for “best condition” at the end of the race, which is one of the most coveted achievements of an endurance ride. Beck is looking forward to more endurance rides this coming season, with the goal of completing a total of 10 FEI international level 100-mile races to achieve Elite Rider Status.  

Equine Veterinarian and Grand Prix dressage rider Jennifer Melcher, who lives in Ball Ground, Ga. was looking for a new horse after her half-Connemara/warmblood Moses, on whom she’d earned her USDF Gold Medal, had recently passed away from colic. She came across a Facebook sales video of a pony named Buckshot, a 13.3 hh spotted Pony of the Americas (POA). “He drew the eye for sure,” Melcher said. She was intrigued by the 13-minute-long video of Buckshot showing that he could do just about anything: calmly go through water and across obstacle courses, jumping fences and roping cattle, with both children and adults. He also had correct and natural gaits and a lovely canter, she recalled. After watching the video, Melcher thought, “this looks like something I need to pursue,” and she ended up buying him without even seeing him in person, thinking he would be a good mount for her 12-year-old son, Nate. They arrived at his new name, Ziggy Stardust when they welcomed him home to Georgia. 

Melcher worked on training Ziggy to get him ready for Nate and quickly discovered that he had a “massive engine” and learned quickly. Not long after, she and Ziggy entered the Opportunity classes at Training Level in a local recognized show, and they scored in the low-mid 60-percent range. At their next schooling show, the pair scored over 70 percent at Training 3 to win the Adult Medal. Melcher ended up winning a year-end award with the Georgia Dressage and Combined Training Association (GDCTA), her local GMO, at Training Level schooling.  He then competed at the Opportunity First Level with solid mid-60s scores, before becoming Nate’s full-time mount. 

Nate went on to show Ziggy at Training Levels and did the dressage equitation for the first time at the pair’s first rated show in February.  “He did really well,” Melcher said. “People watching the shows are always very curious about Ziggy, because he’s so striking. And with Nate on him, it’s just the cutest thing.”

Amateur Grand Prix dressage rider Kelly Hendrick married into a family of Morgan breeders. Her husband’s parents are Pete and Sandra Hendrick of Queens River Farm in Exeter, R.I. In 2011, Hendrick imported a warmblood as her main show horse, but then along came a 15 hh Morgan at Queens River Farm, named Queens Moody Blues “Puck.” 

“Puck was a horse that didn’t fit into their program. I thought ‘I’m going to make him into a dressage horse, as an investment; I’ll train him and roll him over,’” she said. “But I had so much fun on Puck, I ended up keeping him and selling the warmblood.”  

Although he’d had some saddle seat training, Hendrick basically started Puck from scratch. Before long, the pair was competing at Training Level and Hendrick earned a silver medal. Then, she began working with trainers Gwyneth McPherson, of Forward Thinking Dressage, based in Williston, Fla, and Jordan LaPlaca, of Maverick Hill Dressage, in Ledyard, Conn., hoping to reach the Grand Prix. In October 2023, Hendrick received her gold medal on Puck.   

“The first thing I thought was that it wasn’t just me who got the gold medal, Puck and I did it together,” Hendrick said. “You have to remember that most dressage horses are over 16 hh, but Puck’s small stature made some of the Grand Prix movements like tempis across the diagonal and the canter zig zag much easier.” She also recalls people commenting: “Oh, what breed is that? He’s so cute!”  

“When you ride a non-typical breed, you have to ride for yourself and your horse,” Hendrick advised. “I knew Puck wasn’t going to be a high 70-percent-scoring horse, but we were still very successful. And now he loves being a teacher.” Today, Puck is retired from showing, living at Maverick Hill, Conn., and doing First and Second Level with a young rider who is leasing him.