Riding With Dorothy

RIDING WITH DOROTHY

Dorothy Hungerford grows emotional when she tries to put into words how her life has changed in the weeks since she adopted Golden Ground from the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation ((TRF).

“I remember after my accident thinking I’d never ride again,” said the former Olympic equestrian hopeful from her home in Bar Harbor, Me. “I remember thinking I’d never have the courage. There was a hole in my heart in the shape of a horse.”

But now, glancing out at Golden Ground here in his new home known for its rock-bound coast surrounded by Acadia National Park, Hungerford says, “I am so happy.”

“I love him so much and he loves me. Oh, listen to me. Here I am at my age having fun like I was a young girl.”

Hungerford, who gives her age at 55, was an aspiring Olympic equestrian when she was growing up in North Carolina, having won several High Point Awards and having traveled to Europe to learn and observe several different disciplines. But while competing in a cross-country event in her home state at the age of 16, Hungerford suffered a frightening spill in which she broke her neck, back and legs.

“The horse rolled over me,” Hungerford recalled. “I remember lying on the ground before losing consciousness, my neck twisted one way and my body the other, thinking I’d never ride again as my mother ran toward me.”

Hungerford couldn’t find the desire to ride for years. But as her husband, William Joseph Baggett, started encouraging her to ride again – “He said there was something missing in my life.” – Hungerford met TRF’s executive director Diana Pikulski near her winter home in Wellington, Fl.

“I started doing some research (on the TRF) and how they take care of horses that are sometimes cast aside,” she said. “I found out about their correctional program, and that delighted me to no end.”

Hungerford wanted to face her demons. She visited the TRF’s farm at the Lowell Correctional Institution outside Ocala. She returned to riding at the Parelli Clinic and with equestrian trainer Carl Bessette. Finally, she asked the TRF to find her a suitable horse.

That horse was Golden Ground, an unraced son of multiple Grade I winner Seeking the Gold out of the mare J.D. Flowers, who produced the Grade I winning filly Exotic Wood.

“I still had a lot of fears and dreams of my accident at 16,” Hungerford said. “But, you know, you have to move forward.”

Hungerford, who is jumping 2 ½ feet with Golden Ground – or Boogie Woogie Baby, as he’s been christened – wants to encourage other people over 50 to become involved in the TRF.

“People whose children have left the house, they’re older, and they think, ‘Ho, hum, what am I going to do now?’ I think they should get a retired thoroughbred. They bring so much joy and happiness. This horse I have right now has such a cute personality and he wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

Hungerford pauses. “It’s just so much fun. Oh…listen to me.”