The July issue of The Horsemen's Voice carried a great story about a New Mexico horseman, a lifelong cowboy, who recently took on the challenge of a new discipline to compete in the Grand Prix de Santa Fe.

As all of you horse lovers out there already know, it's a far cry from roping and cutting to clearing 3'6" double oxers, or even just learning to post! Still, from his first experience watching the Grand Prix de Santa Fe in 2004, Richard Patton dreamed of swapping (at least temporarily) his chaps and ropers for breeches and high boots to go sailing over the jumps in a Grand Prix show himself.

He started right in with an old Steubben jumping saddle and professional lessons at Goose Downs Farm in Santa Fe. But all did not go smoothly. A stroke in November of 2004, followed b a month-long hospital stay and months of therapy caused a temporary postponement in Patton's competition plans, but he found the quest to master jumping became and important part of his recovery plans. By the time he was back in the Steubben, though, it became apparent that he and his horse were not well-partnered, so he sold the horse and went back, temporarily, to riding school horses for his lessons. Until September of 2006, when a trip to Guy and Sharon McElvain's Rancho la Querencia in Lemitar introduced hime to the lovely Holsteiner gelding Lichtenstein. This was the beginning of the partnership that would see Patton and Lichtenstein bringing home some ribbons from an April competition, and being judged ready to compete in the Children/Adult Amateur Jumper Classic at the Grnad Prix de Santa Fe! And despite a few stomach butterflies (affecting Patton, not Lichtenstein!), compete they did! And for Richard Patton, overcoming various obstacle and  achieving this goal felt like winning three gold ribbons!

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