The Real Story Behind Olympic Equine Poggio II’s Past

August 7, 2008

As I was researching for my profile of Olympic dressage rider Amy Tryon and her horse Poggio II, I found many sources that said Pogi was a pack horse before he became an internationally successful eventer. At least that’s the story that has circulated for years, even back before his Olympic debut in 2004.

But today I had the distinct privilege of speaking at length with Pogi’s previous owner. A passionate horsewoman, she told me all about Pogi’s real past—which didn’t actually involve being used as a pack horse. While his beginnings weren’t necessarily as humble as that; it’s easy to see that even early on he had the heart and experience of an event horse.

The bay thoroughbred was born as Chesterstimetoofly, known around the barn as Chester. When he was about a yearling, he found himself in a trailer with a few other horses that the owner was getting rid of. They pulled up at a barn where Cassie was working part-time, and the driver got out and inquired if anyone there wanted to buy a horse for cheap. Cassie checked them out, and bought Chester on the spot for under $400.

Started As A Racehorse

Chester’s breeder didn’t have him registered, so Cassie took the time and money to get his registration with the Jockey Club. Because his dam had since died, it was a little more difficult than usual to locate the proper documentation, but worked out in the end.

One of the trainers in the barn took a look at Chester’s bloodlines and was convinced he had the genetics to make a good racehorse. And after some convincing, Cassie decided to give it a shot.

She broke and trained Chester herself. “He was easy to break,” Cassie said. “He was good about everything. Chester was pretty much your typical thoroughbred. He was kind of ADHD, and he always had a bit of a Mohawk, which really just fit his personality.”

The young horse amassed quite a fan club before he went into the starting gate in the regulars at the tavern where Cassie worked at the time. After four starts, including a win, his fans were quite disappointed when Cassie decided to pull the plug on Chester’s racing career. While he was perfectly sound and was running successfully, she didn’t want to see him get hurt in a career that is known for being hard on the health of its athletes.

Trained In The Mountains

After he left the racetrack for good, Chester and Cassie took a few dressage lessons before sticking with trail riding in the mountains. Cassie was in college at the time, and she and Chester spent six days a week riding in the mountains where they lived. She had a friend who lived 10 miles away, and they would regularly make the trek to her house and back. Chester was first exposed to cross-country type riding on these trips—loping at the base of the mountains and jumping trees that got in his way.

Amy Tryon once asked Cassie if Chester/Pogi was hot in his mountain days; but he wasn’t. He was pretty high energy, but fearless. They’d ride hard for 5-6 hours each outing, and anybody could get on him. “I have pictures of a friend’s husband riding Chester backwards on a mountain, and of my 2.5-year-old niece riding him.” Just recently, she came across another old photo of Chester on his first camping trip, fresh off the racetrack looking as lean as a greyhound standing in the snow-covered mountains.

While Chester was a great horse, Cassie needed a horse with sturdier feet for the long hours of rugged mountain riding. After a great four-year partnership, Cassie sold Chester to Janet, a good friend of his current owner and rider, Amy Tryon.

Headed To Stardom In International Eventing

I also got email and talk with Janet von Pressentin who bought Chester from Cassie.

Janet was at a local tack store when she saw an ad with a small picture of Chester, and had to go check him out. She recalls that he was short and a little fat, but incredibly cute. He had been ridden western, so his gaits weren’t great and was a little downhill, but he was adorable, his eyes were bright, and had a personality that just caught her attention. Two days after taking him home, Janet was jumping him over 3′6″ fences, and it was obvious that he had some serious talent.

“I bought Poggio from Cassie as a 5 year old;” Janet explained, “he was a very happy trail horse. It was obvious from the first day he was in the barn, he was something special. Brave, brave, brave. And jumped like a rubber ball! I owned him for 5 months and then traded the majority of him for a very fancy 4 yo I had sold to Amy 7 months before, so she could have a top prospect at a reasonable price.”

Four and a half years later, Janet sold her minority share to Mark Hart, who she says is a fantastically supportive owner, so that Amy could have some good backing.

Cassie didn’t follow Chester’s, now renamed Poggio II, career too carefully at first, until friends started bringing his success to her attention.

“The trainer at my barn kept in contact with the gal who bought him,” Cassie said. “And she would tell me Chester went to Japan, or that he went to the east coast and won a bunch of money. Other people have always called me and told me, ‘did you know this?’ A friend called the other day and asked me if Chester was going to the Olympics again. So Googled it and found out that he was.”

Now 16, Pogi and Amy already have a 2004 Olympic team bronze medal to their names, where they also placed 6th individually. In 1999, they finished fourth in the individual event at the Pan American Games, and helped the U.S. team win gold. In 2002, Amy and Poggio II were on the U.S. team that won the Gold medal at the Eventing World Championships at the World Equestrian Games in Jerez, Spain. At the World Equestrian Games in 2006, Amy rode Pogi to an individual bronze medal finish, while the U.S. team fell just short of the podium, finishing in fourth place.

“Chester was always a real honest horse,” Cassie continued. “He loved to work and he loved to go. I think it’s very cool [that he has been so successful in eventing] because obviously that is what he is meant to do.”

Posted in 2008 Olympics, Eventing, Women and Horses