News Flash: It’s Christopher Riddle
by Mark Deane
The previous chapter on Thoroughbred Christopher Riddle recounted his re-education from racehorse to riding horse under the guidance of trainer Tim Daley.
Still, after a year of intense training, Daly felt that Christopher was not the right fit for his own clientele. He then sold the Thoroughbred to a friend, Jessie Austin, another professional with a much larger operation.
Austin’s farm, located in Louisa, stabled a great number of sales horses and was the site of an open house every Sunday where prospective customers would scour his fields and barns in search of potential riding horses. Christopher settled in among the vast herd of his fellow sales horses, awaiting his next owner.
Enter Colleen Marshall, who would become that owner. Colleen had her own farm, Little Pond, in Gordonsville, and her main business was buying, training and selling horses. She was searching for her next prospect when she drove onto Austin’s farm. Because she was pregnant with her first child, Marshall, she also brought her two working students to help her as she evaluated the sales horses.
“I will never forget that day we went to Jessie’s farm,” Colleen recalled. “It was late in my pregnancy, and I could tell that Jessie thought I was crazy, being in my condition.”
However, Colleen and her students toured the farm, studying horses and picking out individuals they liked. Once she spotted a horse that she found attractive, Colleen would have her students move the horse for her.
“If I liked the way the horse moved, and if we could catch it in the field, Jessie would have one of his riders ride the horse for us,” she said.
However, not every prospect, enjoying freedom in the fields, wanted to be caught. Still, Colleen liked one particular horse that refused to be caught, so her attention then turned to Christopher Riddle. Christopher did not play hard to get, and he also caught a great break.
“Christopher was so sweet, we actually could lead him off the tailgate of our truck, right out of the field and back to the barn to tack him up,” Colleen continued. “As soon as I saw Jessie’s rider mount him, I knew Christopher was ‘the one.’”
Christopher journeyed to Little Pond, where he remained for a year. Colleen renamed Christopher, “News Flash,” and remembered him fondly.
Time and more training apparently were having good effects on the young Thoroughbred. In contrast to the quirkiness that Tim Daly recalled, Colleen said Christopher was never a problem.
“He got along with my working students, and I eventually rode him myself,” she said. “I rode him in a show after giving birth to my son.”
In fact, Colleen said that Christopher was “a perfect fit” for her, at least until the birth of Marshall. That’s when her focus shifted dramatically.
“My passion changed,” she said. “I used to live for the horses. Now it was for my son.”
After a year at Little Pond, it was time for Christopher to move on again.
One day, a trainer accompanied by a client arrived at Little Pond to try a certain horse. When the client happened to spot Christopher, it was love at first sight and she immediately said she had to have him.
The trainer agreed with the client, and the check for $3,000 was written. Christopher was turning the page once again, with more to come in his adventures.