Fleetwood Flyer
"O-Gee"
This business is dedicated to and named after the most incredible lesson horse that ever walked the earth. She taught so many students throughout the years and changed the lives of each, along with their parents, siblings, and friends. From the day she was born, it was clear that O-Gee was going to be one in a million. She was devoted to her mom, Carole, for 25 years and to her "kid," Liz, for 18. She helped her students, including Carole and Liz, achieve multiple year-end championship awards from mini stirrups, to beginners, to pleasure and so on. Her ashes reside in the Davison household in a place where they can see her everyday. O-Gee will forever and always be in our hearts.
We love you endlessly and miss you terribly Oger.
1989-2014
Dance All Nite Jes
"Suzie"
Suzie's story with Fleetwood began over 20 years ago when she was just four years old. Carole was casually looking for a horse to compete with and asked a thoroughbred contact to keep an eye out for her. Two days later he came pulling up to the barn and told her that he had one, much to Carole's surprise. Not long after, Carole and Liz went to go and visit a beautiful chestnut mare named Suzie. Within an instant, five-year-old Liz and four-year-old Suzie formed a bond that can only be contributed to fate. The mare played with Liz's hair and nuzzled her gently while she was in Carole's arms. Needless to say, Carole and Liz were in love. For those of you who know thoroughbreds, Suzie was nothing short of textbook. She had uncontrollable energy and her anxiety was through the roof. It took quite a long time and quite a bit of training to get her to the point of showable. Carole tried for years to show her successfully in the hunters but that wasn't where Suzie's heart was. When Liz was about 14 she began working with the mare and they tried to pick up where Carole left off in the hunters. While schooling at a show Carole looked around the hunter ring then looked in the jumper ring. That's where she belonged. From that day forward jumpers was the name of the game. The pair went from the itty bitty's (2'.), to the pre-preliminary's (2'6"-2'9"), to the high child/adult jumpers (3'6"-3'9") in a matter of two years. They were unstoppable. It then began time to prepare for the North American League Children's Jumper Finals. After a few successful shows, Suzie, at the age of 16, decided that she was ready to retire from the jumpers. It took a toll on the two but it was definitely for the best. Liz worried about what would be next for Suzie and if she would be able to survive without doing what she loved the most. But, after a few tries, it was clear that Suzie was ready for the next step in her career, to be a lesson horse. Since then, Suzie has shown countless students the ropes and has loved every second of it. Today she remains one of Fleetwood's anchor lesson horses and continues to teach students how to walk, trot, canter, and, her favorite, jump. She proves to us every day that age really is just a number.
Rigatoni
"Tony"
Back in 2014, a few months after the loss of the beloved O-Gee, it was time to search for a lesson pony. After quite a bit of looking, Liz came across two ponies available at a rescue in Pennsylvania. At the time, Liz had her eye on the other pony but was told that he would not be suitable for a lesson program. Tony, however, had some potential. Upon first glance, he wasn't anything special. He was under-muscled, had a straggly coat, and a knotted mane that went past the width of his neck. He had barely been handled and didn't how to be led, let alone ridden. But once Carole and Liz saw a video of him trotting, they knew he was what they needed. They arranged to go and meet him but were slightly hesitant. He was skittish, not very friendly, and had a "hitch" in his hind end that was attributed to having no muscle development. They still decided to give him a try. Turns out that was one of the best decisions Carole and Liz could have made. It took a lot of time and a lot of work but Tony has turned into the best lesson pony they could have hoped for. He does it all from leadline, to mini stirrups, to children's ponies. Tony is an excellent lesson pony as he will test the students to teach them the proper way to do things and once he feels they are ready, he gives in and cooperates. He is an absolute favorite with all of the kids (and adults) at Fleetwood Equestrian, as it should be, in his opinion. Though he can be a pain in the butt and a little fresh, he is worth his weight in gold.
Cheer Up Charlie
"Charlie"
The first time that Carole and Liz met Charlie was in 2013. At the time, Liz was looking for a thoroughbred project to train and sell. They visited a thoroughbred trainer's personal farm to look at what he had available. Charlie, a rather funny-looking gelding, was cowered in the back of a stall. He had just come off of the track and was scared of the world around him. At this point, Charlie was not what Liz was looking for so she went with another horse (who is still with Fleetwood which is really no surprise). While working with the other horse, whom she named Beast, Liz and Carole noticed that he came up lame. After a visit from the vet, it was thought that he would never be sound again. Liz said to Carole "I'm just going to be horseless for a while." Carole said, "you are not going to be horseless, we are going to go look at that chestnut at Russel's tomorrow." So Liz figured that she would look at this horse and train him up to sell so she could buy a nice warmblood. This was now the same year that O-Gee died as well as the year that Liz was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, needless to say, it was a rough year. They got to Russel's and went out to see "that chestnut" who was grazing peacefully with his friend. Liz went up to him, pat him on the neck, and said hello. He then proceeded to put his nose up to her cheek and at that moment there was no question, he wasn't going anywhere. Charlie's training began beautifully, he had a lot of talent and was willing to do what he was asked. Then it was realized that he was a bit of a chicken. Liz worked every day on getting him braver but it didn't always work very well. There were a lot of stops and a lot of falls but eventually, they got to a point that they could work together and get around a course without many stops. They competed in the 3' adult equitation and won all but one of the medal classes they showed in. The fear that Charlie had continued to be a problem so Carole and Liz decided to put him in the lesson program to see if it would help him. To their surprise, it was the best thing that could have happened to him. It took some time but he has turned into the ULTIMATE lesson horse. He does exactly what he is told and gives his riders the confidence that they need to proceed on to jumping and competing. He has also been the first ride of one of the barn babies! Needless to say, Charlie has become a huge part of Fleetwood's lesson program and he is loved by every student that sits on his back. To say Carole and Liz got lucky is an understatement.
A Pinch of Cinnamon
"Cinnamon"
Carole and Liz met Cinnamon in 2008. He was a resident of a farm that they had their horses boarded at the time. He was the farm owner's horse and he did not know much at all. He knew how to have a person on his back but that was about it. Carole decided to take on the challenge of training Cinnamon to be rideable and to be safe (because he was not). They never would have guessed that he would turn into the superstar lesson horse that he was. He was known as "the mascot" of Fleetwood and has won the hearts of everyone that has ridden him. He had brought his students to many blue ribbons in the mini stirrups and the pleasure division for quite a few seasons. A few years ago, however, Cinnamon came up lame in his back leg out of nowhere. They gave it some time but he was just not healing. Carole and Liz decided to call the vet. It turned out that Cinnamon tore a suspensory ligament and would have to stay on stall rest for about a year. Finally, the year went by, and just when they were getting him back in shape, he went and hurt himself again. This time they brought him directly to the New Jersey Equine Clinic to get a thorough exam done of his leg. They assumed he had re-torn the same spot of his suspensory ligament but it turned out that he did tear his suspensory ligament...but in a different spot. So he was out for yet another year. He was the perfect candidate for horsemanship lessons, clinics, and camps as he could stand on cross ties all day and the kids could hang off of his neck without him caring. This guy was the complete package and he was absolutely irreplaceable in the hearts of all of his students. Sadly in the spring of 2022, Cinnamon became suddenly ill.
Thewifedoesntknow
"Ally"
“Into the final furlong… Mywifenosevrything! Thewifedoesntknow! They're 1-2! Of course they are! Mywifenosevrything in front, to the outside, Thewifedoesntknow! Mywifenosevrything! Thewifedoesntknow! Mywifenosevrything! More than Thewifedoesntknow!”
You may recognize this race call from America's funniest home videos, ESPN, the Kentucky Derby pre-show, Monmouth Park's radio ads, or maybe just from the video viewed over one million times on Youtube. Well, we happen to call Thewifedoesntknow one of the key members of the Fleetwood Equestrian family. Back in 2012, Carole was looking for an OTTB hunter prospect to train and sell. Through mutual connections, Carole got in contact with a jockey who worked at Monmouth Park named Shannon Uske. After looking at a few horses from a few other trainers, Carole hadn't found what she was looking for. Shannon then introduced her to trainer Tim Shaw. He had a horse that was ready to retire and the jockey believed that the mare was what Carole was looking for. Thewifedoesntknow, or "Esposa," as she was called at the track, stood lazily in her stall as the hustle and bustle of Monmouth Park took place around her. Carole was slightly concerned as the mare was in her sleep stance (which looked very odd) and didn't have a care in the world about anything going on outside of her stall. She went into the stalls and started to take the mare's leg wraps off, which caused her to start waking up. She looked down at Carole, watching her curiously and nuzzling her occasionally as she looked the chestnut over. She then made her way to the front of the stall to watch the world go by. Carole stood next to her as she looked around, looking at Carole then looking back outside as if to say "did you see that?!" At this point, Carole knew that this was the one she was looking for. She had not heard of the famous race that the horse was involved in, but it turned out that plenty of others had. A few days after meeting her, Carole brought her home. On the way home, there was a commercial on the radio for Monmouth Park...featuring her race call! When the mare got home, Liz thought a good name for her would be Ally-Gator, or Ally for short. A known equine photographer, Sarah Andrew, whom Carole and Liz had met at a previous barn, heard of Carole's acquiring of Ally she asked if she could do a blog on her training progress in a well-known magazine, Thoroughbred Daily News. And of course, Carole said yes. So Sarah began a 13 part blog on Ally which you can read here! As time went on with her training, they began to realize that her feet were becoming a problem. She was constantly going lame due to her thin soles and low heels. They tried every kind of shoeing imaginable to attempt to keep her sound but to no avail. So Carole and Liz then decided because of Ally's work ethic, personality, and athleticism that it would be a good idea to breed her. After a lot of research, Carole decided that she wanted to breed Ally to a well-known hunter stallion, Nob Hill. So they went out to Hyperion Stud in Virginia to meet him. Liz was a bit hesitant because of his "studly" behavior but Carole knew that he was exactly what she wanted. Eleven months later, Ally gave birth to a beautiful chestnut colt named Travis. Travis has certainly proved himself to be one of a kind. With a gorgeous trot and near-perfect confirmation, Carole brought him to compete in the Devon Horse Show as a two-year-old and ended up coming in 6th out of 14! Because of how Travis turned out, Liz had decided that she wanted to breed Ally as well, this time to a different well-known hunter stallion named Popeye K. Another eleven months later, a handsome, beefy, bay colt was born, whom Liz named Donald, or Donnie for short. He came out exactly her "type" and she could not have been happier. Once again, because of how Donnie turned out, they decided to breed Ally a third time, again to Popeye K. This foal was intended to be a sale baby. At one point during Ally's pregnancy, Carole had said "if this baby turns out to be a chestnut filly with four white socks and a blaze, we are in trouble." Sure enough, on May 5th, 2020 they got to see their baby be born...a chestnut filly with four white socks and a blaze. They knew right away that this "sale baby" was now anything but. Emma, as they named her, is a beautifully elegant little thing with the perfect amount of sass and near-perfect confirmation. Since then, Ally is slowly being brought back into the lesson program and she has been loving every bit of it. Quite a long story for miss Gator but she has truly done it all. She gave Carole and Liz a beautiful trio of babies and continues to shine every day. Yet another one that is irreplaceable.
Bazinga Rules
"Bazinga"
Carole and Liz met Bazinga, or Zingy for short, back in 2012. He was at the same barn at Monmouth Park as Ally was, with the same trainer, Tim Shaw. Zingy was only two years old at the time and he was INSANE. He was jumping off the walls in his stall, running in circles, and just loving life at the track. Naturally, Liz fell in love with him. At this time, Bazinga had just begun his time at the track and there was no way Tim would be parting with him any time soon. He was a real contender and had already done quite well in the few races he had run. A few years later, Carole and Liz were at Tim's personal property looking at a horse for a client. While they were there Liz had casually mentioned how much she loved Bazinga. Well, in October of 2015, Liz got a message from Alicia on Facebook telling her that Zingy was ready for his next career. It didn't take much convincing to go take a look at him. He was exactly how they remembered him, only this time, a bit calmer which was probably a good thing. A few days later, Carole and Liz picked him up and brought him home, much to the dismay of his trainers and grooms. He was a favorite at the track and they were very sad to see him go. Once they got him home, they understood why. He was an absolute sweetie and loved anybody who put their hands on him. Not long after he came home, Carole began his training. That craziness that they had seen at the track three years prior? It hadn't gone anywhere. He was a nut. It took him quite a long time to let go of his track days but finally, he had hit a point where he realized there was no reason to be going so fast. Once he was sane and balanced enough, Liz began to work with him as well. He was and is quite a complicated horse to understand but after some time the two figured each other out. She then began to jump him around small courses and he was doing quite well. They had brought him to a show to just look around a year or so before this and it didn't exactly go well. At this point, however, he was of a much better mind to go to a show and actually compete. He and Liz did quite well and managed to pull off some decent ribbons in the Itty Bitty Jumpers. Not long after, they brought him to another show. This time he managed to get his first first place along with a few seconds. Carole was now confident enough to put him in the lesson program for their advanced riders. He continues to do well and as time goes on, they hope to get him to a point where he is showable for their students. He may be a long train but they know that he will be worth it.