May 26, 1974 - May 5, 2003

Shirley and Catiche

Catiche was the first foal born at Centaur.  She was born the morning of our first horse show ever.   The judge said we should call her "Raindrop" because there was a fine gentle rain early that morning.   But we called her Contesse Catiche instead - Contesse because her sire was Count Lively, a descendant of the famous Triple Crown winner Count Fleet, and Catiche after a character in War and Peace (I was reading that book).  She was a feisty foal.  I remember handling her in the Line classes at the Ottawa Winter fair.  She wasn't yet weaned and they told us just as we were entering the ring that the dams couldn't accompany their foals.  Well, she just about took my arm off rearing and generally bouncing all over.  I still don't know how the judge could see her as she was rearing in his face most of the time.  (She placed 2^nd!)

Then, when it came time to back her all I remember is bouncing off walls.  She would take off in one direction and I would stop her into the wall, only to bounce into a different direction.  Then the vet decided she needed her stifles strengthened, so road work was recommended  (this is a long-time before the Frank Kenny highway).  So, off I would go down the road, only to have Catiche return home without me.  This happened so regularly that Genevieve (who was about 2 years old then), one day asked me as I walked back into the yard, this time on Catiche, "Mummy not fall off today?". 

Then we hit the show ring.  What a star she was.  Catiche had this ginormous extended trot in her, and exceptionally well-balanced canter.  She hit her stride in the Medium ring É a total show-off.  She had her quirks.  To get the best out of her, I had to warm-up in the collected canter, doing lots of canter-walk-canter transitions.  I could not bring her to the show grounds ahead of time, because her best ride was the first one.  This is when she showed off the best.  My coach at that time did not know this about her, and was quite discouraged with me when I refused to go practice at the show site prior the Canadian Championships (in Toronto).  Then when we were warming-up before our ride, Catiche just wasn't going well at all.  BUT, when we did our first trot around the dressage ring, she grew into an enormous horse and just floated.  People would come to me afterwards to see her in her stall, and when I would point her out, they would say, no no the big Hanoverian you were riding.  They were always shocked to find out that the Big horse was really this little 15.2 hand part Thoroughbred, part unknown mare. 

Another note about competing with Catiche was that a whole crew of grooms was needed for her.  She would wear out one person after another.  I also stationed my helpers at the gates of the warm-up rings in case I would fall off.  She often exhibited airs above the ground in her first year of showing.  (I never did fall off at a show, but I always had spare show clothes with me just in case!)

As a school horse, Catiche was interesting, and frustrating.  She was such a sensitive horse to ride, that she never caught on to this school horse thing.  To her, having a green rider on her back was information overload, and she would get quick and strong. 

She also had a bad reputation as being mean.  But she was far from it.  She would pretend very well, but the minute another horse threatened her back, she would dissolve into a puddle.  She was all show.    

Anyone who ever handled her, I'm sure has a story of being dragged by her.  It was a common sight to see someone "waterskiing" on the end of a lead rope behind Catiche.  Catiche would form strong attachments to different horses, her strongest was to her own mother Bathsheba whom she missed horribly after Sheba passed on.

Catiche's friend Sophie will miss her.  A big part of Centaur is gone.  Twenty-nine years is long time to have a horse.                                                                                                 By Shirley

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