He only cost $1 at the time, but the purchase of Marvel two years ago has changed the life of the Cowichan Valleysa国际传媒檚 Jennifer Barnes van Elk.

Barnes van Elk, who works as a consultant and lives in Cobble Hill, used to be a riding coach but never dreamed shesa国际传媒檇 see the day when shesa国际传媒檇 consider competing in some of the provincesa国际传媒檚 more recognized horse shows.

When Marvel, a 12-year-old 17.2-hand Hanoverian with good blood lines, first entered her life, she also would never have guessed that the horse, who is blind in his right eye, was a budding champion in the rough.

sa国际传媒淚 bought him for a dollar, and his records show that this wasnsa国际传媒檛 the first time hesa国际传媒檇 been sold for that price,sa国际传媒� Barnes van Elk said.

sa国际传媒淵our typical $1 horse sale is an older or injured horse that is being rehomed for retirement. In Marvelsa国际传媒檚 case, the reason for his price tag was mostly behavioural.sa国际传媒�

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Barnes van Elk said Marvel, who was born on Vancouver Island, has a sa国际传媒渃heckered pastsa国际传媒� and had changed hands many times before ending up in her care.

She said Marvelsa国际传媒檚 half-blindness was coupled with extreme reactivity that made the big horse unmanageable at times.

sa国际传媒淗is reputation had earned him a label as a dangerous horse and this kind of label can be a death sentence, especially for older equines,sa国际传媒� Barnes van Elk said.

Because of his safety issues, Barnes van Elk said she completely re-started Marvelsa国际传媒檚 training at 10 years old; handling the adult horse like one would a young colt.

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She reintroduced everything to the horse and set up elaborate obstacle courses to develop confidence and trust as she taught him the discipline of dressage, a highly skilled form of riding performed in exhibition and competition.

In the spring of 2019, the pair entered their first local horse show.

sa国际传媒淒espite considerable equine stage fright, Marvel managed to bring home a first-place ribbon,sa国际传媒� Barnes van Elk said this week at her Winter Spring Farms, while Marvel looked trustingly over her shoulder.

sa国际传媒淪ince that show, Marvel has competed in two other local horse shows, each time in classes of escalating difficulty, and each time winning or placing in the top three.sa国际传媒�

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Barnes van Elk said she hopes to move Marvel into recognized competitions next season, and plans to train all winter with her sights set on showing higher level dressage.

sa国际传媒淎s they say, it takes a village to raise a competitive horse, and a lot should be said about the other coaches and body workers who have got us this far,sa国际传媒� she said.

sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檝e worked with horses for 30 years and Marvel was one of the worst Isa国际传媒檝e ever seen two years ago. I thought sa国际传媒榳hat have I donesa国际传媒�? But then I saw a glimmer of hope and talent and now Isa国际传媒檓 so excited for Marvel. I could never have afforded a horse that could compete at a high level before I found him.sa国际传媒�

robert.barron@cowichanvalleycitizen.com
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