Sometimes a request for bitting help requires thinking outside the box, and involves a tale of triumph over tragedy, as saddle fitter Brita Rizzi, co-proprietor of Dynamic Equine in North Carolina USA, found.

amanda delgado and athena

In 2015, American photographer Amanda Delgado was working voluntarily at an equine rescue facility, Leilani Mae Horse Rescue, when a report came in about a neglected horse living in a field strewn with equine skeletons.

Adoptions fell through, and when Amanda met the pretty coloured mare, she knew they were destined to be together; she could spot the horse’s potential.

Amanda named the mare Athena, after the goddess of war who tamed horses. After four days just trying to get a halter on, and a freak accident at the rescue facility that resulted in a life threatening injury to Athena, the pair developed a strong bond, and Athena went on to thrive in the amateur show ring, winning many classes.

“Just one year before our first show, I had rescued a terrified, malnourished, broken horse, and here we were showing everyone what she had always been capable of; what I had always known she was capable of,” Amanda recalls.

A recommendation to register the mare as Pinto was made, and Amanda set her sights on the Pinto World Show.

More tribulations were to follow however, when another freak accident saw the bridled Athena get loose and step on her rein, severing her tongue – amazingly, as with her limb, after extensive surgery, she recovered.

Brita Rizzi recognised the mare’s tongue sensitivity due to the scar tissue, and left Amanda a few bits to try, including the Bomber Happy Tongue titanium, which Athena clearly chose as the most comfortable, with its pressure-relieving port and lightweight feel.

On their first visit to the Pinto World Show, the pair were reserve champions in the costume class, and gained notable placings in other classes.

In their second year in 2019, they added two world championship titles to their victory haul, in western dressage classes, retained their reserve championship status in the costume class, and collected many other honours.

“Amanda and Athenian Lady truly represent a story of true love overcoming adversity,” Brita observes.

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