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Meet the striking skewbald mare who’s aimed at five-star – and find out her fun name


  • Who doesn’t love a coloured horse? It always shakes up the run of more humdrum bays and chestnuts when one hits the top level of horse sport and when the mare in question also has a fantastically fun name, the joy is doubled. The skewbald mare Fluorescent Adolescent – also the name of a song by the Arctic Monkeys – is ridden by Canada’s Jessica Phoenix and currently competes at four-star level.

    “One of my students Makayla Rydzik competed ‘Lacey’ up to three-star and did young riders with her,” says Jessica. “Then she was starting to move into real world things and she just didn’t have time to compete at that level anymore, so she said: ‘This horse is so amazing – is there any way you want to keep going with her?’ And I said: ‘Absolutely, I’d love to’.”

    The now 15-year-old mare was bred by Jessica’s first eventing coach Kelly Plitz and her husband Ian Roberts, Canadian Olympians who are based at Dreamcrest Farm in Ontario. She was named, and trained and competed from a four-year-old up to the current two-star level, by another Canadian rider, Hannah Rankin.

    Fluorescent Adolescent is by the coloured stallion Gaudy, a son of Fidermark NRW (by Florestan I), out of a mare called Amelia (by Ali Baba) who Kelly and Ian both competed up to current three-star level.

    “I always thought Lacey was striking and a beautiful horse – the first horse I evented was actually a coloured horse and she stands out anywhere she goes,” says Jessica.

    “Her colouring definitely matches her personality – she is a really competitive mare and always just had so much vibrance in all three phases. She is larger than life, like a queen, and super smart.

    “I thought taking her to Kentucky for the CCI4*-S this year was a huge test for her because there’s so much action there and the horses feel every bit of the atmosphere. I was just so pleased with how she handled everything. She was really, really stellar in all three phases.”

    The pair jumped clear across country at Kentucky and Fluorescent Adolescent will now be aimed at her first CCI4*-L at Bromont. Plans for the autumn could include the Pan American Games, where the Canadian team will be aiming to secure qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

    Jessica also believes Fluorescent Adolescent will be a five-star horse in the near future.

    “We still have a little way to go in the dressage, but her movement and rideability are really coming along and her jumping phases are very strong,” she says.

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