Spotlight

Mirage SR

2007 Soveign x Minstrils Nafia

Becky Pearman Photography

This is Mirage SR owned and trained by Mary Farris. In this photo, Mirage and I were placing Sixth Individual, Team Silver, and High Vet Score in the 2016 Young Rider Team Championship. Mirage went to Worlds in 2018 with a different rider, and has had an incredibly successful endurance career thus far. Mary Farris and I completed a 50 mile ride together in March at Lizard Run in South Carolina, with Mary riding Mirage, and I on another of her horses. Mirage remains an active competitor and has been for many years. I am blessed to have had the opportunity to ride and train on him, and have enjoyed watching his continuing success in endurance.

Mary Farris took me under her wing for the 2016 ride season as Mirage and I worked to qualify as a team for the Young Rider Team Challenge later that year. I feel incredibly lucky to have had the chance to ride Mirage and to learn from Mary, as both she and Mirage taught me the skills necessary to be competitive in a way that also promotes longevity at the international level. Mirage is a horse that thrives under pressure, and he has the heart and mind of a professional athlete. He is incredibly aware of his job, and always takes care of himself, unlike many horses that succumb to "race brain" and run themselves ragged. He has an incredibly sharp mind and a beautifully balanced natural carriage, making him a true challenger on trail. He and I rode many miles together, both in training and competition. He always took care of me, and by the Team Challenge, riding him was an effortless, rewarding experience. He knew my slightest shift in seat, would move off the lightest leg pressure, and he danced over the trail at my slightest direction. I, in turn, knew what he needed of me as a rider, and had learned to read his needs and wants as if he spoke to me aloud in my own language. We raced alone for the majority of the competition, and he never placed a single foot wrong, nor [showed] any signs of fatigue. We breezed through the ride, and then breezed through the final inspection and our BC presentation. Onlookers told me afterwards that Mirage had seemed as if he was dancing instead of simply trotting circles for BC, thus earning us the incredible High Vet Score award. Mirage will always hold a place in my heart, as the best horses always do, and I look back on my training with him fondly. He is an excellent example of his breed and Mary's training program. Mirage was and is my teammate and friend, and I look forward to seeing Mary and him achieve incredible things together in the future.

I am excited for Mirage to receive this recognition, and am grateful to have the opportunity to share my experience. ~ Brooks Prater, Clemson University Animal and Veterinary Studies Class of 2021, Stiyu Endurance Senior and Young Rider