Finally Farm’s team of grooms are all involved when it comes to the preparation for WCHR hunter week at the Wellington International Festival [WEF]. And that especially rang true for the $150,000 USHJA/WCHR Peter Wetherill Palm Beach Hunter Spectacular where Elizabeth Towell Boyd produced a win on Ondine D’Orleans.
The prize money of $500 for the grooms was also shared as a team. “We just usually just split that with all of our boys since we all work as a team,” said Olivia Murray, who has a series of job titles including rider, assistant manager and assistant trainer. She is joined on the team by Randi Button, Gavino Ochoa, Carlos Manzon, Luis Silva and two sets of brothers, Ramon and Rojelio Costilla and Marciano and Herminio Villalon.
Saturday night’s preparation in the warm-up ring sent off good vibes for the team. “She did everything that we expected and more,” said Murray. “We could tell that she really wanted to win. She can be sassy in the schooling ring sometimes which is normal for her. But she really didn’t show much sass. She was trying her little heart out in the schooling ring, and we just had a really good feeling.”
To keep the focus, Boyd talks to ‘Ondine’ – not just a little, but the whole time they are showing, giving her a blow-by-blow account of what is coming up. “It is so that she pays attention to Liza instead of looking at the people watching her,” said Murray.
Boyd recites the whole course at the ingate and then talks her through each jump “Liza really believes she really listens to her,” Murray said.
The Important Hay Net
Once the show is over, Ondine’s main focus is to get back to the barn and her stall – and to the ever-present hay net that has become a deal-breaker for the chestnut mare. “If it’s not there, she has a little meltdown,” said Murray, while citing that preferably they would do away with the hay net, to avoid stress in the back and neck. “She’s all about the winner’s circle, but then she wants to get back to the barn and have her own space. All she wants is food. And whether she eats from it, or not, the hay net has to be there so that she has food at all times.”
Ondine – owned by Finally Farm and Neill Sites – came to the barn about a year ago. The 11-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare, bred in Florida by Monique Keitz, was reserve champion in the 3’9” green hunter division during the week. “She is different every day,” said Murray. “Because she is a chestnut mare. Liza likes to say it’s Ondine’s world, and we’re just living in it.”
Learning to Understand Her
When Ondine arrived, the team had to learn to understand her – that the mare’s quirks were something to be accepted rather than addressed.
“We had to learn that her quirks are what makes her good and not something to be worried about,” said Murray. “Oh she’s doing this today – what is she trying to tell us? No, that’s just her.”
Next stop for Boyd and Ondine will be the derby field as they compete in some of the hunter classes on the grass, coming up later during WEF circuit. It will be the first time they have shown the mare on that surface. Ondine loves the polo field at the barn and often goes on trail rides, which indicates that grass may be something she will relish. “I think she will like it,” said Murray. “We are excited to see how she goes out there.”
*Featured photo shows Marciano Villalon and Ramon Costilla with Ondine D’Orleans.
Sarah Eakin has a long history of sports reporting and covering equestrian disciplines – particularly show jumping, polo, racing and dressage – for a range of international publications as writer and editor-in-chief. In 2024, Sarah launched Paper Horse – an online magazine with an eclectic mix of stories from the horse world at www.paperhorsemedia.com. Paper Horse is an official Media Partner of Wellington International. Sarah was born in England and came to the US in 1996 as Sidelines’ Polo Editor; at the time she was chief polo writer at the Horse and Hound and Polo Correspondent to The Daily Telegraph. She married US professional polo player Gary Eakin and stayed Stateside traveling throughout North America while covering equestrian events. She is also an author; Wed, White and Blue, her first novel is on Amazon.
