Holly Bergay's life is infused with Ambition.
Not only does the 12-year-old strive to succeed at everything she tries - including climbing rock walls and competing in swimming and gymnastics - it's also the name of her horse, a 19-year-old Arabian, called Ambi for short. At age 4, Holly was going for trail rides on Ambition. A year later, she began dressage training with the rose grey horse.
As Holly continues her own riding lessons, she is training a horse for another young rider. It's an impressive résumé for any sixth-grader, but there's one more thing that makes Holly special. She was born without a left hand.
"Nothing's ever stopped her," said Holly's mom, Mary Bergay. "Anything the kid decides to do, she does a great job at it."
Bergay said she treats Holly the same as she does her 10- and 16-year-old sons.
"You have to expose them to everything and let them try it," said Bergay, who wonders whether her daughter would have had the same ambition had she been born with two hands. "She might not have been the same kid. She's so driven and self-disciplined.
"Holly's sensitive. She doesn't see herself as a disabled person. I don't think she even sees herself as different."
On horseback, Holly's age and level of accomplishment set her apart from other riders, not any physical difference. She uses loops in the reins to maneuver Ambition around the dressage ring, and she competes in an age group with riders up to 21 years old. Last year she won 11 high-point championships, and this weekend Holly and Ambition will compete in the Tucson Dressage Club's Beat the Heat show at the Pima County Fairgrounds. See box.
"I like it more than anything else," Holly said. "Showing's really fun. It's challenging, but it pays off when you do good."
In dressage, competitors are evaluated on their ability to perform a series of movements in the show ring. Judges award points for each movement, as well as for the general appearance of the horse and rider.
"It's really a sport for Type A people, because it's so precise," Mary Bergay said. "I'm really competitive," said Holly.
Originally, Ambition wasn't intended for dressage. He was going to be Mary Bergay's trail horse. That was before he bucked her off. Holly was 4 at the time, and although the horse didn't appreciate Holly's mom riding him, Ambition formed a bond with the girl.
"He loves her. He doesn't love me," Mary Bergay said. "Arabs are kind of known for being really good kids horses. They just seem to know when they have a kid on their backs."
Holly began working with a trainer and started learning about horses.
"We didn't really know anything about horses then," Holly said. "He was white and pretty, so I liked him.
"Everything I've done with him, I've trained him," she said. "It's been hard, but he's a good boy."
Ambition, Holly's mom said, will do anything her daughter asks. "He won't do it for the trainer, but if Holly walks towards him, it's almost a sigh of relief," she said.
After Holly outgrew her first riding instructor, the family had trouble finding another one. The instructors they approached weren't interested in working with Holly because of her physical challenge. The instructors suggested she take lessons at a local stable for children with special needs, Mary Bergay said.
"This was after she was already riding great and winning competions, and I was so upset," she said.
Then the family met Pat Baker-Hutter, a trainer, instructor and licensed dressage judge. "Pat trains her just as hard as she trains anyone else," Mary Bergay said.
"I had judged her at a few horse shows and all I could see was someone that was trying as hard as they could to be as good as they could, and that's all I need in a client - someone who really wants to do it and loves what they do," Baker-Hutter said of Holly. "I didn't see her disability as anything than another problem, like any other rider had, that could be solved.
"I sort of expect her to be able to do what the other clients do. If I think she can't, I'll ask her, 'Is that too hard, or can you do that?' I don't think we've come across anything she can't do."
Holly's dream is to compete in the Olympics, but her first goal, she said, is to earn a spot on the national Young Riders dressage team. The team has one spot for a disabled rider, but Holly wants to win a place on the team as an able-bodied competitor.
Holly may well realize her Olympic dream, but Ambition won't be going with her. At 19, the horse is too old for that level of competition. Even so, Holly will never part with her beloved Arabian.
"We've come to the agreement that we will never sell this horse," Holly's mom said. "He's done so much for her that we could never part with him. He's just a part of the family."
● Send suggestions for pet stories to reporter Kimberly Matas at kmatas@azstarnet.com or call 807-8431. |
