Southern Belle… in Disguise
By Jamie Coffy, Administrator of the USTA's Standardbred Equestrian Program

Floridian Debra Sweger didn’t want to buy a Thoroughbred. But after losing her Saddlebred to epilepsy, she found a green-broke Thoroughbred mare she fell in love with.

Through her farrier, Sweger heard about "Belle," a bay Thoroughbred mare, according to the owner.

"In the back of my mind, I had already decided I didn’t want a Thoroughbred," the veteran horse owner said. "Usually they are too hot and spooky for the trails."

When Sweger rode the mare, she was unbalanced and green, but good natured. The owner tried to lunge Belle, but "it was obvious she didn’t know how." Sweger added, "She kept following her owner and trying to please her." Belle’s willing attitude impressed Sweger.

After handing the owner a check, the owner handed Sweger the Coggins test—which listed Belle as a Standardbred. The owner said that she’d had Belle for a year, and not known she was not a Standardbred.

Belle is, in fact, a daughter of Long Fella out of the Jamuga mare Keka. Registered as Paxxie, she earned $4,381 and took a mark of p,2:03.1h at 3, racing at New York tracks. During her two-year career, she raced for New York residents Francis Raia, also her trainer, Keith Kreuzer and Andrew Scampini.

Belle was not a fast pacer, she remembered the gait well, preferiing the pace to the canter at first.

"We went on the trails with my friends. Everyone started cantering and Belle paced!" she exclaimed. "I didn’t know what she was doing, but I figured I could just kick her one time and she would go into a canter, (but) no, she paced faster!"

Sweger found help retraining Belle through Debbie Button and Tracy Winter-Kent of the Florida Standardbred Pleasure Horse Organization. She also used ideas from Retraining the Harness Racehorse by Robyn Cuffey. Today, Sweger and Belle regularly ride the trails, and participate in parades, team penning and hunter paces.

"Retraining Belle is one of the most rewarding horse experiences I’ve ever had. She is the most energetic, willing, intelligent mare I’ve ever had."

True converts to the Standardbred pleasure horse, Sweger and her husband found another Standardbred for a RK Moore, an unraced gelding by R K P out of the Mighty Phantom mare Carrie Spartan. Today, Sweger is the president of the Florida SPHO chapter.

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