When Mary Kate Fahy decided to bring home Ruby Slipperz, a then-3-year-old, green broke, Half-Arabian mare, she thought she was taking on a resale project.

“I had a coming 2-year-old and a coming 3-year-old in the pipeline, but nothing to ride over the winter,” said Fahy. “So, I went searching for a project, and I found Ruby and bought her. I drove 10 hours to Ohio in the middle of winter to pick her up. She had been lightly started as a 3-year-old, then turned out for the winter. She looked like a hairy, gangly, teenage wooly mammoth. It was about 20 degrees out, and she didn’t want to get on the trailer. And I was like, ‘What am I doing here?’”

Nevertheless, in March of 2025, Ruby came home to Pennsylvania with Fahy, and once she’d had some time to settle in, the next step was to bring her back into work after her winter break. Fahy said there was a learning curve in the beginning as she and her now 4-year-old mare got to know each other.

“Within the first few weeks, I remember reaching out to the trainer that started her and saying, ‘Does this mare, A.) know anything, and B.) have a decent attitude, because I can’t get her to do anything,’” Fahy said. “She said, ‘Well, I never had any of those issues with her.’ So I figured out that maybe what they did and what I was doing were just different programming, and we needed to go back to the beginning and make sure we were speaking the same language.”

That shift in perspective was a breakthrough for the pair’s partnership.

“Once we had more of a solid foundation, it wasn’t hard. She’s a very willing participant when she understands the assignment,” Fahy said. “After the first month or two, her personality really started to become apparent. She’s a super sweet mare. She has a great work ethic; she’s such a trier.”

Just six months after their partnership began, the pair is now competing at training level and first level dressage as well as level 1 western dressage at the 2025 Arabian and Half-Arabian Sport Horse National Championships. That hadn’t originally been the plan when Fahy made the decision to purchase Ruby based on just photos, some video of her in-hand, and her pedigree, which she admits was a bit of a risk. But Fahy’s knowledge of and experience with young horses — particularly Half-Arabian sport horses — served her well.

“Her sire is Lotus T, a Holsteiner jumping stallion who’s about 17 hands. Her mother [BKR Bey Shahmina] is a Crabbet-bred endurance mare,” she said. “I think in looks she kind of favors the Crabbet Arabian, but her gaits are a little more warmblood-y, just in a compact package. I liked her breeding and I thought she had good conformation. Based on the minimal footage I had seen of her, I thought she was probably going to be a pretty good mover. It was a gamble, but all of those things turned out to be true. She’s really balanced and compact. She has really lovely gaits and of course, a really great brain.”

From Ruby’s good breeding and Fahy’s thoughtful care and training, a stunning young sport horse has emerged. She has a typey, athletic conformation and a bright chestnut coat with a wide blaze and white stockings that seem designed for the spotlight. She has a mind to match her outer beauty.

“She’s been really straightforward to bring along,” said Fahy. “She’s a super reliable 4-year-old, and I really appreciate that about her. At horse shows and new environments, she gives you a very safe, reliable feeling that not many 4-year-olds offer.”

The pair’s first outings were to local dressage shows where they competed at intro and training level, and very quickly earned scores in the 70s. They went on to have winning rides at regional Arabian shows. Their good results — along with some encouragement from Fahy’s trainers and friends — moved Sport Horse Nationals from a remote possibility to a real goal.

“When I take on project horses, I usually buy them in late fall, and I tend to keep them for a show season,” said Fahy. “I got her so late in the game that I thought Nationals would really be a stretch for her. But she’s just been so agreeable to bring along that it started to seem super realistic.”

Fahy worked as a professional trainer and riding instructor for several years after she graduated from college, later changing career paths (she’s now a full-time nurse) and getting her amateur status reinstated. But her love of horses and equestrian sports remains as strong as ever.

“I want to keep all of them,” Fahy said of the horses she’s taken on as resale projects over the years. “But the sport is expensive, and this is how I can afford to participate in it at this level. It’s how I sustain my hobby. I’m super picky about the horses I buy as far as their temperament, and so a lot of times I’m able to sell them to other amateurs or to kids and then watch them be successful with another rider, and I really enjoy that.”

That was originally the plan for Ruby when Fahy first picked her up from that field in Ohio. But plans can change.

“Over time, I was like, ‘Wow, this mare is so agreeable. She’s so willing, and I am really enjoying her,’” said Fahy. “She’s never done anything that’s made me nervous or uncomfortable, and for a young horse, I really have a good level of trust with her. On the flip side, I’ve had horses that are the opposite of that, and that’s made me appreciate her so much more. I look forward to riding her, even on her worst day. She’s just a good mare.”

As a rising star in the show ring, Ruby is entitled to a few diva-style traits in her personality. For example, she is friendly and affectionate with just about any human, but when it comes to horses, she’s a girls’ girl.

“She has her horses that she likes. She’s adopted my 2-year-old filly as her baby,” said Fahy. “That’s her horse, and they’re super cute and very sweet together. But she is very opinionated about the gelding. In general, she likes mares, and she really doesn’t like geldings.”

Ruby loves her turnout time, but she isn’t the type of horse to roll in the dirt. She keeps her gleaming chestnut coat clean and enjoys her regular bathing schedule. She also takes her beauty rest very seriously.

“She’s a serial napper. She naps about three times a day,” said Fahy. “And she’s the type who will let you come into her stall and cuddle with her. She’ll rest her head on you.”