When she visited a livestock auction in December 2019, Kristen Spendlove’s plan was to sell tack that was no longer used at the therapeutic riding center where she worked as an instructor. However, fate intervened in the form of an Appaloosa with kind, soft eyes sticking his head out of a stall waiting to be auctioned.
“He was so friendly and so inquisitive. He was not bothered at all by being at an auction house,” Spendlove said of the horse who she would later name Hamilton. “He really stood out from the crowd because he wasn't shying away from humans. He would initiate interactions with anyone who was near him. Every trailer that pulled up with more horses, he would run to the side of a stall and look at them, and you could almost hear him saying, ‘You're going to be OK.’”
Spendlove said that her heart went out to the eye-catching gelding, as although the Southern California auction house didn’t sell to kill buyers, that didn’t mean he wasn’t at risk of being bought by a “flipper” who would then sell him into the slaughter pipeline.
Instead of leaving his fate uncertain, she took fast action and called a friend who lived nearby, gave her the horse’s lot number and photo, and told her: “This horse has to come home tonight.”
After being purchased for $625, Hamilton, then four years old, set off to start his new life with Spendlove. She immediately felt a spiritual bond with the special horse as he was bought on December 14, 2019, which was the birthday of her father, who has passed away the year before.
Spendlove later found out that Hamilton had bounced between five different owners and lived in three different states (Utah, Arizona, and California) from 2018 to 2019. Once at his new home, Spendlove said she learned that Hamilton was only broke to walk, trot, and “throw himself into the canter on the left lead.” She worked with her boss at the therapeutic riding center to teach him low-level dressage, and while it is not his favorite thing, Hamilton now “walks into the arena like he owns it.”
He also excelled at therapeutic riding and was taught hippotherapy. “When you put a kid on him, the worst he does is come off the rail,” Spendlove said, but when you put an advanced rider in his saddle, he meets the challenge.
“Hamilton works with one rider who has very limited vision,” said Emmeli Bruno, head trainer of Willow Equestrian Club at Portuguese Bend Riding Club in Palos Verdes, Calif., where Hamilton is now boarded. “When she rides him, you cannot tell she's visually impaired. Hamilton steps up when the rider needs him to fill the gaps and never lets the lesson be boring or overly easy.”
The adaptable gelding went on to be used as a trail horse and at Pony Club, before joining Bruno’s lesson program. She initially described him as “a complete giraffe, head straight in the air,” but after two months of training, he quickly transformed into a horse she wanted to put a student on.
Spendlove said the best part of her journey with Hamilton so far is that he always keeps her on her toes. “Every time we think we understand something, he makes a new adventure for us,” she said. “I just love seeing him blossom from this horse who was skinny, malnourished, and all over the place with his emotions, to a solid rock in our community.”
While most people assume Hamilton is named after the famous Lin-Manuel Miranda musical, his name was actually inspired by 1920s and ‘30s gangster John “Red” Hamilton, who was part of the Dillinger gang and became notorious for breaking out of jail.
“Hamilton can unlock gates, open doors, and break out of anything you put him in. He is very intelligent and you have to outthink him,” Spendlove explained. “I also thought the name was fitting since the auction is like a horse jail, and we broke him out of it.”
Spendlove is currently leasing Hamilton, now 10, out to one of Bruno’s teenage students, who recently returned to riding after tackling health issues.
The pair started with cross rails and Bruno said they knew instantly that jumping was something that he would like. “He was always willing and never hesitated,” she said. “He still had some problems with his leads, but together we have made him flourish and love his job, which has been so cool to see.
“I'm a horse advocate in my heart. I would never put a horse through something they don’t want to do, even if the rider wants to do it — I will be the voice of the horse,” she continued. “With Hamilton, his attitude was always like, ‘Alright, fun! Let's try this one.’”
Hamilton and his lessee both competed for the first time in May at the nearby Gold Coast Show and were placed fifth. By early June, they had progressed to the .60m and .70m jumpers and ended the weekend as champions in their division.
“They nailed it!” Bruno said proudly. “It was really cool for me to see as a trainer because they put a lot of work in and got the results.” What makes Hamilton so special is his eagerness and willingness in his approach overall, she explained, and he is now also learning how to stay mentally in the game.
Hamilton’s current rider is heading off to college soon, so Bruno is hoping to find another teen or adult amateur to lease him. “I really think he loves his job. I don't think he's ever going to be a high jumper; the .80m classes are going to be perfect for him when he gets there.” She thinks he will make the ideal mount for someone who is looking for a horse with a lot of character and is willing to keep on his journey.
“I think horseback riding is so much more than riding. It's an opportunity to learn all the things around horses and horsemanship, how to deal with your horse on the ground, and also how to develop and train a horse,” she said. “You get a different relationship with a horse if you have to take your time, be patient, and put in the work rather than getting a finished product.”
Having grown up in Sweden to non-horsey parents, Bruno had to learn to ride the horses no one else wanted to ride due to budget reasons. Even when she reached the higher levels of jumping, dressage, and eventing, “I always just rode whatever was available to me,” she said.
Her goal now is to make her barn welcoming and affordable to everyone, focusing on local shows, but also learning basic horsemanship and care.
“These kids are starting to understand the price of horses and the money involved,” Bruno said. “If you opt for rescuing a horse, you definitely have to look at it as a passion and a lifestyle. It's going to be a fulfilling life journey that fills your heart.”
For more information on Bruno’s training at Willow Equestrian Club, please follow her on Instagra @willowequestrianclub.