Monica Fiss Burdette's Utah Beach "Fitch" was the highest scoring horse at the 2020 FEH East Coast Championships on October 7.
Monica Fiss and Malibu Rock were invited to compete in the first ever $50,000 Devon Horse Show and Country Fair Arena Eventing on Sunday, May 28, 2017.
Tractor was bred and raised to race at Sylmar Farm owned by Ronnie and Betsy Houghton. He was bred by Shannon Houghton, out of their mare "Yanni's Girl" and by the stallion "Partner's Hero". Born in '09, Tractor was named by the grandson who adoringly called him "Tata". January 2013 I received a call from Shannon who said they were about to start racing Tractor, but she was pretty certain he did not want to become a race horse and would make a very nice event horse. As a 3 year old, Tractor would stand stock still in the paddock before the race with his head held low. The Houghtons’ 2 year old grandson would proceed to pet his forehead repeatedly. Needless to say, Tractor did not make it as a race horse finishing 6th or second to last in all 3 races. I took him and began his retraining in early 2013.
Tractor was very cooperative and easy going in his retraining and I could tell he was going to be a very nice horse. He took very naturally to jumping and seemed to enjoy it.
Monica and Rita Riedlbauer's Malibu Rock competed in their first International Event on Friday and Saturday, July 15-16, at the Maryland Horse Trials at Loch Moy CIC*.
Read more: Malibu Rock's first International FEI competition
The racetrack was not the place for this sweet Thoroughbred gelding, fighting to come in second-to-last in his best race. Flying over open hills and jumps, that’s what this athlete was clearly born to do.
“When I started with Tractor, he was so great, so collected, which is not typical for an off-the-track Thoroughbred,” said owner Monica Fiss, who bought him from the breeder two years ago. “He took to jumping like a natural.”
