Tilly is a registered Drum horse

Tilly is registered with the International Drum Horse Association. Her registered name is FVA's Grand Design but we call her Tilly (Tilly Tilly Silly Filly) around our barn. This young mare has just been a joy to have in our family. She came to us in 2013 as a 4 month old orphan and just captured our hearts. We got her from Farview Acres in Muskegon on September 22, 2013 - she was born on May 2, 2013. Her mother happened to be Olivia's mother, Wolf Mound's Megan, and when we got the notice that Megan had suddenly passed away, orphaning her baby, we knew we had to somehow bring the baby to be with her sister. We borrowed a little mini gelding, Peanut, from our wonderful neighbors to teach Tilly "the ways of the horse" before she was big enough to go in with the big kids.

Here are some pictures of Tilly when we first met her at Farview Acres up until the day we brought her home to our farm.

Here are some fun baby pictures of Tilly the first month we had her. Isn't she just the cutest?

So many baby pictures!!!

I have so many baby pictures of this little cutie pie, it's going to be hard to narrow them down. Here's a start

Training

We believe that training can start at day one - not intense training but teaching about the human world is an ever evolving process in working with young horses. Tilly was exposed to so many things from the day she arrived on our farm - from a barn being built to lots of walks around the property and down the road. Here are some shots of her training progression. We firmly believe in encouraging curiosity and expression as long as it's safe for both horse and human.

Baby steps to first horse show

Tilly has proven to be the most willing horse Jane has ever worked with. She accepted all the crazy stuff Jane threw at her and excelled beyond expectation. From ground driving to wearing full harness to hooking to the cart for the first time to trailering to her first trail to her first ride - so accepting and happy. Her first horse show was a local casual show the summer after she turned three years old and she behaved as if she had been showing for years.

Horse Shows

Tilly was started lightly under saddle and in the cart late in 2016. Jane showed her at her first horse show in hand at halter classes just to expose her to show environment and then did a local schooling dressage show with her - walk/trot. We then took the long trip to Danville, IN in September to the Heartland Fall Classic for her first official breed show. Tilly was a rock star and exceeded all our expectation in every discipline. I entered her at the last minute in a very large trail in hand class and she came in 2nd out of over 30 horses! What an amazing partner she is turning out to be.

International Drum Horse Association High Point Performance Winner 2016

I sent in Tilly’s show results from 2016 to the IDHA not expecting anything but to have them put in her file. I was shocked when I got the announcement that she had won the end of year High Point Performance award nation wide!!! How exciting is that? Wow!!

2017 Horse Shows

There are lots of pictures of this season of showing. Tilly handled everything I threw at her. I went outside my comfort zone and introduced western riding to her even though I don’t have much experience in that area. No problem! We went to quite a few local shows to show in halter and walk/trot classes. We then headed to a lovely breed show in Centreville, MI where Tilly got to debut her drums and we gave a short drumming demonstration. She also entered her first obstacle driving class and handled that like a champ. We attended the Blue Ribbon Driving Show in Williamston, MI where I had to drive her in an unfenced field for the first time - eeek - but she was a good girl. We ended the summer in Danville, IN again at the Heartland Fall Classic. It was a really HOT weekend with temperatures in the upper 90’s but Tilly didn’t let that phase her. She came away with lots of ribbons and the Supreme Drum championship again. What a horse!

Internation Drum Horse Association High Point Performance Award 2017

I was shocked and honored that Tilly won the IDHA’s end of year High Point award again for the second year in a row! This horse is one in a million!

Tilly 2018

Tilly had a wonderful show season this year. We went to quite a few local casual shows but also showed at some bigger breed shows where Tilly shined. She was awarded High Point Drum Champion at Centreville, Ashland OH and Midland as well as finishing as the IDHA’s High Point Show winner again this year. I am incredibly proud of this young mare in the show ring. Not to stop there, she also starting driving as a pair with her sister Olivia with no muss, no fuss.

International Drum Horse Association High Point Show Winner 2018

To my surprise and delight, Tilly won the IDHA’s end of the year High Point Show award for the third year in a row! Pinch me! :)

2019 Show season

Tilly and I embarked on a new venture this year - Western Dressage. She took to this like she has taken to everything else - a rock star! We showed at a lovely facility in Williamston, MI - Wyn Farm - and Tilly won Champion and Reserve Champion at a few of their shows. She also ended up in 5th place overall at the end of the year of Wyn Shows. We also competed in a few driving shows during the summer as well as a Drum breed show in Centreville, MI. To end our season, we took Tilly and Olivia to the National Drive in Indiana - what a lovely end to a rewarding summer.