“We worked with an anxious and fearful horse to discover who he was and what he needed in order to be a confident and willing partner,” said Winona. “We had facilities to work through everything to find his comfort level, so that fear was replaced with trust.”
With help from her groom Courtney Palleson, Winona was able to help Onyx adjust to the farm and gain trust in them. They discovered that he was a horse that loves people, his training routine, consistency and to roll!
“When I was offered the opportunity to purchase him, I didn’t hesitate. I was convinced that he could take me to the Paralympics in 2020,” said Winona. “Onyx came home for a year and a half and during that time our bond deepened significantly. He also became incredibly fit and so he was even more ready in 2021.”
Winona Hartvikson & Onyx at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Photo Credit: Jon Stroud Media
For the first time in competition in the fall of 2019, Winona and Onyx appeared at the Tryon CPEDI 3*, placing second in the Team Classification and fourth in the Individual class. In January of 2020, this new partnership finished among the top five in all classes at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) in Wellington CPEDI 3*. Hartvikson recorded a personal best score of 75.856%, leading up to Tokyo 2020.
“I had competed him in Florida the second half of 2019 and early 2020 but I had to come home due to the pandemic,” said Winona. “I wasn’t able to get Onyx home until the end of August 2020, but once he was home, he really settled into the routine of training. Along with my Groom Courtney, we weathered the Winter and kept our sights on Tokyo.”
The 2020 Tokyo games had finally arrived at the end of August 2021 and without a crowd, Winona and Onyx were ready to wear the Maple Leaf and make their Paralympic Games debut. Winona and Onyx were successful in all three classes, placing in the top 10, including bringing home a seventh-place finish in the Team class.
With Tokyo 2020 in the rear-view mirror, Winona and Onyx are looking ahead for future competitions and continue to find success together. But for now, they are giving him some down time to enjoy just being a horse. “We’re bringing him home, pulling his shoes, turning him out in the field with the other horses,” said Winona. “Although long in years, he seems very useful in mind and body. So Clive Milkin’s suggestion of the WEG in Denmark might be a possibility.”