The old saying, "everyone deserves a second chance" does not just apply to people for Meagan DeLisle. She believes Thoroughbred race horses also deserve a second chance once their race careers end.
DeLisle was one of 15 from Missouri chosen to participate in the Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky.
The Makeover is to showcase the trainability and talent of off-track Thoroughbreds.
The competition is intended to inspire good trainers to become involved in transitioning these horses to second careers.
The National Symposium serves to educate the people involved in the care, training and sale of these horses to responsible owners.
As a Dexter native, DeLisle is the only accepted trainer from the bootheel area of Missouri while the others reside in St. Louis, Columbia and Kansas City.
From an area of predominately western riding, rodeo, trail riding and some breed shows individuals, DeLisle is one of very few people who ride English south of Cape Girardeau, Mo.
"I am really excited to shed some light on the fact that Southeast Missouri does have competitive English riders," she said. "I hope that one day I can help others make the difference to compete in the Hunter Jumper industry."
Much like other riders from the area, DeLisle began riding western. At 18-years-old, she made the switch and began riding English and competing with Southeast Missouri State University's Intercollegiate Horse Show Association team.
"I fell in love with the idea of jumping immediately," she said. "I did everything I could to make up for the 18 years I lacked compared to my competition."
To achieve her goal of competing on a personal level, she saved and purchased her first show horse.
"After college, I had to take two years out of the saddle due to life and finances, but one day my husband told me it was time I go back," DeLisle said. "I came back, bought Joey and started the retraining process."
G.I. Joe, AKA Joey, was first purchased by DeLisle's trainer, Cassie Zimmerman of Fox Run Stables, from Amy Lynn Paulus of Changing Saddles, LLC.
DeLisle said she fell in love with the off-track Thoroughbred and how easy Paulus was to work with.
With the lack of money to invest in a show horse, retraining, with the help of a trainer, was the best option for DeLisle.
While she described the task as "challenging," she added she was thankful for every minute of it.
"I have big dreams, too big probably, but I am not a quitter," she said. "While most of my competition has been jumping since they were small kids, I think I make up for what I lack in experience in determination!"
On top of her full time job at Tyson Foods in Dexter and retraining Flash for the Makeover, DeLisle is also the Assistant Editor of Jumper Nation, an online equestrian news source.
The desire to compete in the Makeover came last year when DeLisle was documenting ten rider's journey to the competition on Jumper Nation's sister site, Horse Nation.
"I was so inspired by the ten different riders and the varying personalities, strengths and struggles they had with their Makeover mounts," she said. "I knew then that I wanted to participate this year."
The extensive application process to be accepted for the Makeover began last October when DeLisle provided three references, a video of her riding and training and her competition history.
After four months of waiting, she received the news she would be traveling to Kentucky in eight months as an accepted trainer for the Makeover with her horse, Flash.
Flashback Justice, AKA Flash, was another "Paulus Pony" DeLisle came across after searching for two years and dreaming of buying her next off-track Thoroughbred.
"I found Flash the same day that we (DeLisle and her husband) agreed I could buy another horse," she said. "I bought him within 30 minutes of Amy posting him."
Describing Flash as very different from Joey, DeLisle wanted to target a youth show horse and believed Flash would fit that mold.
"Buying a horse that is safe for kids to jump around on can be tricky, they have to have the right personality," she said. "Amy was very honest with me and knew what I was shopping for and told me that Flash would be exactly what I needed."
During the retraining process, DeLisle said she does not have a set schedule for her horse.
Deadlines can sometimes put pressure on the horse to meet a goal in a time they can't mentally or physically handle, so DeLisle said they will take things at Flash's pace with little pushes every so often to step out of his comfort zone.
By the end of March, she hopes to take Flash to his first show in Memphis, Tenn., to allow him to experience the show environment.
"He will travel a lot, even if he isn't showing, he will go with Joey and I so he can see the world and adjust to going new places," DeLisle said. "Once he is confident with the things I have tasked him with, we will work on them until he is consistent and happy."
Starting slow and simple, the last several months have been spent working on learning to walk, trot and canter around the ring.
Flash will be competing in the show jumper discipline category at the Makeover, which requires the horse to demonstrate basic flatwork transitions, a small gymnastics course and jumping round.
"Retraining racehorses can be as simple or difficult as you want to make it," she said. "These horses are already saddle broke when they come off the track, but they are taught much differently than normal riding horses."
Due to Flash's "willing to please personality," DeLisle said he has been much easier to work with opposed to Joey, who she credits for teaching and bringing her further along than she imagined.
At the Makeover, Flash will compete in the preliminaries against the other horses and trainers accepted. The top five are then called back for the final in each discipline for the grand finale.
DeLisle and Flash have the opportunity to compete in a second discipline in addition to show jumping to become more well rounded, but DeLisle has yet to decide on the discipline type. She is leaning toward either competitive trail or field hunting.
As a way to find homes for retired racehorses, trainers have the opportunity to list their horses for sale during the Makeover.
"Potential buyers come from all over the country to look for their new horse," DeLisle said. "There are ten different disciplines offered at the Makeover, so there is truly a horse for everyone!"
Flash is a resale project so after the show he will be for sale at the competition as well as listed online.
While DeLisle's goal is to be successful at the Makeover, she most of all wants to see all the hard work pay off with clean, clear rounds and a happy Flash.
"I want people to see him jumping around and say, 'that's a horse that loves his job,' and moms to think that is a horse they can trust their kids on," she said. "I want to go in and have fun and to come out with a smile on my face."
DeLisle feels the Makeover project is important because she is passionate about off-track Thoroughbreds and each big moment of her riding career has come on the back of a Thoroughbred, a breed she said has done so much for her.
"When I rode with George Morris, former US Equestrian Olympic coach, it was on the back of a Thoroughbred named Point South," she said. "When I first jumped three feet, it was on the back of my Thoroughbred, Joey."
The Makeover also gives the breed of horse, which is sometimes written off after their race career, another chance.
"These horses deserve second careers after racing," she said. "They are athletes, they want a job. Too many people turn up their nose at Thoroughbreds, but I want to do my part to share how amazing they are."