The 11-year-old Off-The-Track Thoroughbred, Wimpy Kid, has a funny name and he came to be Lauren Salgueiro’s horse by unusual circumstances.
But that’s not the most interesting part of their story, Lauren says. It’s their journey from unruly, obstinate horse to thriving partner of a busy DIY-amateur eventer, business owner and mother.
In the Eventing Championships at Galway Downs, Lauren and Wimpy finished mid-pack, 22nd in the highly competitive 41-horse Pro Series Equine CCI2*-L field. The solid finish marked another high point in a partnership that started off low.
Lauren arranged to lease Wimpy sight-unseen off a Facebook post that described him as a “Preliminary seeing eye dog.” She followed the comments about him, asked questions and wound up arranging to have him sent from Ocala, Florida, to California, for a six-month lease. This was in December of 2021.
“We he arrived at the farm, he was a really angry type of horse,” says Lauren. “He was weird about not wanting to hack off the property and he had a nice rear and spin. He was kicked out of every blanketing service available and was never good about being handled.”
Prior to Wimpy, Lauren had developed four other OTTBs, bringing them as young horses up to Training level successes.
Lauren had ridden a little as a kid, then got more seriously into the sport about 10 years ago. Her path into eventing was led by professional Olivia Loiacono-Putrino, who started Lauren on her 2011 Rolex Kentucky 4* partner, Subway. “I was a totally green eventer riding a Ferrari,” Lauren recalls with a laugh. “It could have gone poorly, but we moved up to Training Level together.”
The experience whet Lauren’s appetite for the higher levels. “I was itching to do the 2* after walking a course with Olivia. I knew I wanted to do the upper levels, but the horses I had developed never quite had the step for it.”
Hence the search that resulted in Wimpy’s arrival.
When it quickly became clear that Wimpy was not as advertised, Lauren arranged for a thorough veterinary exam to rule out physical causes of his grumpy behavior. He received a clean bill of health, so Lauren set about the patient task of working through his issues.
As Wimpy’s six-month lease neared its end, Lauren asked to negotiate a new arrangement based on the horse’s temperament and behavior. That’s when she was told she could just keep the horse.
Having paid his bills and provided his care and training since his arrival, Lauren considers him her “adopted child.” She worked out the paperwork necessary to campaign him under USEF jurisdiction and has been doing so successfully.
“He is this naughty, angry horse that nobody wanted,” Lauren shares. “I’ve never had a horse like him. I’ve started and trained the other ones.” She suspects there was distrust stemming from harsh training methods in Wimpy’s past. “It’s been all about the relationship I’ve made with him. I’m always there for him. I’m not amping him up and I’ve been able to take the nervousness out of everything. You wouldn’t know it from how brave and bold he is on cross-country, but he is otherwise the most insecure animal. He spooks at everything.”
Going back to his early months at Kings Way Farm, where Lauren boards him, Wimpy did not want to leave the property. “I don’t know if he’d only been ridden in an arena, but whenever I tried to walk him off the property, he was literally running backwards.” It took about four months to get off property, to hack him out in the trails and hills surrounding Kings Way and across the street from Galway Downs.
Lauren and Wimpy now cross Los Corralitos Road to work with Galway Downs-based Erin Kellerhouse. They take dressage lessons with Jo Moran, who comes to Kings Way. Wimpy’s overall program, however, is all designed by Lauren, both the planning and the day-to-day work.
“I’m at the barn 7 days a week. I do the galloping work, the fitness work, the flat and the jumping. At shows, I do the grooming, the hauling, the braiding.” In short, she’s a one-person crew for Wimpy. “I think by my show results, people can see the level of work that’s gone into him.” He may never be a “snugly horse,” Lauren acknowledges. “But he really likes me now.”
Lauren lives in Fallbrook, where she operates a dog boarding business from home while raising a daughter, who also rides. It’s a 30-minute drive each way to the barn, where she cares for Wimpy and a now 4-year-old homebred mare who shares a pasture with Wimpy. Lauren thinks that full-time outdoor living is a key to Wimpy becoming calmer and more trainable.
Lauren and Wimpy won the Training Amateur division at Galway Downs International in 2021. Just a year later, they fulfilled their upper-level ambition with a CCI2*-L at the same event, finishing 5th, to boot! A pasture accident and hip injury interrupted Wimpy’s show and conditioning schedule this year, but his return at the Eventing Championships in November saw him right where he’d left off. Their 37.3 dressage score and fault-free cross country had Lauren and Wimpy sitting 15th after cross-country. Four show jumping rails knocked them down, but Lauren remains thrilled with their progress.
“I think he has endless potential,” she says. “My goal was always to do the 2*-L and now I am toying the idea of going above that. It was so easy for him!” With Lauren’s busy life, maintaining an upper-level eventing pursuit hasn’t been easy. But it has been more than rewarding.