From Pasture Plug to
Champion
The True Story of Kendall, Ravi,
and the Power of Speaking Horse
by Yvonne Evans Morrison
with Kendall Morrison
Ravi’s Goin’ Gold!
The True Story of Kendall, Her Palomino, and the Power of Speaking Horse
An anxious, socially awkward teen and a nervous, untrained horse are a match made in Hell, but natural horsemanship or “horse speak” changes that. Learning how horses think and communicate, Kendall calms her feisty horse Ravi, and riding him quiets her mind, transforming her ADHD into a superpower of focus and patience as she trains him to be a champion on her quest to compete at the Palomino Youth World Show.
Ravi’s Going Gold: The True Story of Kendall, Her Palomino, and the Power of Speaking Horse details the journey of ultimate underdogs as they struggle to fit into and succeed in the highly competitive sport of horse showing, becoming champions against all odds.
Book Summary
When Kendall’s first horse is injured and has to be retired due to bad decisions by adults, she gets a second chance at her dream of being a horse owner and champion rider when a family friend gives her an untrained Palomino, promising to pay his expenses until her parents can take over. Her parents are hesitant to accept the horse since they are struggling financially. But, with assurances from the friend that she’ll continue to pay and knowing the gift will help ease their daughter’s pain from being bullied, they let her have the horse. Kendall names him Ravi’s Goin’ Gold.
The friend sends Ravi to a trainer who begins teaching him and Kendall the basics of Natural Horsemanship or “horse speak,” which demonstrates how horses think and how they communicate with each other through subtle body language. Kendall and Ravi begin to form a deep bond as she learns to consider why Ravi’s thinks and reacts the way he does and how to communicate with him using body language. She learns how to desensitize and train him using the natural horsemanship method called Downunder Horsemanship. Over the next few months, Kendall watches the little horse she loves go from a frightened youngster to a more confident horse that she can now ride.
Just four months after giving Ravi to Kendall, the friend pulls the rug out from under the 13-year-old when she tells Kendall that she can no longer pay the horse’s expenses. Kendall’s parents, who can’t afford a trainer and are desperately trying to keep their two businesses afloat, reluctantly tell their daughter to find a new home for Ravi.
Watch the Inspiration Behind the Book
From the Book:
Kendall’s parents were watching her work with Ravi in the round pen one cold December day. Kendall stopped Ravi and invited him to approach her. He walked slowly toward her and stopped when he could touch his muzzle to her right arm resting by her side. She lightly touched the top of his head and he lowered it, resting his cheek against her leg. She put her arm over his neck and rubbed it gently, pressing her face against his warm shoulder.
“You don’t love that horse, do you?” her dad asked playfully. Kendall nodded and smiled.
“Yeah, I love him! I feel an imaginary tether attached from my heart to his,” she said as she tried to explain the relationship she and Ravi were creating together. “It’s like I’m inside his brain and he’s in mine. I longe him and work on my body language, and I can draw him close to me because he wants to be with me. I can feel him letting me into his head and his heart, and he trusts me now.”
Kendall was experiencing, and her parents were witnessing, the pure love that can exist between an animal and a person they trust. Kendall knew she had a best friend who would never judge her and who was honest in his expressions of love and acceptance. Ravi’s training continued, and they grew closer.
Watch this video to learn more about Kendall and Ravi’s relationship and the incredible bond they have with each other.
Also From the Book
When Kendall took over Ravi’s training in April of 2012, several trainers in the area made discouraging and hurtful comments to her.
“Kendall, that horse is nothing but a pasture plug,” said Joseph, who was the trainer at the neighboring farm. “You need to get rid of him and get a better horse. You’re not going to win with him.”
“Maybe not, and that’s okay,” replied Kendall. “We’ll do the best we can.”
Other trainers told her that Ravi was too small and wouldn’t be able to compete with larger more well-bred horses. They said his ears were too big and made him look like a mule. They told her his legs were too short, his neck was too long, and his head was too big for his body. His hips were higher than his withers, and people said he was lopsided.
They told her she was too young to train a horse and couldn’t do it by herself. Most were not trying to be hurtful and were giving her their best advice. After all, most backyard-bred horses like Ravi who don’t have champions in their bloodline or a professional trainer do not turn out to be great show horses.
Kendall considered what they said. She loved Ravi and believed that her little horse could show as well as any other. She acknowledged that Ravi was somewhat small for a Western Pleasure horse and very small when compared to tall English Pleasure horses. Still, Kendall set out to prove the trainers who doubted him were wrong about Ravi.