Whidbey horse rider joins renowned club

A horse rider from Oak Harbor is trotting her way into a small yet nationally known group of seasoned riders.

On Aug. 10, 74-year-old Pat Lamont and her 28-year-old horse Merit will be inducted into the Dressage Foundation’s Century Club, a group that recognizes senior dressage riders and horses with a combined age of 100 years or more.

According to the Dressage Foundation, “dressage” comes from a French word meaning “to train,” and is a competitive sport practiced by people of different ages and skill levels, including Olympic athletes. In a dressage performance, the rider demonstrates the horse’s obedience and agility through a series of choreographed movements performed to the sound of music.

Lamont will perform on Aug. 10 at the Whidbey Equestrian Center near Coupeville and will be part of a series of equestrian performances that will take place Aug. 9-10. She will then receive a Century Club ribbon and a wall plaque.

Her and Merit’s performance will consist of moving in circles, straight lines and serpentines and moving at different paces, which include walking, trotting and cantering.

Lamont will also wear the traditional dressage outfit, consisting of white breeches, a white shirt, a black coat, a stock tie, a hard hat and gloves, while Merit’s forelock — or the hair between his ears that falls on his face — will be braided.

After a lifetime of riding and caring for her horses, being able to finally join the club is a great honor for her.

Lamont has been doing dressage for about 20 years, quitting six years ago because she was “getting too old” to compete and her horse had just passed away.

She eventually realized that she missed horse riding way too much to move on, which led her to Merit, her friendly teammate, whom she adopted five years ago from a friend.

Merit, a Norwegian fjord horse, was the perfect fit for her — shorter than her previous horses but strong enough to carry an adult for extended periods of time.

“I wanted something that was a little bit safer and closer to the ground at my age,” Lamont said. “He takes good care of me on the trails, he goes wherever I point him, and he does whatever I tell him to do most of the time.”

Merit used to compete as a fill-in for larger horses in three-day long competitions consisting of dressage, cross-country riding and stadium jumping, Lamont said. Due to his advancing age, he can only compete in dressage, though he can still jump over the occasional log on a trail ride and gallop down the beach at low tide.

Norwegian fjords usually stay healthy until they’re 30, and can live up to 35 years, Lamont said. Lamont also has experience in three-day competitions, specializing in dressage as she got older. She has seen enough people get seriously hurt during competitions to realize it was time to leave competitive running and jumping behind.

Lamont started riding horses at 8, later competing in trail riding, crossing 25 to 50 miles a day through different kinds of terrain. Her 66-year-old love for horse riding runs in her blood.

Her great-grandfather was Master of Foxhounds in New York, managing fox hunts and leading the chase on horseback, while her father raised thoroughbreds, known for their agility and speed, and Percherons, known for their strength and being the fourth largest horse breed.

Her uncle rode until he was 85 and his horse was 30 and competed until he was in his 60s, while her cousin, Cindy Rawson, used to be a member of the United States Equestrian Team and is still competing in Florida.

After the passing of her husband, Lamont and her son are the last members of her immediate family to ride horses. Over time, she said, owning a horse has become more expensive, with fewer people being able to afford this hobby.

As they aged and rode together, joining the Century Club looked more and more like a concrete possibility to Lamont, who picked back up her dressage training.

The duo already met requirements to join last year, as Merit was 27 and Lamont was 73. Unfortunately, however, Lamont’s husband became ill and passed away in January.

Despite the loss, Lamont did not give up on her goal, continuing to practice dressage and riding on the trails almost every day.

Her instructor, Lisa Weis, said joining the club is a significant accomplishment as there are not many people in it, and is a challenge that requires a lot of dedication, practice and determination.

According to a press release from the foundation, the club counts more than 740 members nationwide.

“You gotta work hard to get to this point,” Lamont said.