Cover Story: From Harley to Marley Meg DePalma and New Partner – Don’t Think Twice
Click here to read the complete article
10 – May/June, 2021
By Brittany Bevis
For the past six years, we’ve grown used to watching Meg DePalma aboard her beautiful black gelding, Hotroddin Ona Harley, competing in Western All-Around classes to great success at events like the AQHA World Show, NSBA World Show, and Quarter Horse Congress. But after the recent sale of “Harley” to a fellow barn member, Robin Sowell, Meg was in need of a new partner. She seems to have found the perfect match in the 7-year-old mare, Don’t Think Twice, aka “Marley.”
“It was a requirement that Harley went to someone in the barn,” Meg says. “As much as my trainer, Clint Ainsworth, might not admit it, Harley is very much his favorite. He would always joke that I could leave the barn, but Harley never could! It’s ideal that we will get to keep Harley in the barn, and Robin is looking to continue her show career in Novice Select Western Riding and Trail. It’s perfect for everyone.”
Meg acquired her new partner at the conclusion of the AQHA World Show from Kent Ray Taylor. Coming from a partnership with a quirky horse that was very specific about his preference of riders, Meg was hoping she and Marley would be a good match. “I came from Harley, who was very particular about his people,” she says. “Marley’s trainer, Blake Weis, said she was also very particular and didn’t get along with everybody. I was able to try her out at the NSBA World Show, and we got along so well. We’ve really hit it off in Horsemanship, which makes me very excited, because I didn’t show in Horsemanship with Harley. I took a five-year hiatus from the Horsemanship pen, and I’m really trying to get back into Horsemanship shape.”
It seems Meg’s goal is certainly on track as she and Marley have won Amateur Horsemanship at the three shows they’ve attended this year: the Florida Winter circuit, Arizona Sun Circuit, and Georgia On My Mind. “We’re very much clicking on all cylinders,” Meg says.
