The Culmination of a Long, Tough Journey: Michala Suter and Hastys Only Escape

By: Brittany Bevis

For Michala Suter of Ruffsdale, Pennsylvania and her beloved horse “Teapot,” the past three years have been an unimaginable roller coaster ride of ups and downs. Together, their endured the loss of Michala’s best friend in a devastating car accident, numerous bouts of colic, major colic surgery, recurring abscesses, a leg injury, and a slow rehabilitation process.

However, there is a bright light at the end of this tunnel. The culmination of this pair’s long journey will reach a high note when they travel to the 2013 All American Quarter Horse Congress next week to compete in Novice Youth Hunter Under Saddle, Novice Youth Showmanship, 15-18 Hunter Under Saddle, and NYATT Showmanship.

Although Michala’s family, friends, and supporters hope the event will be a successful one for the team, her horse trainer, Samantha Beal, will simply be glad to watch them walk into the pen together. Beal put it best in her own words: “They saved each other.”

Michala purchased Hastys Only Escape, aka “Teapot,” in August of 201o. The 2007 bay mare by The Only Escape had a promising future as a youngster and was even entered in the Equine Chronicle Congress Masters class in 2009. However, she never made it to the pen.

“Teapot was an un-shown green horse, but [she had] a ton of talent,” Beal says. “Little did we know it was fate they were meant to have each other. Shortly after buying Teapot, we kept having problems with abcesses. It set us back a few months. Also during this time, she would routinely colic. We didn’t understand but always managed to make her better. However, the colic episodes set us back even more. This was becoming discouraging to Michala.”

“However, she never gave up on Teapot. Then in November, Michala got the worse news a teenager could get. Her best friend from childhood had been killed in an auto accident. This left Michala heartbroken, and again [there was] a setback. The only thing that kept Michala going after losing her best friend was Teapot. Teapot saved her during that time of her life. She was her therapy.”

After Michala weathered that first storm with Teapot by her side, the mare had another serious colic episode in December 2010 and was rushed into surgery.

“We rushed her to the vet, and they did IV therapy,” Beal says. “It seemed to work. Teapot came back home a couple days later. But again, it was another setback. The New Year came, and it was hard. [There were] many ups and downs. Teapot was still having some problems.”

The New Year came and went and it looked like the 2012 show season would be the year for Teapot and Michala to shine. However, those feelings of hope, promise, and expectation were dashed in March of 2012.

“I thought for sure it would be their year,” she says. “That feeling came to a quick halt. In March of 2012, we went to the Spring Breakout in Lexington, VA. Michala and Teapot had a pretty good start to the show season placing high in Showmanship and Hunter Under Saddle. On the Tuesday after the horse show, I found Teapot in severe pain colicking in her stall. This time was worse than any others. We could hardly get her to walk. Once again, we rushed her to the animal hospital where she went into surgery.”

“The surgery went well, and Teapot seemed to be doing great. Again, [it was] another setback. We took her home and watched her for the next few days. Everything seemed to be going well. She could only have small amounts of hay, so she was quickly losing weight.”

In April of 2012, just a few weeks after surgery, Teapot relapsed and was once again in severe pain. This time, Michala was out of town, so Beal sought the advice of her client’s mother in order to make a very difficult decision.

“I called her mom, Cindy, and told her we needed to make a decision,” she says. “This mare couldn’t keep suffering. Cindy said that Teapot saved Michala when she lost her best friend, so we needed to try and save her. So we did. After this episode, it clicked that [the recurring colic episodes] could be from her heat cycles. We talked with the vet about using Regu-Mate. We all agreed it couldn’t hurt to try, so we did.”

The weeks turned into months and, although the regimen of Regu-Mate seemed to be helping, Teapot wasn’t gaining weight. Beal says the mare was literally skin and bones, and she had grown a thick, dull, hair coat. She resembled no part of the horse they’d fallen in love with just a year ago.

“We obviously couldn’t ride her, so [there was] another setback,” Beal says. “Around the end of July of 2012, we got the ok to begin light riding. Teapot rode as if she never lost time. We were excited! Again, it would be short lived. Teapot got spooked while in the crossties and ended up hurting her leg. This put her back another two weeks.”

In the fall of 2012, Michala and Teapot were able to attend their first horse show in some time. Although the pair’s initial performance wasn’t quite as polished as it used to be, they did receive commendation from the judge, which gave a much-needed moral boost.

“The judge came up and said Michala had a nice horse; she just needs to slow down a little more,” Beal says. “We didn’t care. We were happy she was there!”

“Michala set goals in the winter of 2012 for her and Teapot in 2013. They came back to the show pen in March in Lexington, VA. She’s never looked back. They have a special angel with them. It hasn’t been a perfect year, but it’s been the best yet. She will compete at the Congress in Novice Youth Hunter Under Saddle, Novice Youth Showmanship, 15-18 Hunter Under Saddle, and NYATT Showmanship. Michala also pointed out of Showmanship and Hunter Under Saddle this year. This is a kid who has to work to help support her horse and her showing. She deserves a chance to [have] her story told. They saved each other.”

We would like to wish Michala Suter, Hastys Only Escape, and Samantha Beal the very best at the upcoming 2013 Quarter Horse Congress.