“This is the First Horse That I’ve Done From Start to Finish, Sober.”
Lee Paul was understandably emotional as he exited the pen following his win this evening at the NSBA World Show.
By: Brittany Bevis
It’s been a “very busy, but very good day” at the NSBA World Show for Lee Paul Shinn as he was able to accomplish a milestone that touches him so deeply that it brings tears to his eyes. The first call he made when he exited the pen this evening with Metallic Iron after winning the Junior Hunter Hack was to his good friend, Sandy Vaughn, who knows firsthand the difficult road he’s had to travel to get to this point.
“Long story short is that 13 years ago, I wasn’t supposed to live,” he says. “I was in drug rehab. They gave me a 5% chance of making it, because I was so bad. I was using seven different drugs, and I was an ounce of meth a week user. I was a $20,000 a month user for a year in a half. I was 82 pounds, and I hadn’t slept in 19 days.”
“Now, I’ve been sober for 13 years. I’ve helped a lot of kids. In fact, we won at this show with a kid, but this is the first horse that I have done from beginning to end, sober.”
As Shinn exited the pen, loaded down with his giant golden trophy, neck ribbon, belt buckle, commemorative rug, and other assorted prizes, he was very emotional and almost relieved at the turn of events. Although a win on a World Show stage is certainly admirable, and what all equestrians strive for, it pales in comparison to the hard fought battle that Shinn has waged over the past 13 long years, and the small victories earned every day as a recovering addict.
“I was in Texas when I got sober, and I wasn’t going to show horses any more. But, then I started doing Three-Day Eventing horses. Andy Moorman got me to move to Florida ten years ago. When you start all over at 40 years old, it’s special.”
Joining Shinn on this special journey is the 4-year-old stallion named Metallic Iron, aka “Randy,” who’s owned by Chester and Ann Prince. “It’s a real weird story how I ended up with him. The owners sent me a video, and I was showing it to somebody at the World Show. He’d maybe been ridden 30 days. Ann saw it. She and Chester bought him, and he’s been at my house ever since.”
“We originally bought him as a Hunter Under Saddle horse, and he just wasn’t strong and mature enough yet. Then, I started showing him in Pleasure Driving. He’s leading the nation right now in Junior Pleasure Driving. He’s qualified in five or six events at the World Show in just three horse shows. He was the High Point Junior Horse at the Big A and the High Point Horse at the Lucky Seven Classic. He’s a pretty special horse.”
“The horses are what have kept me sober.”
