EC Amateur Profile – Sarah Nimigan

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180 – November/December, 2017

by MEGAN ULRICH

At the age of 16, the biggest decision facing most couples is whether to splurge for a giant chocolate heart in February, or, if things are serious, whether to exchange class rings. But in 1972, a smitten Canadian couple, Mark and Joanne, made a much more unique purchase – a horse. The pair would eventually marry and, little did they know, pass on their passion for everything equine to their daughter, Sarah Nimigan, who developed an early love of horses. Now, some 45 years after that fateful purchase, Sarah, age 30, has become a well-known competitor in the amateur pen, competing in Hunter Under Saddle and, more recently, Reining.

For Sarah, what started as an infatuation with My Little Pony quickly transformed into a lifelong passion when she began taking Hunter/Jumper lessons at the age of six. A year later, she was cruising around the pen on her own pony, Trigger, a little Palomino that would only travel one direction. “I used to ride him in a full cheek snaffle, and I would have to climb on his neck to pull him by the cheek to get him to turn right. Good times!” she laughs.

It turns out that acts of love, in the form of four-legged steeds, were not uncommon in the Nimigan family. Mark bought Joanne a Quarter Horse when Sarah was nine – another purchase that would shape her life, moving her out of the world of Hunter/Jumper ponies and into the AQHA limelight, where she has remained since.

Today, she competes with her three-year-old, AQHA gelding, Al Wayz On Your Mind, aka “Willie Nelson,” who is by Allocate Your Assets and out of Your Arts Desire. The pair competes in Three-Year-Old Non-Pro Hunter Under Saddle and Amateur Hunter Under Saddle classes at major events across the country. Willie Nelson is also shown by trainer Katy Jo Zuidema in Three-YearOld Open, Green, and Junior Hunter Under Saddle.

Click here to read the complete article
180 – November/December, 2017