Me and Matoaka

My name is Katelyn and I am 13. I started riding at Mill Swamp Indian Horses with Steve Edwards and his little riders at the age of 10. I had never touched a horse and the thought of being 5 feet from a wild mustang seemed so absurd. Since then I have purchased an amazing 8 year old paint mare named Honey and a 1 ½ year old Corolla Filly, Matoaka. Introduced to the Corolla breed by Steve Edwards, the horses instantly became a mystery to me. Being able to train a horse and ride it in the shortest amount of time seemed amazing. Next to that there personality was unbelievable to have just been captured. I instantly knew that I had to have a Corolla. Standing in the stall all wet and wide eyed was a dirty little 5 month old bay filly, but to me she was beautiful. I walked in and she only watched me. I crouched down in a corner of the stall and played with the bedding not even acknowledging her. She soon wanted my interest and came to investigate. She playfully bit my hand and rubbed against my thigh. I had to leave her but after seeing the other horses I took a detour through the barn and into the stall. With a mouthful of hay she only looked at me and went back to eating. I knew at that moment that this horse was the one for me.Today she is SO much bigger and hasn’t changed much in personality. She is still the curious, sweet, and determined little filly. She has taken on so much training and is going to be trained for riding next summer. She has tackled many challenges in her training like going through the woods at dark with only me, or being desensitized with the “scary” objects. At the age of 1 she was saddled and had no problems at all while being watched by a crowd. This is only one of the reasons I love the Corollas so much.