Paul O’Shea and Imerald’s last act scheduled for Upperville
Paul O’Shea’s long standing partnership with Imerald van’t Voorhof is coming to a close next month as the 18-year old Belgian Warmblood’s retirement arrives after the Upperville Grand Prix in June.
“He has been an incredible partner throughout the past nine years,” Paul wrote on Instagram. “I’m grateful to Trish Hurter, Andrea Sinner and the Tisbo family for entrusting such a special horse to me.”
The longevity of Imerald’s career is even more noteworthy given that the gelding is not what could be called an ‘easy keeper’. Dinette Neuteboom, Founder of HorseGrooms, a highly experienced groom is all too aware of the challenges, having taken on his care at Spruce Meadows last summer. “I was really nervous,” Dinette said when first taking on the assignment. “Imerald is a top athlete and he needs a lot of care.”
Grooming at the top level of the sport requires a high level of attention to detail but in Imerald’s case the bar is set higher for the groom in charge due to the horse’s severe allergies. “He cannot be on shavings, he cannot have a lot of dust, he cannot eat normal hay. He can only eat alfalfa,” said Dinette, who took on the grooming role at Spruce Meadows, when the horse’s regular groom, Davide Troncantti, was unable to travel to Canada at that time.
She visited the horse’s Wellington home at Eye Candy Jumpers, for Davide to show her the ropes when it came to Imerald’s specialized care. Managing the allergies was a top priority for Dinette, who traveled ahead to the venue – via Home Depot – to make preparations in advance. “I got a lot of duct tape,” she said. “I sealed everything that I could up to about a metre because I thought if the neighbors were sweeping, shavings could get in the stall and that could not happen.”
The set up at the Spruce Meadows showgrounds requires horses to have a main stall – and a holding stall close to the international arena. Imerald’s show stall was also sanitized by Dinette, and kept locked to avoid contamination. In addition, she had been shown by Davide how to administer the nebulizer – much like someone with asthma would need – that Imerald uses to help with his breathing. “It goes over the mouth and nose,” said Dinette. “It has a certain kind of natural essential oil… it opens the airways.”
Vigilance was essential for even the simplest of events. Imerald needed to be handwalked – but he could not eat grass. During one veterinary visit, someone offered the horse a treat without realizing his dietary restrictions. “I got so nervous,” said Dinette. “I put my whole hand in where the bit goes and tried to make sure he didn’t swallow it.”
For Dinette the experience, while stressful, was enjoyable. “Apart from the stress factor, I loved it,” she said. “Paul is incredibly nice and you just want him to do well, because he’s so good with his horses, with the riding, the training. He helped out a lot and at the end of the day, there is a whole team involved.”
Paul went on to thank that team in his social media post announcing Imerald’s imminent retirement to Trish’s Stoneleigh Farm.
‘Thanks to everyone who has been part of his journey,’ he wrote. ‘Davide Troncanetti, Paula Moverly, Kelly Fortuna, Collie Valdivia, Craig Bark for shoeing him and Sarah Cohen at Equity Performance Equine for all her veterinary care, to Jaimee Davies, Ruth Poulsen and Louisa Eadie for all the dressage work with him. Lastly, to Doc Rob Holland and the team at Kesmarc for managing his allergies throughout his career.”
Proof if it were needed, that it takes a village and sometimes more, to maintain a horse in top level competition for close to a decade. When Imerald and Paul close out their career at the Upperville Colt & Horse Show in Virginia on June 7, they can reflect on ten years of achievements. In that time Imerald and Paul have accomplished great things including enjoying a bumper year on the world stage in 2019 winning the 5-star Deeridge Grand Prix in Wellington, landing a double clear in the Nations Cup at Hickstead, England, claiming victory at the Sport Ireland Classic in Dublin, and taking runner up both at the Devon Grand Prix in Pennsylvania and the $1 million Grand Prix at HITS in Ocala. The pair added another remarkable year in 2022 winning the CSI5* Queen Elizabeth II Cup and the $400k 5* Friends of the Meadows in Calgary.
Looking after an exceptional athlete like Imerald is something Dinette will treasure in her grooming memories. “I loved it,” she said of her six-week Spruce Meadows experience. “Imerald is an amazing athlete and I was really precise the whole time – luckily everything went well. If the rider does an amazing job, I love to groom because I just want the best for the horses.”
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