Kristosik and Smoke Alarm had a rough start, but are on same page

By Aaron Yost
Corvallis Gazette-Times

PHILOMATH - Kelsey Kristosik wiggles a finger, twitches a leg and the gray horse beneath her moves its head from right to left, walking in a small circle, stretching its muscles.

It has taken three years for Kristosik and Smoke Alarm to form this partnership, one that appears harmonious for observers on the ground. They have also climbed the levels in the sport of eventing quickly together, a testament to her skill and his talent.

They will compete in the Intermediate division Friday through Sunday at the Inavale Farm Horse Trials southwest of Philomath. Among the 19 mid-valley entrants in the event, they are the lone duo at its most intense level. More than 360 horse and rider combinations will compete at the event.

When Kristosik, who turned 21 on Wednesday, first rode him, she disliked the horse she now affectionately calls ‘Smokey.’

“I hated him when I first rode him,” Kristosik said, recalling her first impressions of the horse that has taken her further in eventing than any other. “My first reaction was: ‘He’s a big jerk. He’s stiff.’ But I stuck with him.”

Their first competition together - an unrecognized event at Inavale Farm - was anything but a smooth affair. Smokey bucked her off on the way to dressage, then he galloped off through a plot of Christmas trees and up a distant road. A four-wheeler had to be summoned to catch the horse and Kristosik was mad when she remounted.

“I was like, ‘Oh, my saddle.’ I was so mad,” she said.

That anger, controlled and focused, brought out the best in Smokey and enlightened Kristosik to the horse’s potential.

“I got a 29 and won first-place in my division,” Kristosik recalled. “Now I say he just needs to run off before dressage.”

Her parents bought Smokey for her when she graduated from Corvallis High in 2005. Kristosik had been eventing with her Morgan mare Claire since she was 14 and exposed to the sport since she was 10.

She started out in horses with Morgans and Morgan horse shows, primarily ring shows held indoors. Kristosik’s world expanded quickly when Stephanie Parker moved her horse to Inavale Farm and began teaching lessons there. Parker was already an established eventing trainer and upper-level rider. That the farm was moving toward an eventing focus also had an impact.

“I thought the jumping looked interesting and when Caroline (Meneghelli) put on the first one-day, I started thinking I’d like to try that,” Kristosik said. “When I got a horse that could do it, my Morgan, Claire, I decided to teach her to jump.”

Kristosik began at beginner novice and worked her way up through the levels, often competing with her older sister Kaitlin. With Claire maxed out, Kristosik was already starting to look for another horse when Kaitlin discovered Smokey and bought him.

“She and him didn’t click very well and I was in the process of retiring Claire,” Kristosik said.

A lot of lessons and a lot of saddle time, riding Claire, Smokey and other horses at the farm, have developed Kristosik into a gifted rider.

“She never stops moving. She just goes from one horse to the next,” said Meneghelli, who organizes the horse trial with her husband Luigi.

Meneghelli thinks enough of Kristosik’s ability that she hired her to teach riding lessons at the farm. Kristosik has also worked at a number of the annual summer camps the farm conducts.

Kristosik just completed her junior year at Oregon State, where she is studying animal sciences with a communication minor and an equine option. While Parker moved to Redmond several years ago, Kristosik has continued to receive coaching from Inavale’s current eventing coach, Brooke Phillips.

Eventing is an expensive sport, with entry fees and travel costs a constant worry.

“Things are tight. Horses always cost tons of money,” Kristosik said. “I feel like I’m always sending in an entry fee. The help of people asking me to ride their horses and the opportunity Caroline has given me to teach lessons at Inavale” has made it possible.

She rides anywhere from two to four horses a day, with Smokey receiving almost daily attention. Kristosik has ridden as many as nine horses in one day, though that was unusual.

“That was a lot, but it definitely helps,” she said. “It gives me a great opportunity to get to know tons of different horses, to just be able to experience different horses. Just to ride Claire or Smokey … I wouldn’t be where I am today.”