Justin Mahoney and Onegin: An Instant Bond
Deaf saddle seat equitation rider Justin Mahoney reflects on his once-in-a-lifetime connection with Dragonsmeade Onegin.
By Justin Mahoney
6 Minute Read
My first time riding was in seventh grade when we were in Michigan visiting my grandparents. My mom, Donna, was a rider back in the day, and my sister had ridden, but I personally didn’t have any experience until then. When I rode, it was so much fun — the thrill, the wind in your face, the energy, the animals and how they respond. I just really, really enjoyed it! Later that year, my parents bought me a package of riding lessons with Morgan horse trainer Katie Mair’s Sterling Training Center in Howell, Michigan, as a Christmas gift. There was a family connection to the barn as my uncle was once a trainer and had given Katie lessons when she was younger.
I rode every day over that Christmas break even though it was really cold. I quickly had a desire to show as I thought it could be fun. Katie was game so she signed me up for an academy class for beginners in the spring show and partnered me with a lesson horse from the barn. That December, I rode for two weeks and then didn’t ride again until the horse show in April, so I only had three weeks of riding experience going into it. In my first class, I got fourth and I thought “that’s awesome!” Then in my second class, which was the championship, I got second. That’s where it all started. A few tidbits from Katie in between my classes made all the difference, and I felt like I picked things up quickly.
At that time, a lot of students in my school in Washington D.C., were still opting to be educated at home because of COVID, so my class was quite small. I was doing well in my academics, so I requested permission to miss the last month of seventh grade. I did some online check-ins and made sure I was still finishing all the work that was necessary, but I didn’t need to attend in person and that allowed me to keep showing.
I rode every day over that Christmas break even though it was really cold. I quickly had a desire to show as I thought it could be fun. Katie was game so she signed me up for an academy class for beginners in the spring show and partnered me with a lesson horse from the barn. That December, I rode for two weeks and then didn’t ride again until the horse show in April, so I only had three weeks of riding experience going into it. In my first class, I got fourth and I thought “that’s awesome!” Then in my second class, which was the championship, I got second. That’s where it all started. A few tidbits from Katie in between my classes made all the difference, and I felt like I picked things up quickly.
At that time, a lot of students in my school in Washington D.C., were still opting to be educated at home because of COVID, so my class was quite small. I was doing well in my academics, so I requested permission to miss the last month of seventh grade. I did some online check-ins and made sure I was still finishing all the work that was necessary, but I didn’t need to attend in person and that allowed me to keep showing.
Justin Mahoney and Dragonsmeade “Onegin” show saddle seat together.
Justin’s ultimate goal is to win the saddle seat triple crown for Morgan riders.
"As soon as I got on Onegin there was an instant bond"
Justin Mahoney
Some horses are great in the show ring, but then they don’t behave as well in the stall and aren’t friendly back at home. Or they’re great at home but don’t really rise to the occasion in the show ring. Onegin and I have fun wherever we are. He loves to work hard and learn, and he loves to teach me as well. If he is lying down in his stall, I just go in and sit with him as we love each other so much.
I don’t speak because I am deaf so I’ve tried to figure out what noises I can make to communicate with Onegin. I can kiss, cluck, and say the word “bo” (our dog is called Bo) so we use “bo” as a cue for “whoa” when I need him to halt. I kiss to canter and cluck to trot. Onegin was immediately willing to learn new cues, as if he knew what I needed from him.
When I transitioned to equitation with Onegin, my mom was concerned that the pattern work would be too much in such a short time. Patterns have a lot of movements like a dressage test. However, if I practice it and visualize it, I can learn the pattern and have pretty much nailed every one that we’ve done together. I was the UPHA Morgan Junior Challenge Cup National Champion and the 13 & Under Saddle Seat Equitation Reserve World Champion at the 2024 Morgan Grand National.
When I turned 14, I aged up a division, so I was often the youngest rider in my classes, which can create more pressure. But at the same time, my focus is to just go out there and ride my best, knowing I am on a great horse. My ultimate goal is to win the saddle seat triple crown for Morgan riders, which means winning all three classes at the senior division 14-17 year old at the Grand National show: AMHA Saddle Seat Gold Medal Final, UPHA Morgan Challenge Cup, and Saddle Seat Equitation World Championship. I also want to continue to have fun throughout the journey while I keep my eyes on the prize.
Katie says I am a natural rider, and in some ways, I think not being able to hear helps my riding as I am not fazed by all the background noise other people hear around them. All my senses are heightened. I connect with my horse, my body naturally gets in the right position, and I let go of everything else. Even though Katie doesn’t know very much sign language and we can’t talk to each other, we communicate very well. She knows the key signs such as walk, trot, and canter. We’ve also made up some specific signs for equitation, like if we need to cut a diamond or which diagonal to use.
We have about 15 different signs; one sign can represent a whole sentence that Katie would say to another rider. She has an intuition on how to gesture to me, then we also text while I am riding. On a horse like Skeeter, we couldn’t do that. I had to get on, ride and get off, and then we would talk about the lesson. I had to wait until the next time I rode him to act on her instructions. Whereas Onegin will stop and wait for me so I can text Katie while he stands patiently.
If my mom is there, she will interpret as she’s proficient in sign language. If we’re having a particularly intense lesson, she’ll stand in the middle of the arena with Katie and sign to me. However, I have to be careful that when I look at her, my body weight doesn’t shift too much. Onegin has been great as he doesn’t move as much as other horses. As long as I don’t lean, I can look one way or the other and he stays straight until I tell him to turn. He has taught me to sit straighter in the saddle, now I can look around and he doesn’t move his body at all.
When I am showing, we have to come up with signs quickly, and I have to be able to see Katie. We have only a couple of seconds for her to show me where she wants me to go or what she wants me to fix. With very little eye contact, she can tell me a number of things to improve before the next pass by the judge. Most of it is about timing as I know the sequence of events, but I rely on watching the horse in front of me to know when to walk or when to canter, and sometimes they might not do it at the correct time. I have to be very precise, which is hard to do when I can’t hear all the directions given by the judge. I have to rely on support, and sometimes we’ll have four people spaced out around the rail to sign to me what is coming up. Not only do I have to focus on my riding, I also have to plan ahead and know what I need to do before I turn the next corner. Even though I am a quick thinker, I don’t have the advantage of hearing instructions and taking my time with it.
I am very thankful to Katie and Alayna for all their support of me. There have been lots of people that have impacted my life and encouraged me to get into riding, and I feel very grateful for the situation that I’m in. Of course, I’m thankful to my mom as well!
Photos: Kelly Proctor