Santa Clara rider sticks by her horse

By Nicholas Pinkerton

Despite not wearing the traditional red and white of the Broncos, there is one Santa Clara athlete who competes not on two legs, but four.

Frankie Thieriot, a senior at Santa Clara, has been riding horses competitively since she was eight years old. In the last four years, she has competed at the sport's highest level, the Advanced level, with her horse, Fric Frac Berence, whom she has ridden for over eight years.

Competing in equestrianism has never been more challenging for Thieriot, as Fric is blind in his right eye.

As if being blind wasn't enough of a struggle, Fric also suffered an injury to his front right leg in 2006.

Thieriot has made a promise to continue riding Fric until he can no longer compete.

"To me, Fric's a horse, but he's so much more than that in my life," said Thieriot. "He's a horse that I've gone through so much with."

Fric's problems began when he lost vision in his right eye in 2003. Thieriot went out into the pasture to get Fric for another day of riding, when she noticed a small white line in his right eye.

"It was a little nerve-wracking, and it took some getting used to on both of our parts," said Thieriot in regard to Fric's visual impairment.

She took Fric to an eye specialist who said that he had suffered trauma in his right eye. His cornea had been sliced, forming a cataract.

Thieriot is unsure of what caused the injury, however. She believes that he could have poked his eye on something in the pasture, or a bug could have hit it during a riding session.

Weeks after the incident, Fric had gone completely blind in the eye, which greatly impacted his overall vision. As a result, he no longer has depth perception.

This did not stop Thieriot and Fric from competing. They continued competing together into 2004, when Thieriot moved the duo into the Advanced level. In their first Advanced event, Thieriot and Fric earned a third-place finish.

Not long after, Fric injured his front right leg during competition. He rested in the pasture for a few months before undergoing a rehabilitation process led by Thieriot.

Initially, Thieriot was unsure about her horse's return.

"Everyone was wondering if it was safe for me to jump him. We didn't know if he was going to make a full recovery, but he did," Thieriot said.

It was not easy for Thieriot to deal with Fric. He had been resting for months and had lost muscle memory from not competing.

"With the time off, he became a huge pain to deal with," she said. "He's like any athlete, so he's losing a lot of muscle if he's not in shape."

But Fric prevailed when he returned to competition. Fric and Thieriot won their first event and placed fifth or better in the next four.

Unfortunately, Fric re-injured his leg in competition and took five months to rest before another rehabilitation session led by Thieriot went underway. Thieriot was forced to decide whether or not Fric would ever be able to compete again. A lack of support from those who were close to the pair made her wonder if he could come back.

"The biggest problem I had was no one believed in him. I had to learn not to question him," she said.

Standing by her feelings for her seasoned horse, Thieriot believed her horse could overcome another setback and return to competition form. She decided to give Fric one more chance at competing.

"I just think there's something special (with Fric)," she said. "What he lacks in physical ability he makes up for with his heart. Every time I get on, he's still giving everything he has."

While Fric recovered, Frankie trained her recently purchased horse, Notelo, who hails from France.

Two weekends ago, Thieriot brought Fric back to his first competition since 2006. He won second place in the Prelim level, while Notelo took first.

According to Thieriot, Fric will be moved back up to the Advanced level in his two upcomming competitions.

Though undecided about Fric's future, Thieriot hopes to continue riding Fric until his retirement.

Kelly Prather, a fellow rider who has competed against Thieriot, sees the duo continuing competition for the next couple years.

"She has a really great relationship with the horse," Prather said. "(Fric) just needs just a little bit more support from her."

Fric turns 14 years old in April and may have a couple years of competition remaining. Horses usually retire when they reach 17 or 18, said Prather.

In the meantime, Thieriot hopes to qualify for the World Cup team with Fric. Once Fric retires, she may continue competition with Notelo, who has shown tremendous potential early on, according to Thieriot.

"There's a few more titles I'd like to add before I'm done," she said.

Contact Nicholas Pinkerton at (408) 551-1918 or npinkerton@scu.edu.