Located on the outskirts of Dunnellon, west of Ocala, Florida, FoxRidge Farm is an easy drive to the winter hunter/jumper meccas of the HITS showgrounds and Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington. Owned by Kathy Dixon and Don Nichols, the farm is a training ground for Canadian Sean Jobin, 23, a Mississauga, ON, native who has been head rider and trainer at the magnificent 77-acre facility for the past two years.
Jobin has been riding “ever since I can remember. I did the majority of my early career in Canada with Mike Grinyer and Hugh Graham and showed all over Ontario, especially Palgrave, Angelstone, and Ottawa.” In 2010, Jobin competed in the Junior/Amateur 1.40 Finals at the Royal, finishing third overall in the $3,500 Jr/Am Jumper Challenge aboard Caillou. At 18 he went pro, riding for Mike Grinyer, winning some Talent Squad classes and achieving high placings in several grand prix, including third-place finishes in the $30,000 RAM Grand Prix in Caledon, a $30,000 grand prix at Angelstone, plus multiple open welcome wins. “All these results were on sale horses, since I did not have the money to buy a made grand prix horse,” he said.
Now Jobin’s top horse is Zindiloma, a 12-yr-old bay KWPN gelding owned by FoxRidge. “Zindiloma is the best horse I’ve ridden,” he said fondly. “Tons of scope and heart. Foxridge and I weren’t sure what he was capable of, so we have taken our time with his development. At 12 he is a bit of a late bloomer, only having done his first grand prix last year, but we are starting to see major and consistent improvement. This year, he has gotten several high placings in grand prix events.
“He has a lot of attitude that can be difficult to control at times, so I only look to contain it, which is how he likes to be ridden,” Jobin continued. “I try not to micro-manage him too much and let his enjoyment for the showjumping take over. He is also a character at home, but our groom knows how to handle his quirks. He needs to be fed first and turned out first. He is ridden twice a day, and gets really grumpy if he has too much time off work. He can come across as frosty, but if you take your time to get to know and trust him, you will not find a more loyal and enthusiastic horse.” Zindiloma and Jobin are now back in the homeland to contest the summer shows in Ontario.
Jobin was introduced to Dixon and Nichols through Hugh Graham, who recommended him for the position as rider for their FoxRidge string. Dixon founded CTV Media, Inc., a cable rep firm in 1980; Nichols is president and CEO of Retro-Blue, which produces music for the commercial and film industries.
“I have had the horse disease for as long as I have been breathing air,” admits Dixon, an adult amateur rider who competes in the adult amateur hunters 50-plus division. “I was brought up in suburbia in middle-class America. I thought we hit the jackpot when my parents moved to a street abutting a farm that had kids my age and better yet, a Shetland pony. All of them became my best friends, but especially Mac, the pony. I bought my first horse with the money I made babysitting and mucked stalls for board. I sold my horse after my first year of college and did not ride again until my early forties, when I decided our eight-year-old daughter needed a pony. I took my first professional lessons with her, and the rest is history.”
The couple also own the FoxRidge north farm in Ohio, where they run a recreational horseback riding program for foster children and the victims of domestic abuse. “Don and I founded this charity [The Legacy for Children Foundation] to pay it forward. The connection that these children make with the horses is directly linked to their ability to be more successful in school and in their social activities. We teach them to ride and compete in local shows. When they experience this type of confidence-building and trust in a living creature, they are empowered.”
“I thought we hit the jackpot when my parents moved to a street abutting a farm that had kids my age and better yet, a
Shetland pony,” said Kathy Dixon.
