Bloomington teen taking the family reins in dressage

Sept. 12--Amid wide-open pastures on Bloomington's northeastern edge, there sits a gray barn and a gray house. Green grass is interrupted by a rectangular, granular patch, where a horse prances along with a 15-year-old girl on its back.

This scene is a product of an obsession that took root decades ago, nearly 400 miles away.

As a teenager in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, Barbara Hoffman would sneak out of high school to go horseback riding. She rented those horses, but the idea of having her own remained a far-flung dream. That was until her 30th birthday, when her husband, Mike, took her to a farm in Martinsville to look at a Tennessee Walking Horse named Misty.

"First we bought the farm to put the horses in, and then we built a barn, and then we bought a trailer," Barbara said, "and pretty soon, it was this whole big thing, right? It just ballooned into craziness ... and then Mimi was the end of the craziness."

Mimi Hoffman, Barbara's granddaughter, is the girl on the horse. In the years following her 30th birthday, Barbara's sons didn't take a liking to the horses, but one of them had a daughter. That girl rode her grandparents' ponies and their horses, then filled her life with horse posters, horse toys and horse school supplies.

Mimi, a sophomore at Bloomington North, is a direct result of her grandmother's passion. Or more like an amplification. Recently, Mimi was one of 14 young dressage riders accepted into a national training program in Wellington, Fla.

Barbara wears a shirt with the letters "E-I-E-I-O." Mimi, dressed in riding clothes, spends hours upon hours at Barbara's farm, taking care of the horses. That means brushing them, feeding them and cleaning their stalls.

"I was always known as the horse-crazy girl," Mimi said, "and I never really grew out of that stage."

It wasn't a stage as much as a calling. Mimi saw something in the horse's eyes, something that radiated kindness and love.

Mimi then showed promise as a rider. A talented gymnast, her balance and posture on the horse was perfect. A handful of years ago, Mimi wanted to jump horses, but Barbara steered her toward dressage -- not just because it seemed safer, but because the sport was so technical and challenging. The word "dressage" means "training," because the rider works with the horse to perform a series of moves on command.

Mimi has immersed herself in riding, and moving to Florida for three months will further her ambitions. The intensive training program, put on by "Dressage4Kids" and guided by two-time Olympian Lendon Gray, begins in January.

While few of Mimi's classmates at North understand what dressage is all about, Wellington will offer a completely different environment. When she previously visited the village, Mimi was in a restaurant eating and everyone was wearing horse-riding breeches.

That is Mimi's picture of heaven. She eventually wants to ride "Grand Prix," the highest level of dressage. A year from now, she hopes to be competing in the North American Junior and Young Rider Championships.

"I'm just really focused on this, and I don't really care about all the regular teenage things, going to parties and having boyfriends," Mimi said. "Not a lot of people understand it, but Wellington is everything horse."

For the past four years, Mimi has been riding a horse named BNF Provocative, simply referred to as "Prov." Prov, originally owned by Bridgette Pollard in Greenwood, is a National Show Horse with 10 years of dressage experience. He has reached the "Prix St. George" level of training, which is the threshold for international competition.

He is also a "schoolmaster." Working with a beginner like Mimi, Prov helped her along at times, understanding what she was trying to communicate with an "aid" or cue. For example, dressage riders have a specific signal to tell a horse to cross their legs.

"He knew what he was doing, so my aids didn't have to be perfect," Mimi said. "He kind of helped me out, so I got the feel of what it was like to do it, and from there I was able to build on it and correct myself, rather than being a young person trying to teach a young horse and neither of them know what they are doing."

Aside from training at her grandmother's farm, Mimi has taken lessons and attended several clinics. She has always been driven and meticulous by nature, taking notes as her instructors speak. When she heard about Gray's program in Wellington, she worked for a year and a half to get accepted into the training program.

When she received her acceptance letter via email, she was in her grandmother's barn. The horses were witness to her reaction.

"I was really happy," Mimi said. "I think they were kind of wondering what I was doing and why I was acting so crazy."

Prov will not be able to make the journey to Wellington, though, which means Mimi is in search of a new horse. But Mimi will have her grandmother by her side.

Barbara, who has been at her husband's side the last 51 years, will live with Mimi in a rented apartment. Five days a week, Mimi will get lessons, hear lectures and work in the stalls. Mimi will also have to cook and do the laundry, because Barbara says she doesn't do those things.

For many, many years, Barbara has been focused on her horses: cleaning their stalls, and fetching them water and food. Then Mimi came along and helped with those chores, and then went as far as to continue with Barbara's dream.

"I'm so lucky I have Mimi to carry on my dream, because it was always my dream to do something like she is doing," Barbara said. "And for her to be able to do it is unbelievable."

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