Where There's Thunder,
There's Lightning

The "winningest" Arabian in history says goodbye to the show ring, but retirement is not the end.

by Shaneen Kohler

Good Thunder, 23, whose electric ring presence has been astonishing crowds for years, had his last show ring gallop at the appropriately named 40th annual U.S. National Arabian and Half-Arabian championship horse show: U.S. Nationals Louisville: One Last Time. But, this 16-year resident of Rohara Arabians and his owners, Mark and Marikate Matthews of Ocala, Fla., have no intention of letting this electric current subside. It is just another beginning.

Retirement is not Good Thunder’s first life-changing experience. The first was when Marikate Matthews purchased the Arabian stallion in 1995.

At the time, Good Thunder was already an accomplished competitor under trainer John Rannenburg of Rohara Arabians in Orange Lake, Fla., with seven national championships won, and Marikate was looking for such an accomplished horse to take her to the next competitive level. However, Marikate was looking for a Western horse and Good Thunder was a champion in English Pleasure and Informal Driving. But something happened when she sat in the saddle.

“Nothing could keep Marikate away, not even a discipline change, once she had her first ride,” said Mark, Marikate’s husband. “It was love at first ride for Marikate.” So, despite an asking price of $90,000 and Good Thunder’s English roots, “a deal was struck.”

Their bond quickly became apparent to all when the duo came home from the U.S. Nationals with a reserve championship in Arabian English Pleasure. Good Thunder also earned a championship at the show with John in the Arabian Pleasure Driving division. “We get along so well. We are a great team,” said Marikate, who had traveled the nation with her husband looking for just the right horse. “I thought I knew what I wanted until I rode him.” Then, everything changed. “I knew, that is the one I want. I had so much fun…It doesn’t matter what saddle you ride in, the horse is what matters,” explained Marikate. “We clicked from day one.”

John saw the connection, as well. “From the very beginning they just clicked. She has sensitive hands, a lot of experience and is an excellent horse person.” These were traits Good Thunder responded too, according to John. Now, Marikate could be gone all summer and on the day she returns, hop on Good Thunder, and it is like they were never apart. “It is like the relationship between good friends, where you don’t talk for ages, but when you do, you pick up the friendship where you left off,” said John.

There were some who had doubts about Good Thunder going to the amateur divisions. “She brought him to a whole other level,” said John “He has probably won more with her than with me as far as national championships.”

Change of Costume and Career

“He has won everything there is to win,” said Mark about Good Thunder, who now spends his days peacefully grazing in his pasture at Rohara Arabians. “He has his own paddock,” explained John, with a good view of many of the pastures and mares and gets turned out every day from about 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Marikate still rides him and makes it to the barn almost every day. Mark said the duo has even taken up dressage lately, which keeps Good Thunder both fit and mentally sharp. Plus, they spend some time on the trails, enjoying the North Central Florida scenery of Grandaddy Live Oaks and rolling hills.
The only thing that really upsets him is seeing the trailer being loaded, with him not on it. “I think he misses being on the road,” said John, noting that the walls of Good Thunder’s stall have borne the brunt of his displeasure. “He is a great traveler and loves to get on the trailer,” said Marikate. “He was so excited to get on the trailer to go to Nationals in October, he practically ran on.”
He also loves visitors. Call the farm first and “bring plenty of carrots,” laughed Marikate.

14.2 1/2-hand King

Good Thunder’s ability to interact well with humans is one of the aspects that make him special. “I have other horses that have heart and personality, but Good Thunder also has willingness to please,” said John. Every day he was out to make you happy. Plus, when something was bothering him, “he would act differently, and you knew something was bugging him that you needed to fix. Some horses can’t do that,” added John. “He taught me to listen to horses and realize when they are trying to tell you something.”

Marikate calls him “a ham,” saying he loves people and attention. His only quirk was bridling at shows. “He would like to yawn when we were bridling him, and we couldn’t put the bridle on until he was done. Sometimes, he would yawn seven to eight times. Usually, when that happened, it meant it was going to be a champion day,” laughed Marikate.

But Marikate is not one to let her inexperience in a division hold up her horses. “Each horse is suited for something and each horse will tell you what it is… Horses can do a lot of things, but they are only going to do a couple of things really well. I want to make sure my horse is happy in the division.

”Marikate, as usual, doesn’t let challenges stand in her way, and is already beginning to pile up more Halter ribbons, in addition to the reserve national championship she earned in 2003 with her mare National Velvet. When she competed Malecon at the 2,000-horse, all-Arabian show in Scottsdale, Ariz., they won a first in his Amateur class, a reserve championship in Amateur Junior Gelding and a reserve championship in Open Junior Gelding. “But I still feel that Halter competition is the most difficult for me!” exclaimed Marikate.

Supporting the Rumble

Marikate attributes her success with horses to her biggest supporter, “who pays for everything” – her husband. Before they moved to Florida, Marikate did not have a trainer, so Mark would go with her to the shows and help her. “He loves to go to shows, even though he doesn’t ride,” she said.

Marikate says her parents are a big part of her support group, as well. Her dad, a former rodeo bronc rider, and mom, a pleasure rider, were supportive of her riding as a youth and are still supportive. “I found out during Nationals that my dad had fallen and broken his nose. He said he couldn’t call to let me know because he knew it would affect my show because I would be worried,” she said.

When not riding, Marikate and her husband, who hale from Saratoga, N.Y., spend time in Italy at their house in the southern, mountainous region of Molsie in Italy. “It is very quiet and a great launching pad” for touring Europe, which they usually do in the summer months. “We love to travel.”

But, as much as Marikate tries to extricate herself from the horse show world, “I just can’t stop doing the horses. I can go away, but I get itchy to come back. I am really competitive and love the butterflies I still get in my stomach before a competition.”

So, while Good Thunder is no longer a competitor, keep your ears open for the next roll of thunder that is already starting to rumble and is bound to be as full of electricity as the last one that got its start at Rohara Arabians.