Riders look for the perfect match in Burbank

1/19

Swiss Special Olympics equestrian athlete Sandro Wessneo mounts Super Mario, a horse he and his coach will evaluate at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center on Monday, July 27, 2015. Four teams, A through D, matched horses with riders for all of the riders from all of the countries participating in the equestrian events at the Special Olympics. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

2/19

Ramazotti 75, owned by Lehua Custer of Burbank, is evaulated by British Special Olympics equestrian athlete Georgina Maton at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center on Monday, July 27, 2015. Four teams, A through D, matched horses with riders for all of the riders from all of the countries participating in the equestrian events at the Special Olympics. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

3/19

Special Olympics equestrian volunteers wait for results as horses are evaluated by the Swiss equestrian team at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center on Monday, July 27, 2015. Four teams, A through D, matched horses with riders for all of the riders from all of the countries participating in the equestrian events at the Special Olympics. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

4/19

Horse master Amy Sheets, of Carlsbad, looks at the horses that remain on her list as she becomes aware that the Swiss team currently evaluating horses may reject one or both of them at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center on Monday, July 27, 2015. Four teams, A through D, matched horses with riders for all of the riders from all of the countries participating in the equestrian events at the Special Olympics. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

5/19

Swiss Special Olympics equestrian athlete Sandro Wessneo rides Super Mario, the horse that horse master Amy Sheets matched him with at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center on Monday, July 27, 2015. Four teams, A through D, matched horses with riders for all of the riders from all of the countries participating in the equestrian events at the Special Olympics. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

6/19

Significantly different sized horses are evaulated by Swiss Special Olympics equestrian athletes Andreas Schaad rides Take a Chance and Sandro Wessneo rides Super Mario at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center on Monday, July 27, 2015. Four teams, A through D, matched horses with riders for all of the riders from all of the countries participating in the equestrian events at the Special Olympics. Wessneo accepted Super Mario, and Take a Chance was rejected, the second time today the horse was rejected. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

7/19

Swiss Special Olympic equestrian athlete Sandro Wessneo poses for a photo atop Super Mario, the horse he accepted at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center on Monday, July 27, 2015. Four teams, A through D, matched horses with riders for all of the riders from all of the countries participating in the equestrian events at the Special Olympics. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

8/19

Pass the Award Dave is secure in a stable as a potential horse to be matched with a Special Olympics rider at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center on Monday, July 27, 2015. Four teams, A through D, matched horses with riders for all of the riders from all of the countries participating in the equestrian events at the Special Olympics. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

9/19

Amy Sheets, of Carlsbad, the horse master for Group D, works with volunteers to prepare horses for matching to Special Olympics athletes at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center on Monday, July 27, 2015. Four teams, A through D, matched horses with riders for all of the riders from all of the countries participating in the equestrian events at the Special Olympics. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

10/19

Horsemaster Amy Sheets, of Carslbad and Swiss equestrian coach Astrid Gygax talk Super Mario, the horse that Swiss Special Olympics equestrian athlete Sandro Wessneo will evaluate at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center on Monday, July 27, 2015. Four teams, A through D, matched horses with riders for all of the riders from all of the countries participating in the equestrian events at the Special Olympics. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

11/19

Horsemaster Amy Sheets, of Carslbad, Swiss equestrian coach Astrid Gygax, and Swiss Special Olympics equestrian athlete Andreas Schaad watch the horses they will evaluate get paraded to them at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center on Monday, July 27, 2015. Four teams, A through D, matched horses with riders for all of the riders from all of the countries participating in the equestrian events at the Special Olympics. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

12/19

Swiss Special Olympics equestrian athlete Sandro Wessneo and his coach Astrid Gygax evaluate Super Mario, the horse they are matched with at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center on Monday, July 27, 2015. Wessneo and Gygax accepted the horse. Four teams, A through D, matched horses with riders for all of the riders from all of the countries participating in the equestrian events at the Special Olympics. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

13/19

Special Olympics equestrian athletes from Belgium practice the route they will take, but on foot because they cannot ride their horses yet, at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center on Monday, July 27, 2015. Four teams, A through D, matched horses with riders for all of the riders from all of the countries participating in the equestrian events at the Special Olympics. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

14/19

Two Belgian Special Olympics equestrian athletes pretend they are riding their horses as they practice on foot the route they will take at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center on Monday, July 27, 2015. Four teams, A through D, matched horses with riders for all of the riders from all of the countries participating in the equestrian events at the Special Olympics. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

15/19

A Special Olympics equestrian volunteer handles Ramzotti 75, owned by Lehua Custer, of Burbank, after being rejected by the British team at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center on Monday, July 27, 2015. Four teams, A through D, matched horses with riders for all of the riders from all of the countries participating in the equestrian events at the Special Olympics. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

16/19

One of the Group D horses available for matching with Special Olympics equestrian athletes, sits in a stable decorated for the Special Olympics, at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center on Monday, July 27, 2015. Four teams, A through D, matched horses with riders for all of the riders from all of the countries participating in the equestrian events at the Special Olympics. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

17/19

Super Mario, a horse available for being matched to a Special Olympics equestrian athlete, is prepared at it’s stable at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center on Monday, July 27, 2015. Four teams, A through D, matched horses with riders for all of the riders from all of the countries participating in the equestrian events at the Special Olympics. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

18/19

Ramazotti 75, owned by Lehua Custer of Burbank, is evaulated by British Special Olympics equestrian athlete Georgina Maton at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center on Monday, July 27, 2015. The British team rejected Ramazotti for another horse. Four teams, A through D, matched horses with riders for all of the riders from all of the countries participating in the equestrian events at the Special Olympics. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

19/19

The schedule board with the countries and the horses that they have been match with at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center on Monday, July 27, 2015. Four teams, A through D, matched horses with riders for all of the riders from all of the countries participating in the equestrian events at the Special Olympics. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

By Chad Garland, <i><a href=”mailto:chad.garland@latimes.com”>chad.garland@latimes.com</a></i>

July 28, 2015 6:50 PM PT

His name is Ramazotti 75, but those who know Lehua Custer’s 19-year-old Swedish Warmblood affectionately call the bay horse Zotti.

Custer, a Burbank resident and dressage trainer, along with several members of Zotti’s “fan club” were in the stands under the Equidome at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank Monday to watch him get paired with riders competing in the Special Olympics World Games this week.

PHOTOS: Equestrian athletes match up with horses for upcoming games

Four horse masters and their teams of volunteers matched 85 borrowed horses to more than 120 riders from 35 countries on Sunday and Monday in preparation for competitive events this week, factoring in the rider’s skills, size and coordination, among other things. Each horse was matched with up to two riders.

Though Zotti lives in Burbank, owners from San Diego, the Bay Area and even Phoenix provided horses for the events, which run Wednesday through Saturday morning, said Sara Jones, development director for Ride On Therapeutic Horsemanship, the Chatsworth-based nonprofit managing the equestrian events. The competitions are free and open to the public.

Zotti’s an experienced horse who’s “been there, done that,” Custer said, but his bigger movements are better suited for a more advanced rider. It’s also a challenge to keep him “round” and on the bit, she said.

He had been matched with a French rider earlier Monday, but in the afternoon he was one of the last horses on the arena floor being ridden by Great Britain’s Georgina Maton for a potential match, which from the stands seemed likely. But, Custer noted, Maton would have to consider what’s best for her — if she rejected Zotti, though, she’d be forced to take the second horse offered.

“Are we a match?” Custer shouted as Maton brought Zotti to a halt after about 20 minutes of putting him through his paces.

The answer shouted back from the arena floor: no, not a match. Maton’s team was considering her positioning and decided Zotti was too tiring for her to handle.

Zotti’s fans seemed disappointed. Alanna Flax-Clark of Grenada Hills first said she wanted to give Maton a “pep talk,” but realized it was too late; she’d made her choice. Later, Flax-Clark, a para-equestrian who is in a wheelchair, said she understood that Zotti can be a handful for a rider.

“He challenges me a lot,” she said. “But I like a challenge.”

Rejecting Zotti was not a decision Maton or her coaches took lightly, said Sarah Moreland, head coach of Great Britain’s team, but she added that they had little time to hem and haw.

“We’ve got a competition in two days’ time,” she said. “We have to match the very best scenario we can get.”

Zotti is “lovely ... but just not quite right” for Maton, Moreland said, adding that she needed a smoother-riding horse that is “less expressive” with his movements. She did go cold when they rejected him, though, knowing there was no going back. However, she said she was thankful that all the horse owners had provided high-quality animals for the athletes.

Riders each had a few minutes to acquaint themselves with their potential matches — just one of the challenges for athletes in a competition that depends on a relationship and the cooperation between rider and horse. Riding an unfamiliar horse could be difficult even for riders without intellectual disabilities, Moreland said.

Another challenge facing riders in the Special Olympics, all of whom have intellectual disabilities, is that they must memorize the equitation pattern — a course through obstacles such as barrels and poles for demonstrating horsemanship — and the dressage arena. They were allowed to walk through the patterns, Jones said, but on their own two feet and not with the horses.

Moreland, who coached Great Britain’s Special Olympics team at the games in Athens in 2011 and was honored by Queen Elizabeth that same year for her dedication to the sport, said riding teaches a variety of life skills, including communication, responsibility, accountability and safety. Horses are 600-kilogram (1,300-pound) animals, she said, “they’re to be respected.”

Maton said she’s been riding for about five years and while her learning disabilities sometimes make it hard to communicate with people, she finds it easier with horses.

“A horse doesn’t judge you,” Maton said. “It just teaches you.”