OVERCOMING HURDLES: 'Fun-sized' Temperance teen trotting to top in
equestrian competitions
By Caitlin VanOverberghe
TEMPERANCE — Against the sand floor of Stonehaven Farms' indoor arena, the sounds from
the horses' hooves are muted — soft and gentle like the beating of a heart. Thump-thump,
thump-thump.
Sitting high in the saddle on each horse is a rider. Every fall and every victory has brought them
to where they are today — cool and calm as they command the 800-pound steeds.
With each strike of the ground, they tap out the steps of a dream in progress. Thump-thump,
thump-thump.
Thirteen-year-old Brittany Walters-Bardwell is one of the riders. Her bright eyes are alert and
focused as she rides Teddy, a tan-colored Appaloosa pony.
From upon Teddy's back, Brittany appears to be only a shade shorter than the other riders. Off
their mounts, the difference is much more pronounced. Brittany's legs and arms are much
shorter than those of her peers. She stands only 4 feet, 5 inches tall.
When she first began riding competitively, her stature drew stares. But her talent drew even
more attention.
"In the horse world, you're always looked at and you're always judged — sometimes even
before they see you ride — especially at arena shows," Brittany said. "And that doesn't bother
me."
being 'FUN-SIZED'
Brittany was born with achondroplasia, a disorder that affects bone growth and causes
dwarfism.
It occurs in one in every 15,000 to 40,000 births, according to the National Human Genome
Research Institute. Rather than being an inherited disorder, achondroplasia is caused by a gene
mutation. Many with the disorder are born to parents of average size, as in Brittany's case.
Those who survive infancy go on to live a normal life span.
Achondroplasia usually can be detected by routine ultrasounds, but Brittany's diagnosis was a
surprise, her mother, Becky Walters-Bardwell, said.
"The ultrasound (technician) just kept saying to me, 'You're going to have a very special little
girl,' " the Temperance resident said. "But she can't tell me if she found something — the doctor
has to do that. Then the doctor missed it."
Brittany doesn't let her achondroplasia slow her down. As she was growing up, Ms. WaltersBardwell never altered anything in her home to accommodate Brittany's stature.
"The rest of the world isn't going to kowtow to you," Ms. Walters-Bardwell said. "They aren't
going to lower the light switches or the potties. You have to figure it out and make it work. God
doesn't give you anything you can't handle."
So Brittany adjusted, asking for assistance when necessary but mostly figuring things out on her
own.
Don't call her a dwarf and don't treat her like she has a disability. She's "fun-sized," and that's
the end of it, Brittany said.
"We just have a reachability issue," Ms. Walters-Bardwell joked.
When kindergarten came, Ms. Walters-Bardwell said she worried about sending Brittany to a
mainstream school. She decided on State Line Christian School, and Brittany went there for
eight years before asking to transfer to Bedford Junior High School.
Both schools, they said, have been very accepting of Brittany.
When it came to activities outside of school, they tried everything. After her first encounter with
a horse when she was 4, Brittany fell in love with horseback riding.
For safety reasons, she probably shouldn't be doing it. Should Brittany fall, her risk of getting
hurt is higher because of the delicate nature of her spinal column.
"But it was something she could compete at," Ms. Walters-Bardwell said of why she allowed her
daughter to ride. "She can't play soccer or basketball against regular-sized people. And with as
short as she is, baseball isn't going to work either. If she did chess, she would just get bored.
"I said let's try everything. And this is what worked."
THE JOURNEY TO PONY FINALS
Brittany first came to Stonehaven Farms in Temperance in July, 2009. She had ridden at
facilities in the area before, but trainers were hesitant to let her jump or canter because of the
greater risk of falling.
Not wanting to see Brittany's riding career come to an end, head trainer Donna Rothman took a
chance on the "fun-sized" girl and her Appaloosa pony. The first step, Ms. Rothman said, was
getting Teddy to a performance level fit for Brittany's competitive ambitions. Then came the
harder task of helping Brittany overcome her own fears.
"That long leg down around the saddle gives you a lot of security," Ms. Rothman said. "She
doesn't have that."
For several months, Brittany rode at least three hours a day for four or five days a week. Teddy
was given further training by Ms. Rothman's daughter, Samantha, who is ranked one of the top
85 pony riders in the country by the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF).
It was Samantha who finally got Brittany to canter — and no one has been able to get her to
stop.
Brittany began pushing herself, taking on more intense lessons and working to improve her
balance. They made alterations to traditional training and equipment to better serve Brittany.
Everything from her saddle to her boots has been modified, and she learned to direct horses by
shifting her weight instead of applying pressure to the steed with her legs.
Over time, the team of Brittany and Teddy became fitter and stronger. Eventually, they were
competing at USEF circuit horse shows and winning.
"I don't believe in 'can't.' Don't tell me it can't be done," Brittany said. "With Donna and her
stubborn attitude, me and my stubborn attitude and my mother and her stubborn attitude, there
is no such thing as 'can't.' "
In addition to the USEF shows she was competing in, Brittany joined Stonehaven's
Interscholastic Equestrian Association (IEA) team, which requires riders to go to horse shows
and select a horse at random to ride and show in front of a rated judge, Ms. Rothman said.
Even on a horse not used to her unique way of riding, Brittany routinely walks away with top
rankings. She and her teammates qualified for Zones last weekend and expect to make their
way to nationals in May.
With Brittany's success, it became obvious she would need a new pony, one that was bred for
competitive riding. Ms. Walters-Bardwell acquired a 7-year-old Woodland's Welsh pony mare
named Beamer in August.
A new pony brought a new goal. Brittany is now working toward competing in USEF Pony
Finals, a week-long riding event held every year at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky.
Brittany became the first-ever little person to qualify in February and will compete there in
August.
"No matter how she places with her pony (at USEF Pony Finals), she already has reached and
grabbed hold of her first dream with riding, and I will be behind her all the way," Ms. Rothman
said of Brittany. "I hope she continues to raise the bar."
Note: This story was awarded first place in the Michigan Press Association’s 2014 Better
Newspaper Contest in the category of Best Features Story