Thunderous Affair (Liaison), trained by Lindsey Partridge, was selected by the panel of judges of the Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium, presented by Thoroughbred Charities of America, as the 2020 Thoroughbred Makeover Champion, sponsored by Churchill Downs. The 4-year-old, who was bred in Kentucky by Jim Williams, never made a start, but did train to race. Thunderous Affair was placed through CANTER Michigan.
Lindsey Partridge, a professional based in Pontypool, Ontario, is no stranger to the Thoroughbred Makeover–she won the overall title back in 2015 with Soar–but she admitted her partnership with Thunderous Affair had its challenges.
“She didn't trust me in the beginning,” said Partridge. “I really had to slow down and just go to events, and just not make it about competing. Just the fact that she was so calm and relaxed here and able to trust me to do everything–gosh, I'm going to start crying!”
Partridge, who has made a name for herself with her unique brand of horsemanship and crowd-pleasing freestyle routines, trained Thunderous Affair to not one but two discipline championships–Freestyle, in which the pair played with Partridge's signature big blue tarp and other props, and Competitive Trail.
“It's all about putting that relationship first,” Partridge described, reflecting on her past Makeover performances and her road to success. “I've done ranch and field hunter and trail and freestyle, but it all comes back to that partnership first.”
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