Monty. Photo courtesy of Lisa Moosmueller-Terry
The 2010 Region Horse of the Year was one of IHSA members’ favorite draws.
Gladys, Va. – April 03, 2026 – At the 2026 Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association (IHSA) National Championship, taking place May 1–3 at Tryon International in Mill Spring, North Carolina, Monty will be inducted into the organization's Hall of Fame.
Throughout his career in the IHSA, Virginia Intermont College’s Monty earned a reputation as a favorite draw, and deservedly so. At the 2011 IHSA National Championships, he earned the Hunter Seat Horse of the Show honors after partnering with riders who won both the Cacchione Cup and the Walk-Trot championship.
Monty joined the Virginia Intermont team in 2004 when he was 7 and quickly became a much-loved partner in the barn. Known as a kind, capable horse, the warmblood of unrecorded breeding was a solid partner for riders of all levels from the get-go.
Monty. Photo by Flashpoint Photography
“From when we got him, he was pretty much perfect,” said Lisa Moosmueller-Terry, who served as the Head Riding Coach at Virginia Intermont during Monty’s career and currently serves as the Director of Equine Studies and Equestrian Teams at Emory & Henry University.
Monty, nicknamed “Hollywood” in the barn, thanks to his beauty, was a versatile mount who shined at U.S. Equestrian Federation shows with Virginia Intermont students as well as American National Riding Commission National Equitation Championships and regional competitions for the Intercollegiate Dressage Federation. He also won the 2010 IHSA Regional Horse of the Year award.
Monty was the first horse Danielle Clark sat on when she was at Virginia Intermont during the open house before she was even enrolled, and he was her assigned stable management horse during her first semester at the school. Clark chose to write a school paper about Monty and partnered with him in lessons and at USEF competitions.
“He was the barn greeter, with the first stall on the right,” recalled the rider who graduated in 2014. “I took him to [Gallop In The Glen I], an A show in Tennessee, my freshman year when I was still a junior and we were champion in the children’s hunters. He was incredible.
“He was pokey—you had to leg and you had to mean it—but you could stick your knuckles in the mane, point and shoot,” she continued.
Monty died in 2015, leaving behind legions of riders who remember him fondly for his expressive face with perky ears and bright eyes beyond his prowess under saddle.
“He made you look good, which is why I would say he was the No.1 draw,” said Moosmueller-Terry.
Monty. Photo courtesy of Lisa Moosmueller-Terry