Lexington CCI4*-S Pathfinders Lisa Barry and Rosie’s Aventadora

Bound for the Lexington CCI4*-S, Lisa Barry and Rosie’s Aventadora overcame early challenges and have blossomed into a solid four-star partnership with thoughtful training and a science-backed nutrition plan.

April 23, 2024—Lisa Barry and her homebred mare Rosie’s Aventadora—affectionately known as Possum in the barn—will be the first pair to leave the start box for the 2025 Cosequin® Lexington CCI4*-S at the Kentucky Horse Park on April 26. And Barry is ready.

“When I found out we were first, I was like, get me some Tums,” Barry joked. “But then the more I thought about it, I have been lucky enough to have very good training my whole life. I’m ready. She’s ready. We’re both prepared.”

The competition is running along with the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event in Lexington, April 24-27. Barry and Possum will ride down centerline at 8 a.m. Thursday, April 24.

The pair completed this event last year in Possum’s fourth Advanced outing, and they’ve been building their partnership, confidence, and strength ever since.

A Mare With Mettle

Possum was the last foal out of the Barry family’s mare Rajacon’s Rose, who is now retired from breeding. Possum revealed her toughness and resilience early when an infection sent her to the Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center at Morven Park in Leesburg, Virginia, not long after her birth.

“We were worried that she wouldn’t make it,” Barry recalled. “We had a wonderful woman, Abigail Gille—who, unfortunately, died last year—who foaled out all of our mares. She is the one who actually named all of our foals. The morning that Possum was born, Abigail found a mama opossum dead on the side of the road, but her baby was alive. Abigail rescued the baby, which survived, and then our baby Possum survived after some time at the Morven Park hospital. Abigail decided that opossums are resilient, and both babies made it, so decided to call her Possum.”

Possum, now 13, was the largest of her dam’s five foals, eventually topping out at 17 hands. Not surprisingly, she’s a commanding presence among her pasture mates.

“She is the boss mare of the herd. She can just flick an ear, and all the horses are like, ‘Oh yes, ma’am,’” Barry said. “Possum walks onto the property, and all the horses want to flock to her, just because she is the boss. She exudes that energy.”

Barry and Rosie’s Aventadora Focus on Footwork

But Possum’s strength and her height—and the fact that by Barry’s estimate she’s about 2 inches taller at her hindquarters than in front—does present some challenges. “I often joke that it’s a little bit like driving a barge down a mountain with no brake,” Barry said of piloting the mare on cross-country. “It’s taken me pretty much her entire career to figure out what kind of bridle and bit arrangement would work well enough that I can have enough control to keep us safe but still be able to be soft between fences.”

Possum’s biggest difficulty is containing her big, downhill, dominant body. “But she’s been getting better and better,” Barry said.

To help Possum develop strength and balance, Barry focused on exercises that teach the mare to “sit” and to carry herself. “I started years and years ago—typical transition work but also teaching her to ‘sit’ into a halt,” Barry explained. “So her thought process is always that she sits first and then she finishes her front feet.”

From this foundation, the lessons moved into simple changes and collection-to-forward work.

“Interestingly enough, she struggles with the push in the forward movements,” Barry said. “So her marks on, say, her medium and extended trot aren’t that great. But her gallop, the way she is powerful, allows me in most cases to be quite quick cross-country. Her step goes from a normal 12-foot step to probably 20 or so feet. I can make up time better by just allowing her to gallop.”

Building Strength and Fitness

Teaching Possum to step underneath and carry herself has paid off. “Over the last little while that she’s been at the Advanced level, I’ve had quite a few comments from fellow competitors and others saying she looks uphill now. She’s looking way better. We’re really putting in a lot of work to try to achieve the muscling and strength it takes for her to get to that place.”

To help build that strength and fitness, this year Barry and Rosie’s Aventadora returned earlier than usual from the flat terrain in Ocala, Florida, to her new base in Hillsboro, Virginia, to step up Possum’s hill work. “I do a lot of hacking up the hills, trot sets—as much as I can fit into her training schedule without overdoing it,” Barry said.

Possum also cross-trains on an Aquatred—an underwater treadmill, but she has opinions about swimming. “She hates the pool, but she loves the Aquatred,” Barry said with a laugh.

Powered by Research-Proven Supplements

Nutrition and science-backed supplementation are central to Barry’s program.

“I am incredibly lucky to be sponsored by Kentucky Performance Products and McCauley’s Feeds,” she said. “Possum has been on Elevate® natural vitamin E powder and Neigh-Lox® ADVANCED to help pretty much her whole system stay fresh and healthy and happy.”

When needed, Barry adjusts her supplement program based on Possum’s condition and workload.

“She’s on a low dose of grain, so I get some Micro-Phase™,” Barry said. “She had some interesting skin stuff happening in Florida, so I put her on a double dose of Ker-A-Form™, and within a week I could tell the difference. KPP has such a wide range of supplements, so I can use whatever I need whenever I need it for a horse. The research behind all of it is so good. The Elevate® vitamin E and Neigh-Lox® are pretty much a staple for all of the horses in my barn.

“I always get comments on my horses’ coats and how healthy they look and their dapples,” Barry added. “I’m backed by the best companies that are around. It’s not hard to have healthy horses when you’ve got good support.”

Looking Forward to Kentucky

Possum, whom Barry campaigns in partnership with her mother, Denise Barry, ended her 2024 season late with a run in the CCI4*-L at Terra Nova, mid-November, in Myakka City, Florida. Barry and Rosie’s Aventadora competed twice so far this season, tuning up in Advanced/Intermediate at Ocala before tackling the CCI4*-S in early April at Stable View in Aiken, South Carolina. “She had a late season last year, so I wanted to give her a bit more time to get fit,” Barry explained. “And she’s experienced enough now that I didn’t want to overrun her.”

At Stable View, a spring heatwave took a toll, but the mare pleased Barry with her performance, including a strong cross-country run. “There were plenty of very good preparatory questions for Kentucky,” she explained. “The coffin, in particular, was very hard, and she handled it like a seasoned pro.”

Possum’s experience—including their completion at the Lexington CCI4*-S last year—give Barry confidence.

“She’s comfortable there,” Barry said. “Last year, when I left the box, I thought, ‘All right, we’re going, this is great. Then I came into the infield, and she saw all those people. … But she got better and better the whole way around. I was really impressed, because sometimes horses are affected by crowds like that and shrink a little bit in their confidence. But she took a breath and was like, ‘Ah, all right. They came to see me, that’s cool.’ And she carried on around and was awesome.”

So, what does she expect this year as the Lexington CCI4*-S pathfinder?

“I’m looking at this as I’m going to a horse show to ride my horse and do the best I can in all three phases,” Barry said. “What happens will happen, and hopefully it’s good.”

Visit KPP Booth at Kentucky Three-Day Event

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Photos by Amy K. Dragoo