Elphin Odin is last of Elphin Esprit's four foals by Mick. He is a grey (born chestnut) 15hh gelding named after the Norse god of spirits, Odin, a fierce deity in pre-Teutonic mythology. However Odie didn't take after his namesake and he's more like the cartoon character puppy dog!

Odie was sold to farm in Schomberg, Ontario (near Toronto), where he was started under saddle. Rob Robertson says of Odie "We spent a few weeks lunging and long lining before my wife got on, and the riding part went all fairly smoothly. He made good progress through the Summer and Fall, learning his walk, trot, canter, flying changes and jumping comfortably to 3ft. I love how balanced he is. We took him to a couple of hunter schooling shows in September and October and were very pleased how he settled in and performed during the day."

Odie was sold to Barb Pooley and her daughter, Andria, of eastern Iowa.

Barb wrote in 2001:
"This past weekend we went to the Silverwood Farm Horse Trials (outside of Chicago) and Andria and Cody competed in the USCTA Beginner Novice Championship for Area IV. They were first after dressage with a 31, went clean on cross country and stadium so they won the championship! It was wonderful even though it poured buckets for the stadium jumping. This was just their 2nd recognised horse trial so we weren't at all sure how it would go but obviously it went very well. He travelled well - he is just so awesome. Several times a week, Andria says to me that she couldn't have a more perfect horse. Thank you Rob and Heather!"

2003:
Jan 14 ~ "The clinic with Kim Vinoski was awesome. When Andria first rode in, Kim said, "That is exactly the horse I'm looking for for the farm's owner's daughter." She told Andria to let her know if we decided to sell Cody and she must have commented at least 8 times on how much she liked Cody. (She also liked Andria's riding.) Anyway, Andria and I talked on the way home about the idea of selling Cody. Andria figured that she would compete on him this year and then sell him but the idea of him going to Plain Dealing Farm where Kim Vinoski is had a lot of appeal."
Jan 20 ~ "Linda Wachmeister and her 11 year old daughter, Benita, flew in on Saturday and home Sunday evening. Benita rode Cody on Saturday. On Sunday AM she jumped a little in the indoor arena and then the girls went on a trail ride. (Andria rode her project horse, Buddy). Then we trailered them over to a local BN/Novice cross country course and they had a blast. Benita and Linda love Cody - he is exactly what they have been looking for."
Jan 29 ~ "The vetting went very well...So we are taking him to VA - leaving next Tuesday and coming back on Sunday. We have a place to stay (and stable Cody) outside of Louisville which is just about halfway. We tried to arrange the trip around Kim Vinoski's schedule. She is going to be there next Thursday and Friday. Andria is pretty excited about hanging out at the barn and hopefully making herself useful...Cody is such a great guy and he is the reason that Andria is such a good rider today. He gave her so much confidence and now he's going to go to a new home where he can do the same for another girl."

We wish Cody and Benita the best of luck in 2003! Cody even gets a mention on the Plain Dealing Farm website here.

 
Cody competing with Benita in 2006. © Mark Walter Lehner.

After competing up to preliminary level with the Strini sisters, Cody is now a schoolmaster for young eventers starting out, as seen below.

  

In 2007 Cody moved to Brickland Eventing where has since competed at novice and training levels with Brooke Baugher. They had a successful 2008 season with many good placings, including two wins at Jr training level and one at novice level, and a 7th place finish at the American Eventing Championships, novice level. In 2009 Cody competed with another young rider, Morgan Booth. Cody's United States Eventing Association record shows a pretty busy pony who's constantly placing with a variety of riders.