Still, her approach had always been to not let the draft horse’s size and breed limit her.

“I just treated her like any other riding horse that I’ve ever worked with,” Irwin said.

As the pair made their way through the cross-country course that day in 2020—walking through water, going up and down banks, and testing out some low obstacles—she could feel Tilly’s enthusiasm grow, especially over jumps.

Her willingness didn’t exactly surprise Irwin. Since Irwin met the Tilly, now 15, as a green, gangly 3-year-old, the horse had always been game. Tilly’s then owner and rider, Jean Schaberg, was new to horses when she bought the filly, but had always dreamed of owning a Clydesdale. She connected with Irwin, a young trainer, for help developing the horse.

“Most of us in the horse world—we know that green and green usually is not [a great combination],” Irwin said. While the horse wasn’t Irwin’s typical ride, she approached her with the same attitude she did for any horse in her barn: “Let’s start here and see what happens. And year after year, she kept progressing.

“The horse just kind of always kept rising to the occasion,” she continued. “We kept going with it and the horse just was always super game.”

That willingness was paired with a training program tailored to Tilly’s unique build. Irwin said that a good foundation and flat work were especially important when training Tilly (ADKS Gus—Bluff Cassidy) to go lightly under saddle. Because “she’s built to pull into a collar,” her downhill frame and big shoulders make it difficult for the mare to rock back on her haunches like a true dressage horse, Irwin said. And the dressage ring feels smaller from the back of an 18-hand mare.

“That ring comes up very quickly when you’re on a big horse,” Irwin said. But the trainer feels that those same challenges have also made her a better rider, because she has to ride every movement more than with an average-sized horse.

“But once she gets it and you can support her, she turns it on just the same as anybody else,” she said.

Jordan Irwin competes Tullamore Dew at Revel Run Horse Trials in Chelsea, Michigan.

© Amy McCann

An Unexpected Event Horse

While the sight of a Clydesdale galloping cross-country might draw second looks, the horse had always exceeded where she didn’t “belong.” Tilly and Irwin never shied away from trying a sport where Thoroughbreds and warmbloods dominate. To prove that point, this year the pair heads to the U.S. Eventing Association’s American Eventing Championships at the beginner novice level, an accomplishment many years in the making.

That first experimental schooling ride in 2020 set Tilly and Irwin on a new path. They made their competitive debut showing at USEA-recognized events in 2021.

“This horse was just stellar,” Irwin said of their start. “So game, so honest and so into it!” Into it she was, to the point that Tilly’s 2021 results qualified them for the 2022 AEC.

“That was never going to be in the cards for me,” Irwin said of their first AEC qualification. That year, the AEC was held in Montana and Irwin was based in Williamston, Michigan, and had a newborn daughter at home. That year, she let the qualification be victory enough.

“It’s kind of fun to be like, ‘Well, we can’t make it, but it was cool we qualified, right?’ ” Irwin said.

But ever since, the idea of qualifying again had been in the back of her mind.

Tilly’s first owner, Schaberg, died in April 2022 after a long battle with cancer. Following Jean’s death, her husband, Curt Schaberg, asked Irwin to continue with Tilly. Irwin remembered his words: “ ‘If you would like this horse, we would love for her to continue with you. She does so well with you, you’ve done so much with her.’ ”

“That was the greatest opportunity to be given, to continue my journey with her,” Irwin said. “I’m forever grateful.”

Not only has Tilly remained Irwin’s mount, but she has become a family horse as Irwin’s daughter began riding herself.  Between events, Irwin’s 4-year-old daughter has ridden the mare in a few leadline classes, where Tilly is often the biggest horse in the ring.

“Everybody goes, ‘Why don’t you get her a pony?’ ” Irwin said. “I go, ‘Why would I get her a pony when I have the world’s kindest, most gentle horse I could come up with?’ ”

Irwin and Tilly returned to competitive eventing in 2024 after a break. When she found out the AEC would be returning to Kentucky in 2026, she went to her husband, Greg Irwin, with the idea of trying to qualify.

“He said, ‘if you’re game,’ ” Jordan said. “I said, ‘I sure am.’ ”

Over three events in 2025 and 2026, Jordan and Tilly earned the scores they needed to qualify for Kentucky, and they’ll compete this August at the beginner novice level.

“That got us eligible, which is just so crazy,” she said. “As far as I know, she’s the only Clydesdale to have qualified for the American Eventing Championships. She’s just a super cool horse and we’re blessed to have her as part of our family.”

Tilly Goes Viral

Tilly’s social media stardom started in about 2018, when Jordan set up an account for “Tilly the Dancing Clyde” on Instagram. The mare had gathered a little in-person fandom wherever she went—and people always wanted to know more about the giant in the warm-up ring.

“You can’t miss us when we go somewhere!” Jordan said. “We’re very identifiable and people always come up.” Giving Tilly a social media presence gave followers a place to learn more.

“[It was] for fun—more for friends and family to keep up with what we do, and then it gained traction,” she said. Since that “friends and family” account went live, Tilly has become a bit of a social media star, with tens of thousands of followers across Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.

“You don’t get to come away from a Tilly experience not falling in love with horses or the breed—with how cool she is,” Jordan said.

While Tilly stands out among their sport horse-dominated eventing circles, social media has given them a place to connect with other Clydesdale advocates, including Amy Henry, owner of Windy Acres Clydesdales in Iowa.

Henry reached out to Jordan via Instagram and suggested that Irwin and Tilly visit the 2025 World Clydesdale Show.

“It wasn’t even on my radar,” said Jordan, who added that while she’s not a breed show person, many of the Clydesdale devotees she’s met through social media have educated her on Tilly’s bloodlines. Jordan borrowed a trailer from a friend to make the trip to Springfield, Illinois.

“We rolled up with our little two-horse trailer,” she said. “I’m watching these semis pull away with custom wraps and all these beautiful horses. We’re like, ‘Whoa this is crazy.’ And everybody was just so kind and welcoming.” In their debut year, Tilly and Jordan won the jumping title.

After first seeing videos of Tilly on Instagram, Henry said she was “just in awe, because Tilly does not move like a big horse. She moves like a warmblood or an eventer. I was just smitten with her.”

Henry was adamant that Jordan enter Tilly in the World Clydesdale Show, because the pair had done so much to show what the breed can do.

“Most people just think that they’re a work horse and all they’re good for is wearing a harness,” Henry said of Clydesdales, who are most often associated with ploughs and beer commercials. As a breeder and enthusiast, Henry knows the breed’s versatility. The breed’s U.S. registry offers a versatility program that covers riding disciplines.

But seeing a Clydesdale make it to the AEC this year is extra special. Henry feels that Tilly’s journey shows more than just the draft-horse aficionados what these horses can do when seen as individuals with specific strengths—not limited by breed alone.

“[It’s] absolutely amazing,” Henry said. “It’s a testament to Jordan and Tilly both to be able to be that disciplined and compete with the lighter horses.”