You’re never too old to achieve your goals. Just ask Suzanne Zeitman and her horse Elgassi.

At the 32-acre Ashley Oaks Farm in Oxford Township Saturday morning, the Rochester Hills resident and Elgassi, a Swedish Warmblood, worked as a team to join an elite group that has just over 400 members in the United States and Canada.

Riding before a small crowd and a judge, they passed a big test and became members of the Century Club.

“I feel very happy that we did it and that we actually made it this far,” Zeitman said.

Formed in 1996 by The Dressage Foundation, based in Lincoln, Nebraska, the Century Club recognizes dressage riders and horses whose combined ages total at least 100 years.

Zeitman is 69 years old, while Elgassi, whose barn name is Elroy, is 31.

“He’s up to the challenge. He can still do some things that older horses shouldn’t be able to do,” said Zeitman, who has boarded Elgassi at Ashley Oaks Farm, located at 1204 W. Oakwood Rd., since he was 27.

But, age is just one part of the eligibility requirements for the Century Club. Riders and horses must also perform a dressage test of any level at a show or event and have it scored by a dressage judge or professional.

Dressage is a method of training horses and a competitive sport. It’s designed to develop correct movement in the horse.

Following their dressage test, Zeitman and Elgassi were presented a black-and-gold ribbon. They will later receive a Century Club plaque.

The judge, Addison Township resident Dorothy Mueller, a graduate of the United States Dressage Federation’s L Education Program, was complimentary of the performance.

“She did quite well,” Mueller said. “She rode a very accurate test. Her horse could have had maybe a little bit more energy (to make) the ride better. But, she did everything she was supposed to do accurately, at the marker. (She had) good control from her seat and leg into her hand, which we call a connection.”

This was the second Century Club ride that Mueller has judged. The other one was also at Ashley Oaks Farm. That was in 2016, when Barbara Burkhart-Spragg and her horse Arie joined the club.

According to The Dressage Foundation’s website, not including Zeitman, the Century Club has 402 members in the U.S. and Canada, and of those, 22 are in Michigan.

Zeitman indicated she did this more to gain recognition for her horse than herself.

She said 31 is “very old” for a horse, but other than some stiffness and having to eat food that’s been “soaked” in water, Elgassi is in “amazingly good shape for his age.”

Sue Ashley, who’s owned Ashley Oaks for about 35 years, said even though “he’s no spring chicken,” Elgassi is a good specimen for his age largely because of Zeitman’s efforts.

“She keeps him moving. She keeps him interested. She rides him regularly,” Ashley said. “I give her a lot of credit for giving him the attention he seems to need and want. He just keeps on chugging along . . . I think that energy she’s put into him, maintaining him, has done a lot for his well-being.”

Elgassi was imported from Sweden at the age of 6. Zeitman purchased him when he was 20 and became his third owner.

“I thought he needed a good home,” she said.

At over 17 hands tall, Elgassi is a big horse.

One hand is equal to 4 inches.

Zeitman described Elgassi as “sweet,” but “dominant.”

“He likes to be the boss in his turnout area,” she said. “He’s very sure of himself.”

“He’s a character,” Ashley said. “He has, from day one, kind of ruled the roost in the pasture . . . He wants to be the boss out there, but he’s very casual about it.”

After sniffing a new horse, Ashley said Elgassi will “turn perpendicular to them” and “whack them in the ribs with his hind leg.”

“He’s done that with every new horse in the pasture,” she said. “It’s like (he’s saying), ‘Just to settle things now, I’m the boss out there.’”

Even though he’s a “pushy” horse, Ashley said Elgassi is still “very friendly.”

“He’s outgoing. He likes attention,” she said. “(Zeitman) has a very strong bond with this horse. It’s going to be sad when his day comes.”

Zeitman started riding when she was 8 years old. She engaged in western-style riding and owned a horse until selling it before she left to study at the University of Michigan.

At U-M, she continued riding to earn physical education credit and engaged in the English style for the first time.

She continued taking English lessons at a riding school and did a little jumping.

Following that, she stopped riding for a long time and didn’t return to the activity until after her 6-year-old daughter, Pamela Grossman, was killed in Auburn Hills by a driver on I-75 in July 1990.

“(Horseback riding) did turn out to be a kind of therapy because when I went back (to it), it was like the only part of me that hadn’t changed. It was like I was a little kid again,” she said.

Whenever she goes to the barn, she instantly becomes that “little girl who liked horses.”

Zeitman is pleased by the way Elgassi is cared for at Ashley Oaks Farm. She said he receives “a lot of individual attention” there.

“It’s been a great home for him,” she said.