Category Archives: Dressage

The Discipline of Riding Dressage

Disciplines, Dressage, Jane Savoie, Training/Clinics

Motivation from Moshi 76, by Jane Savoie

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Photo by: Liz Ritz Photography

A terrible thing happened today, and I’m really struggling to get over it. There was a loud hissing sound that hit my nervous system with a scream that said, “RATTLE SNAKE!” I was so startled, I jumped sideways really hard and fast, and unseated Jane! Her off balance body clinging to my side triggered “MOUNTAIN LION!” in my brain. So, I bucked. Not just a little, I bucked from one end of the arena to the other until I shook off the “Killer Lion!”

But that lion was actually my best friend, Jane. I dumped her! In the dirt! I bucked her off! I’m so upset! Jane and I have been best friends for ten years! I’ve never bucked her or anyone else off. NEVER! Not even once.

Fortunately, Jane was not seriously hurt. She’s a bit banged up, but no broken bones. Of course she was wearing her helmet. She ALWAYS wears her helmet. Thank goodness! I would never have intentionally hurt her, but I could have anyway just reacting like a normal horse!

No one has ever come off me before, and it freaked me out. I was wide-eyed for twenty minutes. But I’m not going to let this ruin my time with Jane. I’m going to look at this with clear thought, do some EFT meridian tapping to release the energy pathway that my neurons created during this fear episode, and move on.

Jane understands that I was acting out of instinct, not maliciousness. Still we both feel really bad about it. We have to just have to make sure that we FEEL our feelings, do the techniques we know to release the energy of the past, and move on.

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*Featured/Spotlights, Championships, Competitions, Dressage, Events, FEI, FEI

FEI European Dressage Championships 2011 Day 4, Freestyle

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CORNELISSEN IS THE FREESTYLE QUEEN by Louise Parkes

On the podium after the Grand Prix Freestyle: L to R - silver medallist Carl Hester (GBR), gold medallist Adelinde Cornelissen (NED) and bronze medallist Patrik Kittel (SWE). Photo: FEI/Peter Nixon.

Rotterdam (NED), 21 August 2011 – The Netherlands’ Adelinde Cornelissen was in a class of her own as she claimed her second gold medal in two days when winning the Grand Prix Freestyle at the FEI European Dressage Championships 2011 in Rotterdam (NED) this afternoon.

Yesterday she was super-cool when topping the Grand Prix Special, despite an error of course that might have unhinged many others, but today she was simply super-confident, ultra-professional and totally concentrated as she steered Jerich Parzival to a flawless performance that left the Freestyle result beyond any doubt.  “She did a wonderful job, and was the clear winner of the day,” said Ground Jury President Ghislain Fouarge afterwards.

In a gripping competition filled with all kinds of possibilities, the spectators engaged with every competitor that came into the ring and expressed their opinion each time a result went up on the board. There was a huge roar from the home side when Cornelissen was awarded the winning mark of 88.839, but it was almost matched by the approval registered for the 84.179 achieved by silver medallist Carl Hester from Great Britain who has stolen the hearts of a whole new generation of dressage fans. Bronze went to Sweden’s Patrick Kittel whose foot-perfect test with Watermill Scandic was awarded 83.429.

These Championships have provided a refreshing boost for the sport of Dressage, as a rising tide is exposing a wealth of new human and equine talent while also highlighting the quality of the current stars.

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*Featured/Spotlights, Championships, Competitions, Dressage, Events, FEI, FEI

FEI European Dressage Championships 2011 Day 3, Grand Prix Special

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ADELINDE DOES THE DOUBLE ON A DRAMATIC DAY IN ROTTERDAM by Louise Parkes

Adelinde Cornelissen and Jerich Parzival won gold in the Grand Prix Special at the FEI European Dressage Championships 2011 today. Photo: FEI/Peter Nixon.

Rotterdam (NED), 20 August 2011 – Adelinde Cornelissen defended her title in style when recording her second successive victory in the Grand Prix Special at the FEI European Dressage Championships 2011 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands today.  On the afternoon she claimed gold with Jerich Parzival at Windsor in Great Britain two years ago she set a new world-record with her sparkling chestnut gelding. But today’s competition was an altogether different affair as, despite the highest expectations, the leading riders all made significant mistakes including the eventual champion.

Cornelissen’s class showed through however with a superb recovery.  “I knew I had to ride double-well afterwards!” she explained, and that was exactly what she did, producing a run of late scores that not only rescued her from disaster but provided her with the ultimate accolade once again.

British riders took silver and bronze, Carl Hester and Uthopia once again displaying their massive potential, and Laura Bechtolsheimer and Mistral Hojris producing a much-improved performance to that shown in Thursday’s Team Championship in which she and her team-mates reigned supreme.

The biggest surprise of the day was the uncertain performance of Germany’s Matthias Alexander Rath and Totilas. In the team event 48 hours earlier it seemed the stallion and his relatively new rider were at last cementing their partnership, but from the outset this afternoon they were hesitant and sometimes at odds with one another. Despite that, they finished just outside a medal position in fourth place.

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*Featured/Spotlights, Auctions, Breeds, Contributors/Press, Dressage, Events, Hunter/Equitation, Show Jumping

Horses Unlimited’s Mega Reduction Sale Gives Buyers an Opportunity to Purchase Some of the Best Bloodlines with Minimum $1000 Bid

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Credit: Susan J Stickle, Caption: Leonardo's Quest HU is by the Grand Prix stallion Leonberg out of dam from the famous bloodlines of Quebec and Capitol.

Albuquerque, NM — Potential buyers will have a one-time chance to purchase horses from the heart of the herd of the nation’s leading breeder, Horses Unlimited. On Saturday, August 27, 2011 at 3:00 p.m. MDT, Horses Unlimited will sell nearly 40 homebreds via auction at their farm in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Rarely does an opportunity like this come along for sporthorse enthusiasts. “We have put together the best collection of horses we have ever offered for this auction,” says Anne Sparks, owner of Horses Unlimited.  Every horse that reaches the minimum reserve bid of $1000 will be sold. The collection includes a variety of hunters, jumpers and dressage horses. They represent some of the finest Hanoverian, Oldenburg, RPSI, Holsteiner and Westfalen bloodlines available anywhere in the world, including those of Donnerhall, Weltmeyer, Wolkenstein II, Sandro, Pik L, Leonberg, Hailo, Capitol and Quebec.  “After more than a decade, I’ve decided to scale back my breeding operation. I will still be involved, just with a smaller herd of breeding and performance horses,” added Sparks.

Currently ranked first on the USEF Leading Dressage Breeders list, Horses Unlimited has proven that Sparks’ breeding philosophies produce quality athletes that have successful performance careers. The Pik L son, Pikko Del Cerro HU, is the leading point earner on the list of fourteen dressage performers bred by Anne Sparks. Last week, Pikko del Cerro HU was fully licensed as a stallion by the American Hanoverian Society. Ridden by Olympian Lisa Wilcox, Cerro is currently eighth in the USDF Intermediaire I standings and thirteenth in Prix St. Georges. His sire, Pik L, is a proven producer and potential buyers can choose from ten of his offspring in Saturday’s sale.

Horses Unlimited’s top ranking was obtained from the performance of offspring by four of Sparks’ stallions. Eight of those are sired by Pik L, with Leonberg, Glorioso Noir and Galant du Serein siring the balance of performers.  Multiple offspring by these sires are also available in the herd reduction.

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Competitions, Dressage, FEI, FEI, Olympic Games

Three More Teams Qualify for London 2012 Olympic Games Dressage

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Lausanne (SUI), 19 August 2011 – Sweden, Spain and Denmark qualified for the London 2012 Olympic Games as a result of their placings in yesterday’s FEI European Dressage Championships 2011 team competition. Sweden finished fourth on a score of 214.437%, Spain was fifth (211.580%), and Denmark sixth (209.985%). The three leading nations at the Championships had already achieved Olympic qualification. Gold medallists Great Britain are automatically qualified as next year’s Olympic Games’ host nation. The silver medallists from Germany and the bronze medallists from The Netherlands had previously secured their spots at last year’s Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Kentucky.

This brings the number of teams qualified to date for London 2012 to seven: Great Britain, Germany, The Netherlands, USA (who qualified at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Kentucky), Sweden, Spain and Denmark.

The next event for direct team qualification is the Pan American Games to be held in Guadalajara (MEX) from 14 to 29 October. The two best placed teams from Olympic Groups D (North America) and E (Central and South America), excluding the USA, will secure participation in London.

The Pan American Games will be followed by the two FEI-approved qualification events which will take place in Sydney (AUS) on 28 October and Ermelo (NED) on 2 November which are open to teams from the Olympic Groups F (Africa and Middle East) and G (South East Asia and Oceania). Combined standings from both competitions will be produced and the two best ranked teams, excluding the teams listed above, will qualify for London 2012.

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Competitions, Dressage, Events, Training/Clinics

Dressage at Devon: From Horse Ballet and Horse Whisperer to Food, Foals, Fancy Hats and More

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Devon, PA (August 3, 2011) – Each year as fall approaches, preparation intensifies for the annual International Dressage at Devon Horse Show (www.dressageatdevon.org). The show combines world-class dressage competition and the largest dressage/sport horse breed show outside of Europe with international Fall Festival shops, an array of food and the Ladies’ Day Hat Contest.  Dressage at Devon will take place from September 27 – October 2, 2011 at the Devon Horse Show Grounds, located on US Route 30, in Devon, PA.

The Performance Division, which rounds out the week from September 29 to October 2, offers spectators the opportunity to see top riders from North and South America and Europe.  The horses and riders are judged on their mastery of dressage training and the classes help qualify riders for events like the Olympics, Pan American Games and the World Championships.  One of the crowd pleasers is the Musical Freestyle which is an excellent demonstration of why dressage is often called “horse ballet.”  Riders direct their horses with precise, almost imperceptible aids, including body weight, legs and hands, to move gracefully in time to the music.

Locals will have the opportunity to cheer on breeders from Philadelphia and surrounding areas.  For example, Shilhouette, a filly bred by Maurine (Mo) Swanson from Rolling Stone Farm in Slatington, PA, will compete in the breed show which runs from September 27-29.  Her sire, home-bred Shakespeare RSF, is winner of the 70-day Stallion test in 2009.   Shakespeare RSF is approved for breeding with the American Hanoverian Society and the Oldenburg Horse Breeders Society.  Her mother, Fhlora, is a Hanoverian mare in the studbook of the American Hanoverian Society and the Oldenburg Horse Breeders Society.  Translation: Shilhouette is well bred.  She’s now getting ready to face the international competition at Dressage at Devon by gracing the grounds of a couple of smaller local shows.

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*Featured/Spotlights, Championships, Competitions, Dressage, Events, FEI, FEI

FEI European Dressage Championships 2011 Day 2, Team Championship

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BRITISH CLINCH HISTORIC TEAM VICTORY by Louise Parkes

The British team of (L to R) Emile Faurie, Charlotte Dujardin, Carl Hester and Laura Bechtolsheimer won the team title at the FEI European Dressage Championships 2011. Photo: FEI/Peter Nixon.

Rotterdam (NED), 18 August 2011 – Britain claimed team gold for the first time in the 25-year history of the FEI European Dressage Championships when Carl Hester and the fabulous stallion, Uthopia, produced a dream performance at the Kralingsbos stadium in Rotterdam, The Netherlands today.  With his country already in front at the halfway stage following yesterday’s good results from first-line rider Emile Faurie and Elmegardens Marquis and the new British star partnership of Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro, 44-year-old Hester racked up a score of 82.568 which left him with the leading individual mark of the competition and took the pressure off anchor Laura Bechtolsheimer with Mistral Hojris.

The result is a triumph for British Dressage which, over the last three years, has risen up the ranks and now looks like the most threatening force in the sport ahead of next year’s Olympic Games on their home turf.

“Some of us have seen Great Britain through the dark days – 20 years ago this would never have seemed possible – so it’s a truly historic moment for us, and London should be a sell-out now!” Hester said proudly this evening.

BATTLE FOR SILVER
Germany pipped The Netherlands by just over three points in the battle for the silver medals, Isabell Werth’s test with El Santo NRW slotting her temporarily into individual second place with a score of 75.213.  “I was unhappy with the piaffe, but the rest was very good,” she commented afterwards. And she laughed when adding that “his piaffe was really good during the prize-giving this evening!”

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Awards, Breeds, Dressage, Events, JRPR

Kara Wintersteen and BB Princess Liyah Take Home the Premier Equestrian Sportsmanship Award at the 2011 Estes Park Arabian Horse Show

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Kara Wintersteen (left) was presented with the Premier Equestrian Sportsmanship Award at the 2011 Estes Park Arabian Horse Show. (Photo courtesy of Andrea Reynoso)

Sandy, UT (August 18, 2011) – With a combination of a warm smile, encouraging comments, a humble attitude, and a striking amount of horsemanship, eighteen-year-old Kara Wintersteen won over the judges and earned herself the Premier Equestrian Sportsmanship Award at the Estes Park Arabian Horse Show.  She and BB Princess Liyah, a nine-year-old Arabian mare, competed in a variety of classes and whether she missed a class or missed a lead, Wintersteen was never heard to complain, and always gave her horse credit for her winnings.  After having to scratch her morning dressage test due to a delay on the trail course, Wintersteen was given the chance to ride the test at the end of the schedule, just before the halter class was scheduled to begin.  She rode a beautiful dressage test before high tailing it out of the gate to strip off her tack for just in time for the halter class.

Premier Equestrian, one of the largest suppliers of dressage arenas, horse jumps, arena footing and stable accessories, was pleased to name Wintersteen the first Sportsmanship Award recipient as she obviously embodies the key attributes of a good sport.  Heidi Zorn, president of Premier Equestrian, congratulated Wintersteen on her wins and on her lovely attitude.  “Kara is a fantastic competitor and truly puts her horse and her fellow competitors before herself,” said Zorn.  “The show staff here noted how she rode in the Arabian Mounted Native Costume class and then came out and helped one of the other competitors get ready so they could compete.  This is the sort of deed we are looking to recognize with the Sportsmanship Award.”

Wintersteen has owned the purebred Arabian mare BB Princess Liyah, also known as Angel, since 2005, and the duo competed in fifteen classes at Estes Park, winning a third of them.  But placements aren’t Wintersteen’s first priority.  “All I really care about is the ride,” she stated.  “If I can come out of a class knowing we did our best, then that’s fine with me.  Angel was given to me as a hot, unbroken three-year-old when I was only thirteen.  Everything I have done with her has been without the help of a trainer.  We do get beaten, but it’s a learning process.  A good ride is a good ride, but especially so if it’s an improvement on previous rides.”

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Championships, Competitions, Dressage, Eventing/H.T., Events, Show Jumping, USEA

Nutrena USEA American Eventing Championship Coming to Atlanta

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“Not Your Average Horse Show!”

Horseback riding tends to have a somewhat sissified reputation — perfectly coiffed men and women in top hats and tails perched prettily on top of overpriced hayburners.  That is so not the case with the Olympic sport of eventing, an equestrian triathlon that is a test of skill, strength, partnership, and just plain guts — definitely not your average horse show. These riders have grit, their horses have more heart than a Disney movie, and more than 500 of them from every corner of the country will descend on Bouckaert Farm at Chattahoochee Hills in Fairburn, September 8-11, for the Nutrena USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC), presented by Bit of Britain, which is slated to rank as one of the biggest competition in the sport’s nearly 100-year U.S. history.

Eventing has its roots in the cavalry, so we’re talking white knuckle, take-your-breath-away feats of athleticism on the part of both horses and riders, who participate in three different phases over several days.  Unlike almost all other sports, men and women compete on equal terms, in the same divisions. The horse is the equalizing factor, and these horses are unlike any you will see in competition. At the top levels during the sport’s signature phase of cross-country, expect to see them leap off banks almost as high as a refrigerator, jump some fences practically as narrow as a doorway, and bound across ditches as wide as your average car.  If you were to compare them to other athletes, think extreme – snow boarders or BMX riders. Think Olympic Games meets X Games.

At the Nutrena AEC, top horses and riders at every level, from juniors and adult amateurs to Olympic veterans, will battle for more than $70,000 in prize money and nearly $100,000 in prizes — not to mention bragging rights, with close to a dozen past Olympic, World and Pan American medalists on hand.

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Championships, Competitions, Dressage, Events, FEI, FEI

FEI European Dressage Championships 2011 Day 1, Team Championship

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BRITISH TAKE THE LEAD IN TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP AS DUJARDIN SHINES by Louise Parkes

Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro produced a sparkling test to put Great Britain in the lead after the first day of the team competition at the FEI European Dressage Championships 2011 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands today. Photo: FEI/Peter Nixon.

Rotterdam (NED), 17 August 2011 – Charlotte Dujardin (GBR) and Valegro created a great buzz of excitement with a delightful late-morning test at the FEI European Dressage Championships 2011 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands today that put the British on course for team gold for the first time in the 25-year history of the event.

A score of 78.830 from the 26-year-old who has been working as stable-rider for team-mate Carl Hester for the last four years, has cemented the British position.  And it is now up to Dujardin’s boss, Hester riding the exciting Uthopia, and to Laura Bechtolsheimer with Mistral Hojris, to capitalise on the advantage provided by their considerably less-experienced colleague whose score, along with that of veteran Emile Faurie’s mark of 70.426 with Elmegardens Marquis, brought the British tally to 149.256.

Germany lies second as the action resumes in the morning, but they are heading the third-placed defending champions from The Netherlands by only just over a single point, so the battle for silver and bronze promises to be a close-fought affair.

HELD THE LEAD
Second into the arena, it was Helen Langehanenberg (GER) and Damon Hill NRW who held the lead after the first tranche of riders completed. But there was a tension about the work produced by the German duo who were awarded a score of 71.079. Meanwhile Faurie’s calm, controlled ride on the big bay gelding Elmegardens Marquis included some lovely piaffe, but few could have expected that his compatriot Dujardin would produce a personal-best performance on her debut at championship level to place the British in a position of such strength.

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