Canadian Diane Creech is collecting blue ribbons both north and south of the border so Chris caught up with her to find out the secret of her success. Our first Young Reporter Koryn Staehling tells us about the Kids 4 Dressage Festival that was hosted by Lendon Gray. Plus, we welcome a new sponsor, HorseShow.com. Listen in…
Dressage Radio Episode 113 – Show Notes and Links:
Ian Stark shares a Great Partnership with us as he describes his relationship with Murphy Himself. Horse & Hound’s Pippa Roome reviews the London Olympic Test Event and other British news. Plus our weekly WOW moment. It’s all right here….
Eventing Radio Episode 151 by Bit of Britain – Show Notes and Links:
What a fun episode! Glenn and Helena head to Mackinac Island (figuratively) to explore life without any motorized vehicles. That’s right! The only transportation is by horse! Plus, this episode of Stable Scoop features the first ever Tack & Habit segment. Today’s product is favorite pick of Helena’s for keeping flies away without poisoning you or your horses. Listen in…
Kelley Farmer and Clearly. Photo Credit: Katie Anich/PMG
Traverse City, MI – July 21, 2011 – With the weather hot and steamy today at Horse Shows by the Bay Series III, riders were literally rolling up their sleeves and getting down to business. Hunt coats were waived as the day progressed, adding visible intensity to the competition in the hunter rings. By day’s end, Peter Pletcher had earned the impressive Grand Performance Hunter title, blazing past the host of skilled equestrians entered in this week’s classes. Kelley Farmer continued to impress as well, sweeping the Conformation Hunter division with a scorching set of wins. Both the Performance Hunter and Conformation Hunter classes took place in the R. L. Polk Family main hunter ring at Flintfields Horse Park in Traverse City, MI.
With nine entries, the 3’6″ Performance Hunter division was bound to be both competitive and fun. Peter Pletcher and Sleepy P Ranch’s Primero earned the top honors with 31 points throughout the division. Primero and Pletcher have had a very successful time so far at Horse Shows by the Bay in the High Performance division. There was a tie for reserve champion this week in the 3’6″ Performance Hunters between Kara Roposa on Carentino, owned by Alexander Cooper, and Caroline Weeden on Condanas, owned by Lacey Gilbertson. Both horse and rider pairs earned a total of 16 points and with neither riding in the under saddle portion, they both had the same number of points over fences and were able to share the title.
Elizabeth Scoville and Bianca Buschor’s The New Yorker also had impressive rounds in 3’3″ Performance Hunters, taking home second place in both over fences classes today. When talking about her rides today, she said, “I think practice makes perfect, but perfect practices makes perfect. The New Yorker is a young, very inexperienced horse that actually has a little bit of mileage in the jumpers. We’ve been doing these types of hunter courses to give him the mileage that he needs, and what’s been really exciting here has been to see him understand his new job. Like now, for instance, to see him standing so calmly here at the ring, waiting for the jog and practically falling asleep, is so great because previously, he would start to get anxious when it was jump-off time. He’s been very excited here so far, we’ve been doing the greens and the performance hunters, and we just keep going back in until we get it right, and we got it right this afternoon.”
International dressage rider and trainer Cesar Parra rode Grandioso into the winner’s circle at the Hemer-Edelburg show. (Photo courtesy of Dirk Flowtow)
Balve, Germany (July 22, 2011) – Dressage rider and trainer Cesar Parra, who competes Michael and Sarah Davis’ ten-year-old Westphalian gelding Grandioso, rode the world-class horse into the winner’s circle at the Hemer-Edelburg show in Germany. The win at Hemer-Edelburg was the third win in a row for the duo, proving that the pair is a formidable combination on the international level.
“I am so happy with Grandioso’s success here in Europe. I have always said, and known, that Grandioso is a very special horse,” Parra said. “Having shown in Germany for many years, I know how difficult it is to win a class here. Our time here has been fantastic from a training perspective of course, but it has also given us more confidence in the ring.”
Parra, who is in Europe through July staying at Arnd Erben’s stable in Iserlohn, Germany, said their win was made even more special because the Davis family was in Germany visiting. “That made it even more fun,” Parra said.
Parra is prepping Grandioso for the Festival of Champions and the CDI in Saugerties when they return to the United States, with their sights set on the Pan Am Games. “Grandi’s strongest suit is his desire to work and the sheer quality of all three gaits. He is such a complete horse; there is no hole in him. He is actually suited very well for the Grand Prix test. He and I both enjoy a challenge, so the transition to the big tour will be a good one for him,” Parra said.
While Parra and Grandioso’s European tour is winding down, Parra said it is an experience he won’t forget. “It’s exciting when you get to show successfully in Germany,” Parra said. It is a dream for many people and I know I am tremendously blessed to be here and I thank God for that. It wouldn’t happen without the hard work and support of many people, to whom I am so very grateful.”
A Portion of All August and September Purchases from Healthy Horse Boutique to Benefit World Class Dressage Rider
Carbondale, CO — July 21, 2011 — “My goal when starting Healthy Horse Boutique was to create a company that could ultimately support equestrians who are in need of help,” explained Marian Nilsen, owner of both Healthy Horse Boutique and Cookies with a Clue. With this goal in mind Nilsen is ready to kick off her Healthy Horse Boutique Rider Crusade with a campaign supporting 2006 and 2010 World Equestrian Games U.S. Team Dressage alternate and 2007 and 2010 World Cup Finalist, Catherine Haddad Staller.
Catherine is an American dressage rider presently stationed in Vechta, Germany. She represents the United States in competitions throughout Europe at both national and international levels. With her Grand Prix horses — Maximus JSS, Cadillac and Winyamaro — she has accumulated over 80 top ten placings and wins at Grand Prix level. Since 1995, she has run a successful training and sales facility in Germany.
Catherine will travel to the United States at the beginning of August with her two Olympic contenders — Cadillac and Winyamaro — to spend two months training and showing on American soil. “This is a preparation tour for me and my horses. I hope to pick up some good qualifying scores at the CDI-Ws for both the World Cup and our Olympic Selection Trials,” explained Catherine, who plans to compete in the two Saugerties CDI-Ws and at Devon where she won the World Cup qualifier last year with Winyamaro.
Lexington, KY – The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) will be represented by five show jumpers at the CSIO Rotterdam, which runs August 24-28, 2011 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Please click on any athlete or team name for more information about them.
The following horse/rider combinations have been named in ranked order to represent the U.S.
Beezie Madden and Coral Reef Via Volo (13-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare owned by Coral Reef Ranch)
Laura Kraut and Cedric (13-year-old Dutch-bred gelding owned by Happy Hill Farm)
Lauren Hough and Quick Study (12-year-old Selle Francais gelding owned by Laura and Meredith Mateo)
Christine McCrea and Romantovich Take One (11-year-old KWPN gelding owned by Windsor Show Stables)
Mario Deslauriers and Urico (10-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Jane Clark)
The Horse of Course, Inc. tack store is highly regarded as a one-stop dressage specialist shop. Here Beth Haist presents the trophy to Arlene Page with the Raleigh Show staff. (Photo courtesy of WNCPhoto.com)
Claremore, OK (July 21, 2011) – In keeping with their tradition of paying it forward, The Horse of Course, Inc., one of the nation’s premier tack shops specializing in dressage tack, clothing and supplies, is increasing their sponsorship and support of dressage shows and events throughout the country.
Following an active season in Florida, The Horse of Course headed north with a stop at the Raleigh CDI where the store supported the CDI as a Bronze Sponsor. From North Carolina, Horse of Course continued on to the Kentucky Dressage Association CDI hosted at the Kentucky Horse Park. The Kentucky Horse Park is also home to the United States Dressage Federation (USDF), another organization that Horse of Course has supported for many years and plans are in the works to expand their participation with USDF in 2012.
Fall will find the Horse of Course continuing the northern trek with plans to attend the USEF National Dressage Championships at Gladstone, The Dressage at Devon CDI, Saugerties, and New England Dressage Association’s show just to name a few. This will be Horse of Course’s first year at Devon and they are coming on board as Bronze Sponsors. Horse of Course is also jumping in as a new sponsor at Saugerties.
“I love the tradition and the fashion statement of the jog, so The Horse of Course will be sponsoring the jog at Saugerties and at Dressage at Devon,” said Beth Haist, CEO of The Horse of Course. “We will have our mobile show trailer at all of the shows except for Devon, where we will be set up in booth 52.”
"Selected Sires of Germany" is a must-have library addition for breeders and riders everywhere. (Photo courtesy of World Equestrian Brands, LLC)
Buena Vista, VA (July 20, 2011) – A gorgeous, hardcover book depicting the bloodlines of selected sires of Germany is a must-have library addition for breeders and riders everywhere. World Equestrian Brands is offering the 2012-2013 edition of “Ausgewahlte Hengste Deutchlands,” which translates to “Selected Sires of Germany,” and information on the book will be available through their website.
“This book is a must for breeders and riders, as it is a great resource pertaining to many of the bloodlines people are investing in. The photography is excellent and bloodlines are depicted in a tree showing four generations of every horse in the book,” said Robin Moore, President of World Equestrian Brands, the United States distributor of Amerigo saddles and strap goods, Amerigo Vega saddles, Vespucci, E. A. Mattes and Equilibrium products.
The hardcover book features 608 pages written in German, packed with great images of the stallions. “It comes with a soft cover that lists the stallions in English that are in the hardcover book, with in-depth bloodline information, as well as a performance and breeding records when available which makes it useful for breeders and competitors alike,” Moore said. “Even if you don’t speak or read German, you won’t have trouble thanks to the translation guide.”
Moore said the breed book will be available on the World Equestrian Brands website by mid-August and will cost $125. “This book comes out every two years, and is a valuable resource,” Moore said, adding that this will be the first time World Equestrian Brands offers the book. “I have admired this book for years, and have acquired about five copies through the years. It beckons you to pick it up and imagine the possibilities.”
For more information on World Equestrian Brands, visit their website at www.worldequestrianbrands.com or call 1-888-637-8463.
Chester Weber, with the new additions of Uniek and Splash owned by Jane Clark, put in a brilliant performance at the 2011 World Equestrian Festival CHIO at Aachen. (Photo courtesy of Franz Steindl)
Aachen, Germany (June 20, 2011) – American Four-In-Hand Combined Driver Chester Weber put in a brilliant performance at the 2011 World Equestrian Festival CHIO Aachen, earning the highest results of his career at Aachen with a win in Dressage and finishing in the third place in the individual standings. Weber, the eight-time USEF National Four-In-Hand Combined Driving Champion, is now tied for first place in the standings for the FEI World Cup qualifications after 9 of 14 competitions.
Following his victory at the prestigious CHIO Aachen, Weber, the 2008 World Champion silver medalist, wrote on his Facebook page to thank and update his many fans in the United States. “Thanks to everyone for the support. We had our best results at Aachen ever. One first, two seconds, one fifth and one seventh place finish. In the combination we ended third!”
Weber, who competed as an individual for the United States, made headlines across the globe during his second dressage test, when he piloted Para, Senate and Jane Clark’s Splash and Uniek to a first place victory with a total score of 34.69. Exell earned a 37.12 in the second dressage test to place second. While Weber had two canter mistakes in the dressage test, he kept his cool and persevered to win. “When I made the mistakes I said to myself ‘bring them back and just go again’ and it went well from there,” he said.
During his winning dressage test, Weber scored an impressive 193, 203, 194, 196 and 193 from the judges. His dressage score helped him win the Prize of Martello Immobilienmanagement GmbH & Co. KG. “This was the first time I scored under 40 penalty points with my two new leader horses and I am very pleased with that,” Weber said. Ed Young, the United States Driving Chef d’Equipe, said Weber drove a wonderful test and described it as “beautiful.”
