Tag Archives: dressage

Dressage, Jane Savoie, Training/Clinics

Motivation from Moshi 79, by Jane Savoie

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Who are you? Who are you, REALLY?

Being who you really are is not an easy task. I’m a Friesian, born in Holland, and imported to the USA. I’m different from most horses in that I have feathered legs. Some of the horses at the barn tease me about it, calling me an old work horse. It used to bother me, but then I heard Jane say something really important…

Those who matter don’t mind, and those who mind don’t matter.

When I was a youngster, I hoped that Jane would shave off my feathers so I would fit in with all the Warmbloods at my barn. I’d hide my legs behind the low bushes or stand behind the water trough when new horses came in. I didn’t want them to see that I was “different.”

As I matured, I realized that being different was actually the norm. Everyone has something that’s a little out of the ordinary. It was silly for me to be shy about other horses seeing my feathers. So, I made a conscious decision to accept myself for who and what I am. I decided to show off my hairy legs instead of hide them. And you know what? It didn’t change how my friends thought of me one bit. And they’re the ones that matter to me.

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*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Dressage, Events, FEI, Pan American Games

USA Dominates Dressage at Pan American Games

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L to R - Heather Blitz (silver), Steffen Peters (gold) and Marisa Festerling (bronze). Photo: FEI/ Stockimageservices.com

Lausanne (SUI), 20 October 2011 – American Dressage riders swept all before them when returning a record-breaking fourth consecutive team victory and filling all the steps of the individual medal podium at the 2011 Pan-American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico.  On Sunday they cruised confidently into pole position in the team event ahead of the silver medallists from Canada while Colombia claimed the bronze.  And yesterday Steffen Peters steered Weltino’s Magic to individual gold ahead of Heather Blitz with Paragon in silver and Marisa Festerling and Big Tyme in bronze.

It was a convincing performance at all levels, and anchorman Peters was the linchpin of the American side.  But, as he pointed out in the aftermath of the team success, he was under considerably less pressure than usual due to the highly-competitive performances of his team-mates.  “Over the past few years I have always had to carry a lot of weight on my shoulders as the very last rider, but the team did an awesome job – every single horse, every single rider,” he pointed out.  The silver medallists from Canada and bronze medallists from Colombia had plenty of reason to celebrate too, as their second and third-place finishes have provided them with qualifying spots for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

TEAM MEDALS
A total of 12 nations battled it out for the team medals, and the combined US score of 75.754 gave them a clear five-point victory. Peters and Weltino’s Magic produced the only score over 80% – his 80.132 setting a new Pan-American Games record – and he was awarded the leading mark by all five members of the Ground Jury – Great Britain’s Stephen Clarke, Raphael Saleh from France, Canada’s Cara Witham, Argentina’s Gabriel Armando and President, Lilo Fore, from the USA.

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*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Dressage, Events, Pan American Games, USEF

US Dressage Team Invincible in Individual Medals 2011 Pan American Games

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Steffen Peters and Weltino's Magic Celebrate Gold (Photos: Shannon Brinkman)

The U.S. Dressage Team continued to own the Guadalajara Country Club’s beautiful dressage arena, continuing their medal run at the 2011 Pan American Games. They added Individual Gold, Silver and Bronze to the Team Gold they won on Sunday and they all scored over 80 percent in today’s freestyle.

Steffen Peters (San Diego, CA) wasn’t sure it would be possible to top Heather Blitz (Wellington, FL) and Paragon’s score of 86.650%, but he rode with a fierce determination and got every point out of Weltino’s Magic. They scored 87.300% for their freestyle to music by Seven and Five for a combined average of 82.690%. Jan and Bruce Hlavacek’s 9-year-old Westphalian gelding gave Peters his second Gold medal of these Games.

“What an amazing day and an amazing competition,” said the Olympic veteran. “I still have to think about the moment that I came out of the arena and when the scores were announced it probably took 30 seconds but it seemed like three hours. It is a very exciting day, congratulations to my teammates. The big score that Heather pulled in – I don’t think I’ve ever had that much pressure going into the arena knowing that there was an 86% in front of me.”

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

Whisper of Excitement as New Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage Season Begins

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Adelinde Cornelissen and Jerich Parzival from The Netherlands won the 2010/2011 Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage title at Leipzig, Germany. Photo: FEI/Kit Houghton.

Lausanne (SUI), 18 October 2011 – As the Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage 2011/2012 season gets underway at Odense in Denmark this weekend (21-23 October), there is a whisper of excitement running through the world of international dressage.  This sport, which relies on the technical skills and innate instincts of the riders along with the grace, elegance, willingness and athleticism of their horses and the expertise of a panel of judges, has experienced a tsunami of change in recent years, and the new-found unpredictability of the formerly pedantic discipline has energised it like never before.

For so many years, Dressage was dominated by the same few names, but in the modern era it has grasped the concept of greater engagement with the public without shedding its links to its classical past, and many new stars have been born.  The explosive arrival of the sensational Dutch duo, Edward Gal and the stallion Totilas, blew away the cobwebs and shone a bright light into the future as they blazed a trail through the 2009 and 2010 seasons with displays of pure showmanship and energy.  That partnership no longer exists, but the legacy they have left behind includes the desire to hold onto the massive increase in public interest created by their star quality.

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*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Dressage, Events, Pan American Games, USEF

US Sweep in First Half of Individual Dressage Competition at 2011 Pan American Games

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Steffen Peters and Weltino's Magic. Photos: www.stockimageservices .com

After scoring Team Gold Sunday afternoon, the U.S. Dressage riders went to task again, this time in the first half of the Individual Final. Riding the Intermediaire I test, all four U.S. riders kept the level of their Game high, and continued to thrive in the main arena at the Guadalajara Country Club. They swept the top three places, and head to the freestyle on Wednesday in Medal position.

Read about the Team Gold medal effort here: http://usefnetwork.com/news/7751/2011/10/16/gold_for_us_dressage_team_at_2011.aspx.

Steffen Peters (San Diego, CA) topped the scoreboard again on Weltino’s Magic, this time scoring 78.079% in another valiant effort. Heather Blitz (Wellington, FL) is second on Paragon with a score of 77.184% and Marisa Festerling went one better than in the Team competition, finishing third on Big Tyme on a score of 74.316%.  Cesar Parra (Whitehouse Station, NJ) rounded out the U.S. effort with a sixth place finish on Grandioso on a score of 72.000%.

Weltino’s Magic continues to rise to the occasion for Peters, despite one mistake early in the test, Peters was pleased with Jen and Bruce Hlavacek’s 9-year-old Westphalian gelding. Weltino’s Magic nearly broke to canter in the first trot extension across the diagonal.

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Awards, Breeds, Competitions, Dressage, Events, JRPR

Brazilian Lusitano Stallion Wins Interagro Lusitanos High Score Lusitano Award at Dressage at Devon

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Nancy Himmelblau and Suplicio Da Roposa won the High Point Lusitano Award at Dressage at Devon. Todd Grace, a U.S. representative for Interagro Lusitanos, presented Himmelblau with her award. (Photo courtesy of JRPR)

Devon, PA (October 17, 2011) – Suplicio Da Roposa, a gorgeous 12-year-old Lusitano stallion owned by Nancy Himmelblau, captured the High Score Lusitano Award during the prestigious Dressage at Devon Horse Show. Sponsored by Interagro Lusitanos, the largest breeder and exporter of Lusitano horses in the world, the High Score Lusitano Award recognizes the highest scoring Lusitano during dressage competitions and highlights the dynamic and competitive Lusitano breed.  Suplicio earned a 73.7% in the Iberian Horse class in the Breed Division with Bruce Griffin.

Himmelblau, from Somerset, New Jersey, was thrilled with her stallion’s performance as well as the fact that he rode away with the Lusitano High Score Award. “This was his second time to compete at Devon, but his first time in the Iberian Breed class,” she said. “I train with Suzanne Marshall and she is the one who introduced me to the breed.”

Marshall, who was at Devon with Himmelblau, said she knew Suplicio as a five-year-old in Brazil. “When we went to Brazil to look for a horse for Nancy, I was shocked to find out that Suplicio was for sale,” Marshall said. “The Lusitano horse chooses its owner, and after Nancy rode him he didn’t want her to leave the ring. He chose her.”

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*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Dressage, Events, Pan American Games, USEF

Gold for US Dressage Team at 2011 Pan American Games

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The Gold Medal-Winning U.S. Dressage Team. Anthony Trollope/ Stockimageservices.com

The U.S. Dressage Team’s Gold medal never looked in doubt today at the 2011 Pan American Games. They started off confidently and with each ride, the margin improved. They stormed to victory and won their fourth consecutive Pan American Games Team Gold medal – a first in the sport of Dressage. Their combined average score of 74.421% left them well clear of the Canadians who won Silver with a combined average of 70.413%. Colombia put in a valiant late effort to surge into the top three with 69.632%.

Led by Olympic veteran Steffen Peters (San Diego, CA) on Weltino’s Magic – the only combination to score over 80% – the U.S. Team put on an exhibition. Peters’s score of 80.132% is a Pan American Games record. A strong anchor rider, Peters had the luxury today of a little less pressure due to the fact that the entire team put in top 10 performances.

“It was one of the best tests this horse has done,” said Peters. “I have to say a big thank you to my teammates because they gave me a very relaxed position to start in today. Over the past few years I have always had to carry a lot of weight on my shoulders as the very last rider but the team did an awesome job, every single horse, every single rider.”

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*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Dressage, Events, Pan American Games, USEF

Team Dressage Medals Up First at 2011 Pan American Games

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Cesar Parra and Grandioso at the Jog. Anthony Trollope/ stockimageservices.com

Dressage, the first equestrian discipline of the 2011 Pan American Games, begins Sunday, October 16, at the Guadalajara Country Club. The four American dressage horses were presented this morning to the Ground Jury and looked spectacular in the Mexican sunshine. All were accepted without incident. The U.S. has drawn sixth out of the 12 teams vying for Team medals. They will ride the Prix St. Georges test in the following order (unconfirmed times):

1. Cesar Parra and Grandioso (9:12 am)
2. Marisa Festerling and Big Tyme (11:18 am)
3. Heather Blitz and Paragon (2:36 pm)
4. Steffen Peters and Weltino’s Magic (5:00 pm)

Riding for the first time as an American, Colombian ex-patriate Cesar Parra (Whitehouse Station, NJ) is first up for the American team riding Michael and Sarah Davis’ Grandioso. Fourth in the 2003 Pan American Games for Colombia, Parra is also a licensed dentist. The 2010 National Champion at the Intermediaire I level at the Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Dressage Festival of Champions, he has had considerable national success so far as an American.

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*Featured/Spotlights, Championships, Competitions, Dressage, Eventing/H.T., Events, USEF

Martin & Beebee Lead USEF National Eventing Championships as Dressage Concludes

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Boyd Martin and Ying Yang Yo (Shannon Brinkman Photo)

Elkton, MD – Riders completing their dressage tests Friday at the 2011 Dankso Fair Hill International put in impressive efforts as scores dipped lower and lower into the 40s and spectators and riders alike were subject again to intermittent rain showers throughout the day. Heading the field in their respective CCI divisions and the USEF National Eventing Championships, which are held in conjunction with the Dankso Fair Hill International, are Boyd Martin and Susan Beebee.

Martin and Ying Yang Yo lead the CCI3*, while Beebee and Wolf head to the cross country out in front in the CCI2*.

Full scores are available here: http://www.evententries.com/livescoring/14839.html.

2011 USEF National CCI3* Eventing Championship

Martin (West Grove, PA) rode in a deluge of rain Friday afternoon but that did not stop him from piloting his own and Faye Woolf’s Ying Yang Yo to the top of the leaderboard. The ground jury of David Lee, Sue Baxter and Christian Landholt rewarded the 15-year-old Australian Thoroughbred gelding with a score of 40.4.

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Benefits, Community/Charity, Competitions, Dressage, Events, Para-Equestrian

2011 IALHA National Championship and Charity Horse Show Graciously Benefits United States Para-Equestrian Association

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Eleanor Brimmer and Vadico Interagro at 2011 NEDA Fall Festival of Dressage CPEDI3*. Photo © Lindsay Yosay McCall

Fort Worth, TX – October 14, 2011 – In 2010 the Para-Equestrian discipline debuted at their first World Equestrian Games, the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. The Games launched the Para-Equestrian sport and Para-Equestrians into household names.  The recognition let people know that Para-Dressage, like all equestrian disciplines, requires strength, drive, FEI level horses, and experienced athletes.  As like all equestrian sports it also requires strong support.  The 2011 International Andalusian Lusitano Horse Show Association (IALHA) decided their 2011 IALHA National Championship and Charity Horse Show would benefit the United States Para-Equestiran Association (USPEA).  This is the biggest show of the year for the IALHA which is held October 11-16, 2011 at the Will Rogers Equestrian Center in Ft. Worth Texas.  The IALHA and the United States Equestrian Federation present the National Championship.

“I brought the idea to our committee of having our last big show of the year benefit the USPEA and it was unanimous that it would happen,” smiled 2011 IALHA Show Chair Christina Cardenas.  Christina became captivated by the Para-Equestrians while in Lexington at the 2010 World Equestrian Games.  She noted, “When I saw these riders dancing with their horses and making it look so effortless I knew in that moment I wanted to have a fundraiser for the cause.” Over the course of this week, the IALHA horse show holds a silent auction and has a clothing drive to add to their fundraiser.  It will be support of the patrons, the sponsors, exhibitors, IALHA members, and spectators who will contribute to supporting the USPEA.  As part of the fundraiser the USPEA will receive 50% of all profits.

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