Fizzy 2010 Season

World Dressage Masters

I really thought I had a great plan for Fizzy coming into this season.  We arrived in Florida just before the new year and planned to do our first show (a national show) at the end of January.  Then, in the middle of February I would do the Valentine's Day CDI at Jim Brandon, followd by the Palm Beach Derby CDI the beginning of March.  That all changed when I received a phone call at the end of January- days before our first national show, inviting us to ride in the World Dressage Masters!  Was the timing ideal?  No.  Fizzy and I hadn't been in the ring together since the pervious September and I always like to start with a national show to give us both a chance to get the kinks out and find our show groove. 

Initially, I wanted to decline the invitation, but after speaking with my coach, Michael Barisone and US Technical Advisor Anne Gribbons I decided to give it a shot.  One week before the show we did a "test ride" for Anne which was incredibly helpful.  Although I had some mistakes, overall it was a super experience and gave me a lot of confidence going into the Masters. 

A lot of people asked me if I was nervous about competing against the likes of Steffen Peters and Anky Van Grunsven and Isabell Werth.  My answer was always, "No."  I had nothing to loose.  I know they are in a league far above my own (note I say my own, not my horses!) but what an honor and opportunity to get to compete in the same class as them! 

The Masters went incredibly well for Fizzy and me.  He was a super boy and I think we held our own quite well in some very good company.  Had it not been for a big head toss in the extended walk (which we later attributed to a ulceration from a sharp tooth right under his noseband, poor guy!) we would have scored nearly 68%/. As it was we finished with a 66% and a very respecable 9th place.  WOW is all I can say about the experience.  I gained so much confidence and honestly was simply so proud of my horse.  I've said it before and I will say it always- talent for him is not the problem.  He will go as well as I can ride him and I strive every single day to become the best rider I can not just for him, but for all the horses I ride.  What an incredible opportunity I have with so many wonderful horses to ride.

The Palm Beach Derby CDI produced for us our highest Grand Prix CDI score to date- a 68.8% earning us a second place behind the superstars Tina Konyot and Calecto V.  What a season this has been for us.  I am so thankful!

2010 Season Photos

Galant schooling.  February 2010.

Odin and his owner schooling.  Fall 2009.

Emily and Colby schooling.  March 2010.

Allure schooling.  February 2010.

Allure showing off her ribbons!

2010 Winter Season

The 2010 season has certainly been an exciting one! I brought six horses to Florida with me- five in training- Fizzy of course, Odin (an eight-year-old Fizzy son out of Dos Rios xx, bred by Serendipity Sport Horses), Allure (a five-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare by Rousseau out of a Farrington x Hierarch dam bred by Sonnenberg Farm), Galant (a ten-year-old Hanoverian gelding) and Atticus (a Latvian gelding owned by a client of Lendon Gray). Additionally, my working student brought down her Dutch cross gelding.

All of the horses have made tremendous progress throughout the season. I started riding Galant in October and he's been an absolute delight to ride and train. At 18 hands he is the lightest, most sensitive horse I ride (or have ever ridden for that matter!) and he's been absolutely brillant in learning the Grand Prix work. On my birthday (February 16th) he gave me for the first time 15 one tempis. Everyone that sees us together comments on on an elegant, impressive pair we make and I'm hoping to continue with his training so that we can begin showing Intermediare II and Grand Prix later this season. He has minimal show experience so we've spend some time this winter going to different shows and practicing riding in different venues giving him confidence. He's been simply fantastic and loves to go on adventures!

I originally started riding Fizzy's son Odin with the intent of having him for a few years to ride and compete. I keep up with all of Fizzy's offspring to see how they are doing and as Odin is one of his oldest offspring (from his first foal crop) I always wanted to know how he was progressing. When his Young Rider told me she didn't have much time to ride him I offered to take him on to train while she was busy with work and school. Unfortunately she and her family have decided that having a horse right now really doesn't make sense so the decision has been made to sell Odin. I will continue riding him until he gets sold. He too has made super progress while in Florida and I look forward to marketing him in the next few months. He is VERY sensitive (from his Thoroughbred dam) but tries incredibly hard and is going to make a fabulous partner for someone.

Allure, affectionately called Lulu, belongs to a client from Indiana. She came to me la summer after being in a field for five months doing embryo transfers. She had been lightly started last spring and then given the summer off to be a baby maker! Her owner has made some very interesting stallion choices for her including UB40, Westpoint, Contucci and Freestyle. The goal was to have a number of offspring on the ground before she started her performance career. Last summer she was also bred to Fizzy and we are eagerly awaiting this cross for 2010! Interestingly enough, Lulu's great-grand-father is my Young Rider mount, Hierarch. Small world.

Lulu has been an absolute pleasure to train. At over 17 hands she is still growing and slowly maturing, but she is incredibly balanced for a young horse and has a super presence. She competed in her first ever horse show a few weeks ago at the prestigious Palm Beach Derby no less- taking home 1st, 2nd and 3rd place ribbons at training and first level with scores between 66-71%. She didn't put a foot wrong the whole weekend and the judges absolutely loved her. She is schooling much of the 2nd level work, but I am taking my time to make her strong before putting too much pressure on her. I firmly believe that the more time you take in the basic work the more it pays off later. I think she is going to be an excellent candidate for the 6-Year-Old classes next year and a superb FEI horse beyond that. She already shows a lot of talent for half-steps and has an exceptionally good canter. Best of all however is her work ethic- she's incredibly forward without being silly and a very quick learner. We had the opportunity to work with Steffen Peters in February and he felt she was very talented.

Atticus again came down with his owner this year from Lendon Gray's barn to escape the cold for a few months. However, part way through the season his owner decided she wanted to change disciplines and is now having a BLAST doing reining! As a result, Atticus has been put up for sale and I've been riding him for the last few months. He could not be sweeter and is very enjoyable to ride. We are hoping to find him a new owner shortly.

My working student, Emily, has been with me since last fall. She'd had minimal dressage training when she came with a background in Jumpers. She rode various horses last fall at the farm and decided to bring her own horse, Colby, to Florida for the season. They have both made very good progress and he is turning out to be quite a special horse with three very good paces. Emily will be going home to Connecticut this spring to make some real money (since working students don't usually make that much!) and I wish them continued success and look forward to seeing (and hopefully helping) with their showing debut.