The Road the the CSDEA Dressage Festival

TEXT:

I must give credit to Ellen Hoffman, owner of Worth the Wait, for
persuading me to compete in recognized dressage shows this
season. In August of 2006, when I received a call from Ellen asking
if I would start her 3-year-old Oldenburg,Worthy, I jumped at the
opportunity, and began working with Worthy immediately.
Worthy turned out to be a very quick learner, a great mover, and
a smart horse. I worked on a lot of training basics with him, from
longing, to in-hand work, trail rides, jumping, bareback rides and
more.There wasn’t anything the horse was spooked by.We would
ride next to the road as big trucks and motorcycles zoomed by,
and he would stay focused and working hard. He is a type of
horse that really loves to work. He is sensitive, and willing to
work for you, and as long as you don’t pick a fight with him, he
will give you his all.
Ellen wanted me to make Worthy into a good fit for her, so I did
my best and put him to the test.We dipped our feet into the
event world a little in the spring, but soon realized he preferred
strictly dressage.This was perfect for Ellen, as she wants to show
in dressage. So we switched gears, and began to really focus on
Worthy’s dressage career.
Although I have been an event rider for most of my riding career,
I love dressage.This year at the Maui Jim Horse Trials, there was
a vendor selling simple t-shirts with quotes on them, one of them
being: "Eventing - Making bad dressage look good." Yes, it is true,
there are a lot of eventers out there who compete in the sport
primarily for the cross country phase. Without the dressage
scores, however, it is hard to win consistently. Dressage is
important. I find that a horse with a solid dressage base will jump
better on the cross country and in the show jump ring, and will
use its body more correctly in general.
My goals for the year included getting my USDF Performance
medals at Training and First levels, and also receiving my Bronze
Medal. I began the dressage show season with Otter Creek's
spring show, the May Flower I & II.
I made my dressage debut on my own horse, Lady Hannah B, at
2nd and 3rd level. I also debuted Worth the Wait (aka Worthy,
owned by Ellen Hoffman) at his first show at Training and First
levels. I was hooked! The horses brought home a variety of
different scores and ribbons, and I had a blast.
At the end of May,my training horses and Hannah came home for
the summer from where they had wintered (Otter Creek Farm,
and Hay River Equestrian). Ellen Hoffman was able to relocate
Worthy to Kathy Theissen’s training barn, Brightonwood Farm. I
continued to ride Worthy when I wasn’t in Grand Rapids, MI,
working with my trainer, Philippa Richards, or away at horse
shows. Kathy Theissen took over training Worthy, and Ellen took
lessons with Kathy.When I was able, I also brought my horse,
Hannah, over to Brightonwood Farm for lessons with Kathy.
My next dressage show was the St. Croix Dressage Classic, held
at the Washington County Fairgrounds in Lake Elmo, MN. I opted
to only show Worthy this time. It was a rainy,muggy weekend, but
we didn't let the weather put a damper on our spirits.Worthy
worked the dressage ring like he had been doing it his whole life.
By the end of the weekend, we were 6-for-6 in blue ribbons -
quite an accomplishment for a young horse in his first show
season! At this point,Worthy was well on his way to earning his
USDF Training Level Performance Award.
Our next show was the Parkside Dressage Show, held at Alpine
Farms in Long Lake, MN. I rode both Worthy and Hannah at this
show, riding in classes from Training to Third levels. As usual, in
July, it was a very hot weekend, but all the competitors kept
pressing on. I have ridden at Alpine Farms for their hunter/
jumper horse shows. CSDEA's Parkside Dressage show there
was just as fun, and very well organized.
Two weeks later, we were off to the Washington County
Fairgrounds for the Midsummer Dressage Show. I rode Worthy,
Hannah, and a new one, Cover Story (aka Kelso), owned by
The Road to the CSDEA Dressage Festival by Liz Lund
The author and Worth the Wait, aka “Worthy” achieved many
goals in 2008.
Jennifer Johnson DVM. All the horses were great, and I had
received my final scores needed for my USDF Bronze Medal.
My next dressage show was the USDF Region 4/Midwest
Championships. This was my first dressage championship show.
Worthy put in a stellar warm up class, only to be a completely
different horse for the Midwest Championship class. Horses are
horses, and you have to ride what you have. In that class, I had
what Worthy probably should be most of the time: a young,
spooky, green horse. He made up for it the next day by maturing
overnight, and receiving second place in his warm up class, and
eighth place in the USDF Region 4/Great American Insurance
Championship class. Overall, a great experience, and, as is usual
with the Brightonwood Team, a fun time!
As the end of the season closed in, my final dressage show was
the CSDEA Dressage Festival. I rode on a team with Kathy
Theissen and Sarah Travis. The week before Dressage Festival,
both Kathy and Sarah had put some serious training rides in on
Worthy to prepare for the show, as I was now at school full-time,
and traveling every weekend. With some nice tests, and scores
staying in the upper sixties, we received 3rd Place in the Team
Championships. Kathy and Sarah’s help over the season has been
tremendous, both in Worthy’s training, and my riding.
It was such a wonderful experience at Festival this year. The
Festival Under the Stars rides were amazing, creative, and so
much fun to watch! There were a variety of rides, from musical
kurs, to bull fighting, dancing and vaulting. Not only was it a fun
weekend, but we actually had nice weather. For anyone that
knows me, every single event that I have been to this year, it has
rained.Two even cancelled the cross country due to the volume
of rain. This year hasn’t been my year in the event world, but I
sure had a blast meeting all of my goals in the dressage ring.
By the end of the dressage show season,Worthy had received his
USDF Training Level Performance Award, I had received my
Training and First Level Rider Performance Awards, and also
achieved the USDF Bronze Medal.
I would like to thank everyone who has helped me in my dressage
endeavors this year. I will not name anyone as I feel I would most
likely leave someone’s name out, but a big thanks to my
supporters, family, friends, clients, students and most of all my
horses.
At each dressage show, the Brightonwood Team made me feel a
part of a team. It was fun to have friends cheering you on at
ringside,willing to read a test at the last minute, or helping polish
your boots after you have gotten on your horse. I have had such
a fun time this year at the dressage shows, I just might be back
next year!
My goals for next year are to continue showing Worthy at
Training and First level, focusing on getting the high scores he is
capable of on a consistent basis, moving my mare up to Fourth
level, and working on getting some of my scores for my USDF
Silver Medal - and hopefully having as much fun as I did this
season!

Across the Pond to a Brighter Future

Across the Pond to a Brighter Future

Author: Emily Daily

07.24.2008

By Liz Lund

Meet Philippa Richards - a talented young lady who’s quickly making a name for herself in the U.S. after arriving from England in 2005. Keep your eye on her, we’ll be seeing lots of great results from this talented rider in the future!

(Left: Philippa competing Gentleman Jack, owned by Kate Dernocoeur, at Otter Creek Horse Trials.)

Photos courtesy of Philippa Richards & Liz Lund

Philippa Richards, born 11/16/1982 in Chester, England, sat on her first pony at only two years of age and began taking lessons at age four. She grew up around horses and was in love with them (editor’s note - the name Philip means "friend of horses" and her nickname is "Philly"….I think fate had a hand in Philippa’s future!). Tuesday, Philly’s first pony, was an 18-year-old Highland pony that was given to her as a gift that she used in Pony Club and rode with her hunter trainer. When it was time to get a new horse, Philly advertised as needing a horse in the local paper, and received a phone call about a pony named Pen Pal. He was nine-years-old, stood at 12.2 hands, and had competed in show jumping. She competed in working hunter ponies with him which led to her discovery of hunting and eventing, and she found her true equestrian sport.

(Right: Philly as a youngster learning to ride. Below Left: Philippa & her husband, Peter Humphries, after Richland Park HT 2007.)

After Pen Pal, Philly went three years without owning a horse but she rode anybody else’s horses that she could. She met good friend and trainer Tuffy Tilly who offered to find Philly a horse that she would be able to compete. Then she found her angel, Christian. He was a nine-year-old Irish Sport Horse. By the time she was 14-years-old she was winning at Preliminary and rode him to her best dressage score yet of a 17.0 at that level.

After high school, Philly went to University of Leeds, England. She survived the first year of school without a horse but needed one to keep her motivated to continue her education towards earning a degree in Physical Education. Philippa purchased Daisy. Daisy was young, scruffy, and nothing special to look at when Philly first acquired her. Philly started working with Daisy, whom at the time was an unbroken six-year-old ½ Irish Draft and ½ Thoroughbred. Before she came to the United States, Philly competed Daisy through Intermediate and another horse she owned she competed at the one star level. When Philippa moved across the pond to the States, she sold her one-star horse but brought Daisy along because she couldn’t sell her as no one else could ride her.

(Right: Philippa & Whoops A Daisy on their first Advanced course at Richland Park HT 2007, earning 6th place.)

In October of 2005, Philly decided to move to the United States to live with fiancé Pete Humphreys who had lived in the U.S. for twelve years. 2006 was Philippa’s first competition season in the U.S. She ran around a handful of Preliminaries at various shows and jumped double-clear in the one-star at Maui Jim Horse Trials at Lamplight Equestrian Center before Philly moved Daisy back up to Intermediate at Champagne Run held at the Kentucky Horse Park. After Maui Jim in 2006, she began working with Robin Walker, who is from Grass Lake, MI.

Spring 2007 at Otter Creek Horse Trials was the first time that I met Philly. She is young, spunky, knowledgeable and I was instantly intrigued by her background. It was impressive to watch her atop her mare, Whoops A Daisy, as they won the Open Intermediate division at Otter Creek Farm.

(Above Left: Philippa & Whoops A Daisy won the Open Intermediate division at Otter Creek Spring HT 2007.)

Philippa made her Advanced debut at Richland Park Horse Trials in 2007 earning a solid sixth place amongst top four-star competitors and horses like Karen O’Connor on Hugh Knows and Mandiba, Missy Rasenhousen on Critical Decision, Clark Montgomery on Up Spirit, and Jonathan Holling on Tinkatoo, and her trainer, Robin Walker, on Amazing Odyssey. She was on Daisy, the horse that many had believed would never go above Preliminary.

Philly aimed to compete Daisy in a three-star this year but with the ups come the downs of the horse world, and disappointing news hit Philippa in early June of 2008. Sadly, Daisy injured herself and is out of work for the rest of the year. With the mentality of the utmost respected top event riders, Philly wisely decided to give Daisy a full year to recover. Philly understands that her horses must be in top physical and mental condition to compete at the upper levels. Although her three-star dreams have been put on hold for the year, she presses on with her Training horses to further their experience and is currently campaigning for more clients and horses to bring up the levels.

(Right: Philippa riding Atticus, owned by Sarah Hughes, in competition.Left: Philippa riding For the Top, also owned by Sarah Hughes.)

Sarah Hughes is her main client, providing Philly with four mounts. Sarah’s eight-year-old Oldenburg gelding, For the Top, aka Alfie, is currently competing in the Preliminary division aiming for his first one-star this fall. Atticus, a seven year old Thoroughbred is also competing at Preliminary looking to do the one-star in the fall as well. Hot Prospect, aka William, is a seventeen-year-old Thoroughbred who Philippa currently competes in the Intermediate division. Viraldi is a KWPN Registered six-year-old dressage prospect. With miles of legs underneath him, he stands around eighteen hands high! He is young and Philly is looking forward to getting her feet wet with him in the dressage world.
Kate Dernocoeur is owner of Gentleman Jack, a Thoroughbred whom Philly has competed through Intermediate.

Philippa’s groom, Sarah Raby, works hard to keep Philippa’s horses groomed to perfection both at home and at horse shows.

Students of all ages ride with Philly from near and far. One student, Kyleigh Klaasen, 19, has been riding with Philly since the winter of 2005. She says, “Philippa makes riding challenging yet fun and there is never a dull moment.”

Philippa found Oliver, a “Prince Charming” for young student Sarah Chiazza from England and created a match made in heaven. Sarah is thirteen years old and competing at the Novice level.

(Right: Philippa competing Gentleman Jack owned by Kate Dernocoeur.)

Philippa’s students love to be around her, help her at every chance they get, and share the same love for horses that Philippa does. One student, Courtney Ainsworth, third place winner at the 2007 AEC at Training level, says, “Philly pours her heart and soul into not only her own riding, but also her students. I know she cares so much about how we do - it is really an inspiration. I want to do well for her AND myself.”

It takes special talent to be able to bring a horse from nothing, up the levels and to Advanced. Philippa’s favorite horses are the ones that people have given up on, the un-rideable, the ones that people said will never be any good.

Philippa purchased a new horse this summer from Sheridan, Wyoming. Rockstar is a 5 year old Dutch Warmblood/Thoroughbred that Philly hopes will be a great event horse.

I went to Michigan in June to work with Philippa and value everything I learned during the experience. I can’t wait to return at the end of July for a month until I return to college in the fall.

Visit Philippa’s website at www.pheventing.com - it will be up and running shortly!

summer time updates

Sorry guys, it has been awhile! I have been really busy this summer!

The ups and downs of the non-stop round the clock sport never end!

Latest news: Addition to training, Cover Story aka Kelso, owned by Jennifer Johnson DVM. He is a 5 year old Warmblood cross who had been in training with local dressage trainer Lindsay Fuchs. Lindsay did a phenomenal job with Kelso and he came to me early June to start his eventing career! With a great base that Lindsay put on Kelso he has been pretty easy going, minus his "I want to be in charge" and clumsy trip over his own feet on occasion moments he has been coming along well. I hope to aim him at Trott Brook Horse Trials as his first event outing.

Miss Hannah B has turned into quite the dressage horse! We have attended two more dressage shows in July. Parkside Dressage was the weekend of the 4th of July, we competed in second and third level receiving various ribbons and qualifying scores. Next was Midsummer Dressage at the WA Cty Fair Grounds. We competed again in second and third level receiving even better scores then at Parkside Dressage.

Also, Midsummer Dressage was Kelso's first outing to a show. After quite a display of stubbornness on Saturday he stepped up to the plate on Sunday to put in a great test receiving 6s & 7s on most movements!
Currently Kelso & Hannah are in Michigan at Ford Creek Farm in training with Philippa Richards for two weeks until I return back to Michigan on August 11th to continue working with the horses. I had (so torturous! wink wink) to stay back in MN because of family obligations and a camping/concert trip with friends in early August.

I have been working hard on writing for other articles (see my CSDEA post about Otter Creek) and also see my following post which was published on the USEA Blog website.

check out my article on Philippa Richards: USEA Blog-Philippa Richards

I began creating a website for Philippa Richards also, which can be viewed here: PHEVENTING.COM

I have cut back on training and lessons for the month of August as I will be heading off to Michigan and then returning to UW-Stout on September 1st.

September is full of fun horsey plans.
5-7: USDF Regional Dressage Championships/Midwest Dressage Championships-Mason City-IO on Worth the Wait competing in the Training Level Championships
11-14: American Eventing Championships on Hannah in the JYR-Prelim Division Championships
20-21: Dressage Festival Under the Stars on Worth the Wait at Training Level and 1st Level
26-28: Otter Creek Fall HT & Area IV Championships on Hannah competing in the Preliminary Championships

Here are some attached pictures from my summer adventures!!!

Stall card at Lost Hounds Horse Trials in PA. Withdrew b/c they cancelled XC due to heavy amounts of rain.

Jordynn Sahagian and I buzzing around on the mini-bike at Lost Hounds Horse Trials.

Hannah trying to steal Alfie's hay on our way to XC Schooling in Michigan.

Riding one of Philippa's sale horses, Sylish Tuxx.

St. Croix Dressage Classic 6/7-8/2008

Owner Ellen Hoffman proud of her 5 year Old Oldenburg gelding- "He sure has been Worth the Wait!"-Ellen Hoffman

Friday evening was on and off rain storms. Owner, Ellen Hoffman and I finally found a break in the weather, waited for traffic and loaded Worthy up into the the trailer and headed to the Washington County show grounds for the St. Croix Dressage Classic.

Ellen braided his mane Friday evening so we would be ready for our classes on Saturday. The weather turned out great, we got Worthy ready and I got on him to warm up for my first class, First Level Test 1. He felt great, he doesn't need much of a warm up so we headed to the ring to perform our test. He felt really good, rhythmic and moving forward. We entered the ring, halted/saluted at X and continued on to put in a great test earning a 64% to win first place! We decided we wanted to keep that trend up so I focused on keeping him calm and made sure to ride him the same in the two tests following on Saturday.

Our next test was Training 3, also earning a 64% and winning first place again. Following Training 3 was Training 4, our Region 4 Championship qualifying test, we earned a 64% again taking first place. What a great first day, nothing but blue and Ellen was thrilled. It is such a great feeling when you can go out there and get rewarded for the work I have done at home.

Sunday we started with First Level test 2 earning a 65% to take the blue again. Next was Training 3 followed by Training 4. Worthy was starting to get a little tired, but nothing could keep him from trucking along. We earned another 65% in the Training 3, winning 1st and received our best score of the weekend a, 67% to win our 6th class. I was very thrilled with him and Ellen was very happy!

We are now preparing for our next dressage show, July 5th-6th, Parkside Dressage at Alpine Farms in Minnesota. Our goal is to qualify for the Region 4 Championships in Mason City, Iowa.

Carriage House Combined Test 2008

Liz & Hannah in the Open-Intermediate division performing their dressage test. Receiving a 36.6 putting them in 2nd place.

Liz & Hannah pleased with their day's performance.

Carriage House is always a great show, close to home and held in one day. I had three horses going in the show. Hannah in the Open Intermediate division, Worth the Wait in Open Novice and Hamel in Open Beginner Novice and Open Novice. The horses were great.

I had to get up extra early on Sunday to feed and turnout the other horses and trailer to Carriage House to be the first ride of the day at 8:00am on Hamel. I arrived, unloaded Hamel, quickly braided him and tacked up. I was very grateful to have my friend Chelsea Leines there helping me groom and take care of the horses.

Hamel's first ride went pretty well. Being an 'off-the-track-thoroughbred' (OTTB) he gets a little excited with all the commotion, but even him being excited really isn't hard to handle. He earned a 38 on his first dressage test and put us in 4th place.

My next ride was on Worth the Wait "Worthy". He is a dressage horse that is experience eventing on the side for a little fun, even though he seems to enjoy the dressage the best, we will see how far he goes as an "event" horse. He earned a 34 in dressage to put him in 3rd place.

Next was Hamel again and he was not so good, this time we rode in the grass ring and he was "hopping" around like a bunny. Like I said above, nothing to hard to put up with, just annoying at times like when you are trying to turn and trot (not hop) down centerline to salute. All in all he was pretty good considering that was only his 3rd show!

My first show jumping round was next beginning with Hamel. He was quite a handful in warm up, just getting excited and once again "hopping". I call it hopping because it really isn't bucking or crowhopping...but he just puts his head down low and hops, it is quite entertaining I am told. He got into the ring and was much better, jumping clean adding only time to his score to finish in 6th place taking home a green ribbon for his mom, Jean Kunz.

I then had my dressage ride on Hannah. I tacked her and warmed up and she felt really good, responding to my aids, doing her laterals smoothly and acing her walk/canter transitions. We entered the ring, performed our test, saluted and thanked the judge. We received a 36.6 putting us in 2nd place.

Next were the two youngsters, starting with Hamel who had seemed to be adjusting better as the day progressed and his hoppiness was slowly getting better. His novice course was great, he jumped everything. He is such a cool horse, and definitely will be a clean show jumper no matter the height of the fences. He finished 7th in the Open Novice division.

Worthy is also a great jumper, he has amazing movement too which makes the dressage come easy to him. He isn't as experienced or comfortable with jumping so he gets a little "ring sour" but only in the show jumping ring. Out on cross country he gallops willingly to and from the crowds, while in the show jump ring he tends to get a little claustrophobic. He had one rail and a few time penalties from doing a little "dance" towards the outgate, overall he was great and as the course continued he progressed quickly.

Hannah was the last ride of the day and the jumps seemed huge compared the the BN and N fences earlier in the day. I was using my new bit (the 3 ring elevator, with a figure 8 noseband, a kinetin noseband and a running martingale) and she seemed to do really well in it. We entered the ring and jumped a great round having only one rail and taking on 7 time penalties, which I was not at all upset about because that meant my bit was working and now I know I just need to work on pressing her more forward without losing control. We finished in 3rd place.

Overall the Sunday show was a success and a lot of fun. The drive home seemed long after the long and hot day at the show but once we arrived at home the horses were happy to see dinner and I was happy to drive home and go to sleep.


“Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off your goal” – Jim Lefebvre

"This is the Real OC"

This is the Real OC

By: Liz Lund

(Liz wrote this article for the CSDEA Cross Country magazine)

No, not the OC as in Orange County, but the OC as in Otter Creek. Otter Creek Farm, located in Wheeler, Wisconsin rests on an amazing three hundred acres of rolling hills and woods. Not only is it a great location close to The Twin Cities for all of us in the Central States area, but the farm, clinics and shows are organized and run by dedicated owners, Mark and Lena Warner. The facility and the organizers provided everything needed for a fabulous 2008 Spring Otter Creek CIC*/** Horse Trial.

The ever changing and improving Otter Creek never seems to stop growing. Mark and Lena do almost all of the work on their own, including farm management, design and construction. Recent additions over the last few years are a new water complex, new hunter ring, expanded dressage ring, new fences and most recently a new permanent stabling complex with 80 stalls.

A tremendous amount of time and planning goes into an event like the Otter Creek CIC*/** Horse Trials. Just as each individual rider prepares for a horse show long before the actual show date, the organizers have to prepare far in advance also. Officials, judges, a technical delegate, medical personnel and many volunteers all have to be found long before the show begins. I would like to thank Jenny Warner for her commitment to gather all the volunteers needed at the OCF Events. The organizers are prepared to handle a variety of situations, from severe weather to medical emergencies for horses, riders and spectators, or any kind of technical difficulty. The amazing Otter Creek organization provided an extremely efficient show with a nice flow and minimal stress for the competitors.

Course designer and former Olympic medalist, John Williams designed wonderful cross country and show jumping courses at Otter Creek. John Williams rode on the US Team in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Finishing individually in 28^th place, he helped secure the bronze medal for the U.S. Not only did he create a course with a wonderful flow but he was available and open to comments, suggestions and questions from competitors. With all the safety controversies in Eventing currently, horse show organizers are trying to create safer courses and make things ultimately the best that they can. The goal of creating safe yet challenging questions was achieved at Otter Creek. The rest was rightly left up to the riders and their horses.

Thursday was day one for the CIC* and ** riders to begin. Each FEI level competitor had to speak with FEI Vet, present their horse’s passport and jog for the vet to check for soundness.

Friday was full of spectacular dressage rides, with some riders competing up to as many as six different horses. This year was the first of hopefully many years that Otter Creek Farm incorporated the FEI Levels of the CIC* and **.

Friday morning brought an vast array of horses and riders of all levels warming up, riding tests and walking horses back to the stabling area. The day involved a lot of riders walking the cross country course before, after and in-between dressage rides in order to memorize their course, walk their lines, and measure the length to figure out minute and halfway markers.

I had three horses running in the OCF Spring H.T. I competed my own mount, Lady Hannah B, a 13 year old American Warmblood in the CIC*, Hamel, a 6 year old, off-the-track Thoroughbred, owned by Jean and Walter Kunz doing his first horse trail at Beginner Novice, and Worth the Wait, a 5 year old Oldenburg owned by Ellen Hoffman doing his first horse trial also at Beginner Novice.

Friday morning I started with my CIC* ride. I braided and groomed Hannah till she sparkled. I tacked up and then got myself dressed in white breeches, shadbelly and top hat. I made sure I had everything needed and headed over to the dressage warm up arena. Hannah felt great in warmup, I really had her working from behind and practiced different movements from our test. It was our turn to ride so I walked her over to the dressage ring. We entered the ring and gave it our best. We earned a 54.6 to put us in a tie for second place. Following my CIC* ride came the Beginner Novice horses I am training. Hamel, followed by Worth the Wait, were both very good considering it was their first show.

Liz & Hannah working on their lengthen in the dressage warmup.

Liz happy with her warmup waves to her friend Jen Johnson and heads over to the dressage ring.

Liz's practice in warmup on her lengthen paid off her in dressage test.

A lovely halt and salute to finish up a lovely dressage ride.

Saturday morning rolled around and the first riders went out on course, starting with the Training level. Horses galloped around, jumped fences and stormed through the finish lines while others warmed up for their turn. The weather was gorgeous and the day was running smoothly. Following Training level was Novice, then the CIC**, Intermediate, CIC*, Preliminary and, last but not least, Beginner Novice.

My first ride was on Hannah around two o’clock. I had walked the course a few times and felt comfortable with everything; I had planned out all my lines and minute markers. I tacked her up, put in the necessary studs after analyzing the footing, and geared myself up. I walked out to warm-up and she was feeling fresh being it the first show of the year. I had been playing around with bits this winter and was trying to figure out the best bit for her. I decided to run her in her usual Mikmar Combination Bit because that is what she has been in for the last two years. The other reason I chose this particular bit combination was that we had had terrible spring weather which seemed like no spring at all. Like many others, I had not been able to get out and school much prior to the show.

We headed to the start box and she pranced around as usual. When we heard, “3, 2, 1…” we galloped out of the start box towards our first fence. The first eight jumps were nice forward jumps that established a nice flow and rhythm for the course. As we rounded the turn towards the infamous sunken road I really had to work to bring her back. All of the jumps rode well but I had to bring her back far in advance of each fence in order to get the pace I wanted her to jump from. We jumped clean but wound up with 26 time penalties. I wasn’t too concerned about the faults, after all you have to make mistakes in order to learn and now I know what my homework is before my next show! My beginner novice mounts were great. On Hamel, we trotted the entire course and he boldly jumped everything but came in with plenty of time penalties. Worth the Wait was also very brave and jumped everything with confidence.

Liz & Hannah clear the first jump on the CIC* course.

Liz Lund & Lady Hannah B clearing the B element of the second water complex in the CIC*.

Liz & Hannah clearing the Helsinki.

Liz & Hannah jumping down the A element into the infamous sunken road complex.

Liz & Hannah galloping on between fences.

Saturday night is a highlight at Otter Creek. Full of fun, delicious food, beer tasting, dancing, bonfires and intermittent lightning bolts, we eventers know how to have a good time, rain or shine. It gives riders and spectators a chance to relax and reflect on the day’s events, chat with friends and get to know others with the common equestrian bond. There is something uniquely different about the comradery that is part of the real OC experience.

Sunday was an early morning with the FEI Jogs starting promptly at 7:30am. It was a chilly morning and Hannah seemed to be her fresh self. She passed her jog and we went back to the barn to tack up for show jumping. Going into show jumping on Sunday I was in fifth place on Hannah. The CIC* course, measured at 3’9’’, looked big for a first outing but I had confidence going into the ring. Philippa Richards, an Advanced level rider located in Grand Rapids, Michigan from Great Britain has helped me out at previous shows and coached Hannah and I in the warm up. She really had me using my upper body and seat to bring her back. I decided to jump Hannah in the new configuration that I had used all winter, a loose ring snaffle and a Kinetin nose band. She felt great and we trotted down to the ring. I saluted the judge, picked up a canter to establish my rhythm, heard the whistle and headed to the first jump. The course rode great, Hannah was jumping awesome but our pace kept getting gradually faster and faster. I realized that we needed a little more control. We only had one rail tacking on another 4 penalty points to finish the CIC* and our first outing of the year in 5^th place. I was really happy with both her performance and my own. Both of the Beginner Novice mounts that I rode jumped around great. I took it nice and slow with both of them so they could get acclimated to the crowds standing around the ring. With a few more times out and consistent training they both will be solid event horses.

As a competitor that has participated in every Otter Creek Horse Trial since the beginning in 1999, I have personally witnessed the development of an amazing horse facility and show ground. I have been lucky enough to have ridden close to a dozen different horses over the years in OCF shows at almost every offered level of competition. At Otter Creek I have experienced the ups and downs of eventing in every way, literally. From forgetting the Coggins, needing an ambulance escort, winning and losing my divisions, it all adds up to the real OC. In addition to the competition and the learning, it is the fun and friendships that will always be remembered.

Entering the dressage world in style

Yes I am an Eventer and most are known for their hatred of dressage, but I on the other hand happen to love dressage. Yes, I said it, "I Love Dressage!". It is so cool to look at the transformations of rider and horse over a period of time.

My biggest change came this winter from working with Lena and Jenny Warner and Brad Cutshall.

Hannah has always had her flying lead changes, but they weren't great. She could throw herself onto the other lead when needed to in jumping but I hadn't really schooled them, or at that schooled them correctly for the flat. This winter we started working more on her canter half pass and lead changes and keeping her more steady in the bridle and working from behind. As the winter progressed so did we as a team. Not only did she become more agile and began accepting the bridle and using her hindend more, but I developed a better seat, allowing me to actually feel when she was using her back instead of just making it look like she was using her back. I began to understand more and more of what dressage really is.

I entered her in Otter Creek's first dressage show of the year, the Otter Creek May Flower. I put her in Second Level-3 and Third Level-1. On Saturday I received a 61.62% on my Second Level-3 earning 1st Place and a 63.59 on my Third Level-1 also earning 1st Place! What a great first day of my first REAL dressage show with Hannah. Day two I entered the same two classes. Second Level-3 I received a 60% earning 1st place and my Thirs Level-1 I also got a 60% earning 2nd place.

My goal is to get my Bronze Rider Medal this year in dressage and work on moving Hannah up to Fourth Level for next year. Of course my main focus is eventing, but having the dressage shows on the side is a great tune up for the eventing game too.