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Dressage Show News
Olympic dressage begins August 2, 2012 featuring Grand Prix Individual and Team Qualifying. FEI Olympic Site Watch all equestrian events on live streaming beginning July 28.
May 16, 2012
Olympic Dummy Runs for Para-Equestrians
British Dressage is calling for supporters to attend Paralympic Dressage selection events at Hickstead and Hartpury to help create a ‘Games-like’ atmosphere.
The British Para Dressage Championships (June 18-19) and the Festival of Dressage CDPI (July 4-8) will complete final preparations for the Games and it is intended that they will help accustom both the equine and human athletes to the environment of a major international show.
Both shows will feature past medal winners and potential future stars in action. Initial entry lists include nine-times Gold medallist Lee Pearson, Sophie Wells, Natasha Baker, Anne Dunham and Sophie Cristiansen. More info... May 16, 2012
Four USA Young Riders Selected for Olympic Dream Program European Trip
Dressage Foundation
Four American Young Riders have been selected for the Olympic Dream Program of a 10-day trip to Europe in August.
The riders are: Catherine Chamberlain of Chandler, Arizona; Nicole DelGiorno of Medford, New Jersey; Jennifer Detandt of Ocala, Florida, and Jaclyn Pepper of Santa Rosa, California. Kya Endreson of Southern Shores, North Carolina, was named as an alternate.
The four riders will travel to Europe in August on a 10-day introduction to European dressage. The tentative itinerary from Aug. 12-22 includes visits with Ingrid Klimke, Matthias Rath, Jean Bemelmans, Wolfram Wittig, and Klaus Balkenhol. The group will also attend the CDI in Cappeln, Germany. More info... May 16, 2012
Up to Six USA Horse/Rider Combos to Head to England After Olympic Selection
London Olympics
Timing of the United States’ dressage selection trials rule out Continental Europe competitions before the Olympics, but team coach Anne Gribbons hopes as many as six horsss and riders will be in the squad traveling to England to prepare for the Games.
Plans for the U.S. team were outlined by Anne as the year-long qualifying for the selection trials nears an end–the last date is May 27–based on results at events at CDI3* and above anywhere in the world. Only three qualifying CDIs remain in the United States but are unlikely to have a significant impact on the standings based on the average of results at Grand Prix and Olympic/Grand Prix Specials.
Steffen Peters of San Diego, California, leads the rankings with Ravel, his 14-year-old KWPN gelding 2009 World Cup championship and 2010 individual medal mount, and is second with Legolas, the 10-year-old Westfalen gelding he has competed successfully at three CDIs in California this year. More info... May 16, 2012
Riding a Dressage Horse: The Extended Trot
By Arlene “Tuny” Page with Kitson Jazynka
I love riding the extended trot on my dressage horses. When I ask my Grand Prix dressage horse Alina to move into an extended trot as she straightens onto the diagonal, it feels like it is her idea—a controlled explosion with maximum confidence. An extreme combination of fully loaded carrying and thrusting power, the extended trot is absolutely fantastic to ride.
While Alina’s rectangular shape makes her well-suited for the movement, her extended trot is the result of a training framework that builds flexibility and impulsion in any dressage horse. When I first met Alina four years ago, she was a Young Rider’s dressage horse with plenty of fire and a great work ethic. I bet that as she developed better looseness and carrying power, I could channel her desire to go while we developed her ability to collect and extend. It was a gamble that’s now paying off in the extended trot.
In schooling for the extended trot then and now, we focus on exercises that require a lot of thrust from the hindquarters and collecting exercises that require her to carry more weight on her hindquarters, hence playing the two ends of the spectrum. As a result, her range has widened to achieve an extended trot that takes your breath away. More info... May 15, 2012
Multi-tasking Michel Rides Her Way to London
PARIS (Reuters)
Being an excellent rider is not enough for Jessica Michel. For what is likely to be just a brief appearance at the London Olympics dressage competition, she has also had to prove herself as a horse trader and shrewd businesswoman for the past six years.
The only French representative in the discipline has, by her own admission, no chance of a podium finish.
Realistically, a top 18 finish is her highest possible hope in August, when the 29-year-old rides Riwera de Hus, an 11-year-old Oldenburg mare. More info... May 15, 2012
Olympics: Multi-Tasking Michel Rides Her Way to LondonBeing an excellent rider is not enough for Jessica Michel. For what is likely to be just a brief appearance at the London Olympics dressage competition, she has also had to prove herself as a horse trader and shrewd businesswoman for the past six years.
The only French representative in the discipline has, by her own admission, no chance of a podium finish.
Realistically, a top 18 finish is her highest possible hope in August, when the 29-year-old rides Riwera de Hus, an 11-year-old Oldenburg mare.
To simply make it to London, she has had to pull in 350,000 euros a year for the owner of the Haras de Hus, a stud farm she joined in 2006 to benefit from the best possible preparation. More info... May 14, 2012
Cees Slings Seeks Global File Standard for Freestyle Music
Cees Slings, one of the world’s leading creators of musical freestyles, has proposed standardizing professional file formats for musical freestyles to improve the experience for spectators.
The Dutch professional who has created freestyles for some of the world’s top rider and horse combinations proposed using AIFF and WAV musical files, both of which are digital studio master quality formats. He came out against MP3, the consumer format that is popular for home music systems and iPods and that he described as “amateurish” and “harsh and poor.”
The comments by Cees were contained in an email to judges and officials of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) and prompted by decisions by the U.S. Equestrian Federation that initially ruled that freestyles should be in MP3 format but then was reversed to require WAV and WMA files. More info... May 14, 2012
Dutton Wins at Jersey Fresh Olympic trial
Victory with Mystery Whisper yesterday at the Jersey Fresh International Three-Day Event meant more than a few prizes and a championship ribbon for Phillip Dutton. His performance at the Horse Park of New Jersey in Allentown qualified him to compete in the Olympics, where he seems destined to be a key player on the U.S. eventing team this summer.
"It's a big relief," said Dutton after completing the final show jumping phase at the Olympic selection trial with one fence down and a single time fault, which still left him far ahead of second-place Jude's Law with Michael Pollard up.
"There's not much the horse doesn't have as far as being a great three-day event horse," he commented about his mount. More info... May 13, 2012
Equestrian Hopes To Enter Exclusive Century Club
Toni Frary is ready to join an extraordinary group of equestrians.
After a lifetime of riding horses, she is eligible to join the national Dressage Foundation’s esteemed Century Club. The nonprofit group devoted to a form of equestrian sport recognizes riders and their horses whose ages are a combined 100 or more.
The dressage skills of Frary, 76, and her 24-year-old horse, Something Special, will be tested Memorial Day weekend at the Flora Lea Farm in Medford. A panel of foundation judges will determine whether the pair will enter the club.
“It’s an amazing goal. I’ve always loved horses and never expected to be doing it at this age,” the Medford Lakes resident said. “I’m so excited about it.” More info... May 11, 2012
London 2012 Olympic flame lit at Olympia
Olympia, Greece
With only 78 days until the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games in London the Olympic flame was lit Thursday at Olympia in Greece.
The lighting symbolically marks the beginning of the torch relay that will bring the flame to the Olympic Stadium in London on July 27.In line with tradition, the flame was lit following the time-honored ritual of using the sun’s rays and a parabolic mirror, by a high priestess Ino Menegaki at the Temple of Hera in Ancient Olympia.
The priestess then entered the Ancient Olympic Stadium, in a procession choreographed by Artemis Ignatiou, and used the flame to ignite the torch of the first runner of the Relay, Spyros Gianniotis. A British-born Greek open water swimming world champion and three-time Olympian, Gianniotis then transferred the flame to Alex Loukos, one of London 2012’s young ambassadors in Singapore in 2005, who has Greek heritage and lives in London. More info...
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