DRESSAGE NEWS

Anglos in Para-dressage at WEG

A Canadian rider will be piloting a lovely Anglo mare in the Para-dressage competition later this week. MJ FATAL ATRACSON and Tara Kowalski (left) are  a pair to watch! Read about them HERE.

Tara and Fate were ranked 16th in the Individual Championship test and15th in the Freestyle ride!

There is also an Italian rider that brought her Anglo to WEG for Dressage and after her Grade 1a test, is tied for third place! Sara Morganti and DOLLARO DE VILLANOVA (Olympique London) are 2010 Gold Medal winners at the Italian Championships.

This pair finished in 6th place in the individual Championship test with a  score of 69.2% and 4th in the Individual Freestyle with a 74.150%. Photo below.

Video of the Italians:

USDF Gold Medalist

By Jennifer Walker

When Fair Oaks, California resident Rita Mason purchased her horse Athena+++// (LS ZaneGrey+// x Little Badger Baby) as a yearling in 1998, she never expected that the grey Anglo Arabian would one day be a Grand Prix dressage horse. However, after many years of hard work, dedication and more than a little hardship, the pair made their Grand Prix debut just a few weeks ago and earned their USDF Gold Medal in just four rides.

“It was the most amazing thing to win the USDF Gold Medal,” says Mason. “I still can't believe I actually did it.”

Mason didn’t even plan for dressage to be Athena’s long-term career. In fact, she purchased Athena as an endurance prospect. When the mare was three and too young for endurance, Mason started showing Athena in dressage and sport horse classes with great success. She took her on a 30 mile endurance ride the next year and finished, but she could tell endurance was not Athena’s thing, so they headed back to the dressage court.

Mason’s goal when she began dressage training with Athena was just to make it to second level. However, they kept going, and after they received their Bronze Medal (requiring two scores of 60% or better from two different judges at first, second and third level), she realized that the Gold Medal could be in their future. They worked their way up the levels, winning the Fourth Level national championship in 2004. However, their journey to Grand Prix was interrupted three times along the way: three times that could have put Athena out of the show ring permanently, but she came back each time.

“Once we were on the path to try and get the gold medal, it happened way faster than I ever imagined - especially if you consider the injuries we had to overcome. Each of her three injures caused an interruption in our training of six to eight months.”

Some riders might have given up on a horse after the second or third lay-up, but not Mason. “I tried to use our down time to focus on fixing things in our training at the walk or trot, depending on where we were in our rehab, so at least the time wasn't completely wasted. Once we finished our most recent rehab, Athena was right back to where we left off - I just had to get her strong again.”

“Many horses don’t make it back from one rehab, let alone two or three,” adds Colleen Reid of Equine Sports Complex, Mason’s trainer. “But with perseverance and a little luck combined with a mare’s enormous heart, each time they came out of rehab and kept moving up the ranks.”

The Path to the Gold Medal

In order to earn a USDF Gold Medal in dressage, a rider must earn two scores of 60% or better from two different judges at Intermediaire I or Intermediaire II and Grand Prix. This is a very difficult task, because not only do the movements get harder as a rider moves up the levels, but every movement must be performed better to earn the same score as the rider might have earned in a lower level. It takes years of hard work and dedication to reach the Grand Prix level, and many horses and riders never accomplish it—let alone earn high enough scores to earn their medal.

“To take a horse through the ranks, from Training Level through Grand Prix requires a level of commitment that very few people are willing, able, or have the opportunity to demonstrate,” explains Reid. “This Gold Medal says to anyone who sees it, ‘She worked hard, studied hard, sweated hard, (yelled at her trainer occasionally) and made herself ride better and better every day.’ It says she understands not just the theory but also the practice of Dressage.”

No One can Get There Alone

Mason was not alone on this journey. Although she did most of Athena’s training herself, she got a lot of help from Reid. “When I came to her, I was just starting to think I could show first level. She as been with me all the way. Colleen has an amazing ability to see the slight changes in my body that would make a big difference in my horse. I am not sure I would have been able to make this journey without her guidance and friendship!” Mason also rode in clinics with a variety of coaches to further her education.

Mason had taken just a few dressage lessons before she started working with Reid. During the early stages of her training, she often felt frustrated because others seemed to be advancing faster because their horses were already trained, while Rita was trying to train Athena at the same time she was learning herself.

Reid comments, “I felt an absurdly incredible sense of pride in Rita and in her lovely mare Athena. The most important part of this accomplishment is that Rita did it all herself. I am her coach, her teacher, her trainer, but Rita has been Athena’s trainer from Training Level through Grand Prix. It has been my good fortune to be able to work with both of them.”

Mason credits a portion of her success to the willingness of her horse. “One time I was riding as a demonstration rider for the ‘S’ judge Tracey Lert at Horse Expo. The point of the exercise was to show how riding incorrectly can affect how the horse can perform. One of the exercises she gave Athena and me was to do a canter pirouette correctly and then while in the pirouette, change my position to be off balance to show she wouldn't be able to perform the move as well. But as I shifted my weight and tried to unbalance her, she just shifted under me and kept going. If I didn't have a horse like this, I may not have ever gotten close to competing at Grand Prix.”

When taking on the commitment of learning dressage to the highest level, one learns more than just how to ride the movements. They learn to trust and connect with their horse and how to set goals and attain them. Mason has more to add: “Hard work and dedication really do pay off. I have such a fun horse to ride; I look forward to riding every day. Riding has always been my priority and that is what has gotten me to where I am.”

Congratulations to Rita Mason and Athena+++// on their huge accomplishment!

Athena's next generation of winning riders!

Grand Prix Ride

Thought I'd share this video of ATHENA+++/ competing in May in Grand Prix for the first time. Love, love, love this pair!

Reg. 3 Dressage Demo

Check out this exhibition Rita Mason did with her Anglo mare Athena at the Region III SH Regionals. She made up her own dressage test and had the announcer read a script that described the movements and what level you will commonly see them. Rita then took the bridle off and did the same exact test showing that the commands for the movements don’t come from the bridle. The pair then galloped down centerline and slid to a stop and bowed to the audience.(Note from Rita: I had to edit the video down some to make it fit on You Tube so the tests don’t look exactly the same, but they were.)

USEF Dressage Award Winners

HALF/ANGLO ARABIAN DRESSAGE TRAINING LEVEL

1st - FF IRISH VODKA / MCLEOD, COLLIER - GA (top rihght)

2nd - SANS PREMIUM EDGE / MATLOCK, DEETTE - CA

6th - CR MIGHTYABLEZANEGREY / DUFFY, IRENE - IL

55th - ACE OF SPADES / ARIAS-STEIN, MARIE - MD

HALF/ANGLO ARABIAN DRESSAGE FIRST LEVEL

5th - FF BRAVEHEART / LONG, TOSHIA - WA (Bottom right)

21st - SANS PREMIUM EDGE / MATLOCK, DEETTE – CA

24th - CB HANDSOME REWARD / BLANCHARD, CARA - FL

HALF/ANGLO ARABIAN DRESSAGE SECOND LEVEL THROUGH FOURTH LEVEL

7th - CB HANDSOME REWARD / BLANCHARD, CARA - FL

10th - FF BRAVEHEART / LONG, TOSHIA - WA

19th - SEE ME IN ROME / KATZ, GENE - AZ

24th - CYLENT KISSES / SEALE, TRICIA - TX

HALF/ANGLO ARABIAN DRESSAGE AMATEUR TRAINING LEVEL

1st - FF IRISH VODKA / MCLEOD, COLLIER - GA

HALF/ANGLO ARABIAN DRESSAGE AMATEUR FIRST LEVEL

1th - 9 FF IRISH VODKA / MCLEOD, COLLIER - GA

USDF All Breed Award Winners

The Anglo Arabian COUNT DOWN (SF Count Lashaan x Will Confirm-TB) owned and shown by Sarah Duclos is the top scoring horse in Third Level Open for 2008. (Photo below left)

SANS PREMIUM EDGE (Sanskrit x Kita Kuni-TB), owned by DeEtte Matlock and shown by Jeanette Scanlon, finished 7th in Open Training Level.

Dressage Anglos Videos

Here are a couple of videos of dressage Anglos from Sport Horse Nationals in September:

CA ZANES DARJEELING - Fourth Level Dressage Test

SEE ME IN ROME - Third Level Dressage Test

Young Rider and her Anglo

Parker, CO—August 3, 2008—The 2008 CN FEI North American Junior and Young Rider Championships at the Colorado Horse Park Presented by Gotham North culminated with the final competitions determining individual medalists as well as the team medalists in eventing.
The Championships are the premier equestrian event in North America for riders age 14-21. Run in a format similar to the Olympic Games, the Championships feature riders competing for team and individual Medals in the three Olympic disciplines of show jumping, dressage and eventing, as well as the western discipline of reining, which was added to the schedule for the first time this year.
The NAJYRC operates under the rules of the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), the international governing body for equestrian sport. It is the only FEI championship held annually in this country.
McKenzie Jenkins of Region 3 won the Silver Medal in the Junior freestyle with a score of 70.900 on Tsarina Bint RII. This pair also won Bronze in the Junior Individual Championships with a score of 66.800%. Her team finished Fourth with Jenkins leading them.
"I'm really excited about this," Jenkins said. "The start of our relationship was a little rough, but now she's really starting to go well." The 'she' is Jenkins' mare Tsarina Bint RII. The junior rider has owned the mare for the past three years.

Here is a video of this awesome pair:

Athena++//: Not a Trail Horse!

by Rita Mason - I was specifically looking for an Anglo-Arab when I bought Athena because my other horse is an Anglo-Arab. I never got the papers to my other horse because I was only 8 years old when my dad purchased him and he never followed up with getting them. My gelding turned 29 years old in February and I have thousands of competitive trail miles on him – to include 6- 100 mile rides. I was 14 years old the first time I did a 100 mile ride and he was 5. My gelding “Abdul Fadaar” is a Fadjur grandson and is retired at the Jack Tone Ranch.

I bought Athena when she was 12 months old – expecting to use her for endurance, since her father LS Zane Grey+// has had a very successful endurance career, I thought her breeding would be perfect. However, when she was only three years old and too young to do endurance, I started showing her training level and she started winning from day one. When she was 4, I took her on a 30 mile limited distance ride and we finished, but she clearly wasn’t having fun – so back to the show ring we went. I have done all of her training myself – but of course have taken lots and lots of lessons from many great instructors.

Athena has won one National Championship (4th Level) and one Top Ten; 11 Regional Championships at AHA shows and many wins at open dressage shows.

In addition to showing Athena at PSG and I-1 this year, Athena had a 10 year old ride her in Intro Level classes this year. Because of Athena’s disposition, the little girl’s parents felt completely comfortable with their daughter showing Athena and the little girl was able to get her first shows under her belt and had fun.

In November, Athena and I showed Intermediare I for the first time – and we were at an open show. The first day we got 2nd place out of 5 horses – all of the other horses were warmbloods and trainers were included in this class – but we only got a score of 58.75%. I was still pretty happy with our first performance at I-1. The next day though we did even better – we still got 2nd place in a class of 4 horses, but with a score of 64.75%!

This year I will be working with someone to put together a Intermediare Freestyle for SHN for 2008.

Editor's Note: Rita and Athena++// also do a bridleless riding demonstration at various events. You can see a video clip HERE.