Dare to Dream
IT’S AMAZING WHAT PEOPLE CAN ACCOMPLISH when they set their minds to it. When Debbie Rosen and The Alchemyst finished the show jumping course at the 2010 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event with all the rails left in their cups and time to spare on the clock, she had just accomplished a task that very few people would ever atempt. While completing America’s only four-star event is no short order in itself, Debbie did it while still undergoing treatment for one of the most devastating diseases in our society today: breast cancer.
By Erica Larson D
ONCE IN A LIFETIME PARTNER ebbie began riding when she was ten years old. It wasn’t long before she rode in her first event, and she began riding at the upper levels shortly after that. Debbie’s first Advanced horse
was a German bred Oldenburg gelding named Gringosch. In 2002, the pair ran their first Advanced event and enjoyed continued success at the top level for several years. In 2004, Debbie made her first attempt at the Rolex Kentucky event
with Gringosch, but made the decision to retire on cross-country after she felt that her horse wasn’t at the top of his game. Debbie’s second Advanced horse came just after Gringosch finished his upper level career. She competed at the Advanced level with her Holsteiner gelding Quito 10 for two years before meeting the horse that would become her horse of a lifetime. The Alchemyst, a 1999 Canadian Sport Horse gelding, was being
advertised for sale on event trainer Doug Payne’s website when Debbie first laid eyes on him. The big liver chestnut gelding had spotty success under both Payne and international eventer Buck Davidson. However, there was something about “Al” that Debbie couldn’t pass up, so she traveled from her home near Los Angeles to Payne’s New Jersey
Debbie and Al at the 2009 Rolex KY during cross country. Photo by Erica Larson
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