This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
Pamela Owens & Gardes Grace 2010 Equiery Perpetual Dressage Award Winner


she still became a horse-crazy little girl. “I didn’t buy my fi rst horse until I was 21


years old. And now two of my sisters also own horses,” Pamela explained. After the fi rst horse did not work out, Pamela bought Goose, a Quarter Horse mare that she evented through Novice. T is mare she eventually bred to Becky Langwost-Barlow’s (Preston Horse Farm, Preston) stallion Guderian, but things didn’t go as planned.


“Goose lost her foal the same year that Gra- cie was born,” she explained. When Goose lost her foal, Pamela went over to Becky’s and saw Gracie, who happened to be by the same stal- lion. “We just bonded right away from that fi rst day of trying to get her halter on and tackling her to give her the fi rst bath,” Pamela reminisced. In a way, Pamela feels that fate brought them together.


by Katherine O. Rizzo


If you ask Olympic riders how they got to the top of their sport, most will tell you about the hours upon hours they have sat in a saddle, the countless horses they have ridden through the years and the endless lessons they have taken (and still take) to fi ne-tune their skills. But for the average adult amateur, often juggling a full-time job and/or a family, fi nding the time to pursue Olympic dreams can often seem not feasible. Olympic three-day event rider Jimmy Wof-


ford told T e Equiery that for his adult amateur students, he builds “mini-Olympics” into their long-term goal plans. So, for the event rider, that may be completing a long-format Training level three-day. For the dressage rider, fi nding the time to become competitive at First Level can be chal- lenging enough. And so, one might wonder, how do some adult amateurs fi nd a way to become competitive at T ird Level, or even higher? T e 2010 Equiery Perpetual Dressage Award winner, Pamela Owens, has found a way to make it happen. She manages her own barn as well as a full-time job and fi nds the time to ride her mare Gardes Grace and compete through Fourth Level. How does she do it? Read on to fi nd out!


Finding the One Pamela grew up in Clinton as the youngest


of fi ve girls. Her fi rst riding experiences were weekends here and there riding at a local hack stable as a kid, “where you’d pay $3 and ride in shorts and sneakers for an hour or so,” she said. At the time, no one else in her family rode but www.equiery.com | 800-244-9580


Building a Partnership One of the great things that


Pamela feels about her rela- tionship with Gracie is that they truly started their part- nership from the very begin- ning. She bought Gracie and took her home when the fi lly was only four months old. “Home” at that point in her life was a house and barn Pa- mela rented at the old His Lordship’s Kindness Farm. Pamela and her partner Chris Manion bought Briarhill Farm in Huntingtown in 2004. “Chris is tremendously supportive and helps out a lot. He does not complain that I spend all my money on horses,” Pamela remarked. When Gracie was four years old, Pamela sent her to Lisa Grey-Routhier to be a “cow pony” for three months. “Lisa rode her up and down the Massanutten Mountain and I believe


it really


helped Gracie set- tle down,” Pamela said. From there, Pamela started to focus on Gracie’s dressage training and took her to her fi rst schooling show in the fall of 2002. “We did schooling shows for a few years. She was a lot more ca- pable a horse than I was a rider,” Pa-


mela admitted, and thus she sought out some professional help.


Riding with a Master Pamela fi rst met the great dressage master in-


structor and judge Linda Zang (Idlewild Farm, Davidsonville) at a clinic and then began riding with her on a regular basis fi ve or six years ago. “Linda is amazing. She is so patient and so kind. Linda makes you want to learn,” Pamela said. Under Linda’s guidance, Pamela and Gracie


slowly moved up the levels, taking each new required movement in stride. Pamela started heading down to Florida with Linda for a few weeks each winter. “Spending eight weeks in Florida is not a free ride!” Pamela explained. “I take an un- paid leave of absence and always fi nd a self-care fa- cility. I was there for 75 days last year and fed horses and did stalls [to help off set the costs],” she added.


Pamela eventing her Quarter Horse mare Goose at Fair Hill International


It is impor- tant to Pamela that people re-


alize that you don’t have to be rich to spend the winter in Florida. “Anyone can make it hap- pen, too!” she said. A few winters ago, Gracie bucked Pamela


off while they were riding with Linda in Flor- ida. Pamela admits that her confi dence was a bit shaken but was thankful to Linda and her working student Kelly Burris for keeping


continued...


The Equiery Perpetual Dressage Award is an annual year-end award given to the highest pointed, Maryland-based amateur rider at Third Level or above. This rider must have an average minimum score of 50% earned by competing in at least half of the U.S. Equestrian Federation/U.S. Dres- sage Federation recognized shows held in Mary- land or sponsored by the Potomac Valley Dressage Association.


The award is meant to not only promote the sport of dressage through highlighting an individual, but also to encourage amateur riders to achieve high scores at a level dominated by professionals.


Past Winners 2009 - Anne Hurwitz/Nando 2008 - Beth Stambaugh/Lindern 2007 - Elizabeth Hattenburg/Chopin


SEPTEMBER 2011 | THE EQUIERY | 15


Sharon Packard


838745-110911


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104