Star-Studded Competition
Although the Dancing Horse Challenge at this year’s Ride For Life show (June 25-26 at
the Prince George’s Equestrian Center) may have gotten all the buzz, many DHC riders as well as Maryland competitors had a stellar time in the competition rings as well. With 171 horse/rider combinations entered, the show had to expand from four to fi ve rings. T e fi fth ring was built on the track and many competitors did complain about the slope cre- ated by the track itself. Judge Natalie Lamping suggested that next year the ring be shifted so that the judge sits on the higher end, thus most of the lengthening in the various tests would be going uphill. On Sunday, the dragging routine of that ring was adjusted so that the corners could be groomed better. T e judges for the show were Natalie Lamp-
ing, Maryal Barnett, Jan Conlon, Lisa Schmidt, and Peggy Pariso. T e Technical Delegate was Kelly Farmer.
Dancing Horses in the Competition Rings
DHC and Cana-
dian rider Shannon Dueck, a breast cancer survivor who was on the cover of the Dressage To- day Breast Cancer edition,
She also earned a High Score of the show at Open T ird Level with 69.474%. Julie Bottum, a Sons of the
Wind quadrille member, rode the Lusitano Balder in First Level Test 3 on Saturday and fi nished in the middle of the class. Her scores,
though,
qualifi ed their pledges for the prizes in the open division, which they won.
Competition Highlights Felicitas von Neumann-Co-
rode her
10-year-old Old- enburg mare Ays- cha in Grand Prix. She placed third. Shannon had been stabled at Shari Glickman’s
farm
(Goodness Ridge, Mt. Airy) the week before the show and even had time to give a two-day clinic. After the show, she and her mare traveled to England to work with Carl Hester and will compete at Hickstead and Hartpury this fall. She hopes to earn a spot on the Canadian Team for the London Olympics. Silva Martin rode Sea Lord to a fourth place in Intermediaire II. With Aestheto, Silva won at Fourth Level with 68.9%, which was the High Score for Open Fourth Level. Riding Duvent in Prix St. Georges, Silva earned a sec- ond and third place with scores of 63%. Bent Jensen rode Jeannette Bair’s Woodstock
Vanessa Swartz and Orlando warming up before their Grand Prix ride
sel, who decided to sit out the DHC this year, traded in her costume for a top hat and tail- coat. She rode the photogenic chestnut Lusitano stallion Tonico Do Top in Interme- diaire II. T e pair won both days with 65% and 66.5%. She noted while it is always nice to win, she is especially proud that Tonico’s basic gaits have improved so that he keeps placing well against the warmbloods and in front of many diff erent judges on the way to this level. Tonico was featured in a two-part article in Dressage Today and was on the cover, so many people already know the story of owner Linda Denniston and Felicitas going to pick him out in Brazil. Linda and Joe Den- niston have been longtime supporters of Felicitas. Hallie Ahrnsbrak rode the 10-year-old Friesian
Erica Greenwald and Zeana War Princess scored a 66.429% for Training Level Test 2 to place third in the Adult Amateur class.
by Betty T orpe
advantage of the winter for serious schooling. He also needs to see everything when he gets to the show grounds. Hallie said, “Once we got to a show just as some dark clouds came overhead, but we went out to explore the grounds any- way.” T ere was only one other horse out doing the same thing: Julio Mendoza on his Friesian stallion. Besides the success in the show ring, the Ahrnsbrak family also won the stall- decorating contest. Hallie’s son and daughter, 19 and 21 years old, worked on the design again this year. After having placed second last year, they were determined
to win this year, and they did! Shari Packard rode the 10-year-old Hanover- ian gelding, Willoughby, owned by Jeannette and Richard Bair, in First Level and had her best results in Ring 5. T is was the faraway ring on the track, dubbed by Shari the “Waldorf ” ring. T ey won First Level Test 1 with 63.4% and her horse behaved well, away from the bustle of the show. T ora Pollak competed a horse she has had
to seventh place in the horse’s fi rst Prix St. Georges. Bent also rode another young horse of Jeannette’s at the show as a noncompeting entry.
Jane Hannigan rode Duesenjaeger in T ird Level with two fi rst places, a second and fourth. 26 | THE EQUIERY | SEPTEMBER 2011
stallion Emmitt, owned by Rodney Bartlett, to wins in Fourth Level Test 3 with 63.7% and in the Fourth Level musical freestyle with 63.66%. She has trained Emmitt since he was imported from Holland at the age of four. Over the years, she has shown him up the levels and along the way placed highest in the nation for one of the special Friesian tests. “T e dressage work is hard for him,” she said, as he is the older type, very stocky, and he doesn’t have much stamina in the sum- mer heat. So Hallie takes
Kathleen Kelly and Figaro HP won for their Second Level Test 2 performance with a 68.684%.
for a year, the 13-year-old Hanoverian geld- ing Dante. She bought him in California, and though he has been trained to Grand Prix, T ora is moving carefully up the levels with him and is motivated to “do it correctly.” She has daily help from Ginna LaCroix and also rides with Linda Zang. She said he is a very thoughtful horse and takes his job very serious- ly. T is year, she competed at T ird Level at the Ride for Life. She won two classes, Test 1 with 63.9% and Test 2 with 68.2%, which was the High Score for the show at T ird Level Amateur. “We had a wonderful time at the show,” T ora exclaimed. “It was my fi rst time at the Ride for Life, and the volunteers and everyone worked so hard. It was great to see that the footing at the Equestrian Center was so much improved!” Brendan Cur-
tis, originally from continued...
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Rita Boehm
Dorothy Anderson
Rita Boehm
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