Fenway was a foal, he had unfortunately injured two sesamoid bones. Tis was the reason I decided to geld him, and later to sell him, unsure if he could meet the serious demands of Grand Prix competition. His soundness and wonderful trainability led me to believe he could accomplish dressage at least through the small tour (PSG/I1) competition level. In 2009, when Fenway was seven, I had trained him
through a green Tird Level when Lindsey came to try him. Lindsey was only thirteen years old at the time. She was small in stature and had only shown at Training Level with her small pony. It was love at first sight and she convinced her parents that this was the horse for her. I thought this could be a good combination, but I did not foresee the rising stars they would become. Te following year this became obvious to me and I told her parents at that time that their daughter was a very giſted young lady and a wonderful student. As her instructor, I found Lindsey learned new concepts
quickly and mastered them within one lesson. In three short years Lindsey has finished Fenway’s FEI training through Intermediaire I, even accomplishing one tempis with him. She has earned her USDF bronze and silver medals with Fenway as well. It has been an absolute joy to have bred this wonderful horse, to coach Lindsey and to watch these two excel! Tinking back to his birth and the movie’s inspiring moto, it fits Fenway to a tee. “If you build it, they will come!”
so I started looking for a horse. During a show in Tampa, Florida, my mom Dayle ran into dressage rider and trainer Erin Brinkman who encouraged Mom to come and take a look at some of Erin’s horses for sale. Te next month, my mom, our friend Julie Whitfield and I
I
drove down to Valhalla Farm (Erin’s family farm in Wellborn, Florida, where her Spica Dressage business is based) with the hopes of finding my next partner. We tried a few horses, but when I sat on Fenway, instantly I loved him and I knew that he was the one. Aſter the vet checks and paperwork, we finally brought Fenway home. I remember I could not go five minutes without running out to the barn—I could not believe this beautiful horse was actually there.
Highs and Lows Now everything is supposed to be easy aſter that, right? Wrong, very wrong. Fenway wouldn’t give me anything for free. I had to work hard just to get him on the bit. He also let me know when he was fed up because I would end up on the ground. Aſter I met the ground twice, I had to rethink my tactics. With Erin’s help, slowly, but surely, things improved.
My Dream Horse By Lindsey Holleger
n the summer of 2009, fate led me to my dream horse Friedensfürst. A few months prior I had reluctantly accepted the fact that I had outgrown my 14-hand pony,
Te pair performing a shoulder in during the NAJYRC last July.
During the first real competition year for us in 2010,
Fenway and I qualified for the USDF/GAIG (Great American Insurance Group) Regional Championships at First Level in the Junior/Young Rider division. I was super excited, but as the championship show grew near, I became increasingly nervous. Finally when the time came to enter the ring, my nerves had overtaken me and I could barely breathe, landing us in ninth place with a score of 66 percent. Fenway was wonderful—it was my fault we didn’t score higher. Aſter I decided the past was the past, and there was nothing
I could do to change it, I turned my negative energy into determination for the next year. Fenway and I worked harder each day looking to improve on each ride. By the end of 2011, our averages at both First and Second Levels were above 70 percent earning us USDF Second Level Junior/Young Rider Champions, ATA First Level Horse-of-the-Year and ATA Second Level Horse-of-the-Year. Te 2011 USDF/GAIG Regional Championships were
also a huge success. We won both of our First and Second Level classes with scores of 73 percent and 69 percent, but the moment I found out that I had won, I checked it off my mental “to-do list” and looked ahead for our next goal. During the awards ceremony, I met my future teammate and great friend, Mallory Kent, and she introduced me to FEI Juniors and encouraged me to try out for our Region 3 Team in 2012. I dismissed the idea, certain it was too steep a goal to reach since Fenway’s flying changes weren’t 100 percent clean. But in the following months, Erin told me that I should try out for the Junior team. It was rare for her to push me. I am usually the one pushing myself too hard and she is the one slowing me down, so hearing this from her was the
SPECIAL TRKEHNER SECTION Warmbloods Today 53
American Trakehner Association Sarah Miller / MacMillan Photography
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