sport horse snippets
As Good As It Gets By Gigha Steinman
“A
s good as it gets”—that’s what trainer Susanne Hamilton says when asked to describe Lord Locksley, the Trakehner stallion she has worked
with for over four years. Susanne, a Grand Prix dressage trainer and German
native, says she’s always loved working with stallions. In 2008 she was asked to teach a lesson in Phippsburgh, Maine where someone owned a stallion. “I didn’t know what to expect,” she recalls, “and they asked me to also come prepared to ride.” The stallion was Lord Locksley, a gray Trakehner
owned by Margaret (Meg) Stevens. He was bred by Tylord Farms in Vermont and had a stellar pedigree. His sire Unkenruf *Pg*E* had competed through Grand Prix with USDF President and former USET member George Williams. His damsire Enrico Caruso *Pg*E* was the Reserve Champion of the 100-day Stallion Test in Medigen, Germany. (Enrico Caruso was killed in a tragic barn fire at Tylord Farm in 2005 and Unkenruf died peacefully in his sleep in 2002 at the age of 32.) Each stallion had numerous successful dressage offspring and approved sons, but few that combined the bloodlines of both stallions as Lord Locksley does. Lord Locksley was seven years old and still very, very
green when Susanne first went to see him. That didn’t stop her from sensing his potential, however. “As soon as I sat on him, I knew we were a match,” says Susanne. “We just ‘clicked’ and his owner decided to send him to me for training.” Affectionately referred to by Susanne as “my gray
pony” and nicknamed “Locks,” the stunning stallion was sent to Susanne in November 2008. “We had our ups and downs in the beginning,” Susanne admits. “But he was so smart and such a hard worker, he just had to figure out what I wanted him to do. He took to work like there was no tomorrow. Anything you threw at him he devoured, like someone who had finally learned how to
78 January/February 2013
Susanne and Lord Locksley perform a canter pirouette.
read and now can't get enough literature. As soon as he figured out what was expected of him, he'd give it 100 percent." In 2009, only three months after Susanne began
training Locksley, they went to their first competition. “Our first time in the competition ring didn’t go so well,” she laughs. “We got a 53.6% for Training Level Test 3 from a very kind judge.” She didn’t give up though, and soon they were scoring in the 70s at Training and First Level. Locksley continued to blossom and in 2010 they made
the meteoric leap from First Level to Prix St. Georges, scoring in the 60s. That summer the pair moved up to Intermediare 1, debuting with a score of 66%. Things then hit a snag when Locksley injured himself in the pasture and had to have surgery to remove one of his splint bones. Fortunately, he made a full recovery and was back competing again the next year. Early in 2012 Susanne and Locksley made their
Intermediare 2 debut at White Fences in south Florida. Susanne had no doubt she had a future Grand Prix horse on her hands. “I’ve never had a horse with a better work ethic,” she says, “and his talent for collection is incredible.” In September they cantered down the centerline together for the first time at Grand Prix at the New England Dressage Association Fall Dressage Festival in New York (see cover photo). The “gray pony” isn’t just a favorite to ride, he’s a
favorite in the barn too. “He nickers whenever he sees me,” says Susanne, “and he’ll whinny for his owner Meg
Sharon Packer
Courtesy Meg Stevens
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