Ambitious Breeders AIM FOR GRAND PRIX
Competing a horse at Grand Prix dressage is a huge accomplishment. Training a horse to Grand Prix is an even bigger accomplishment. Breeding, raising, train- ing and showing a horse through Grand Prix is a Her- culean challenge and may seem nearly impossible. In fact, many may dream of accomplishing this and never come close. But it has been done. We found two riders in this elite group and they hap-
pily shared their stories. The common thread is their dedication to the systematic progression up the train- ing scale (and the competitive levels) and their com- plete confidence in their horses. Toss in a lot of hard work and a splash of good luck, and these amazing women have succeeded in doing what many believe to be nearly impossible.
Janne Rumbough:
junior’s antics pay off At sixty-nine, Janne Rumbough is an inspiration for a myriad of reasons. Born in Denmark, she began rid- ing at age eleven. As a youngster, she would help her aunt who had a riding program for children with polio. She moved to the United States in the 1970s. Based year-round in Flor- ida, she has earned her USDF bronze, silver, and gold performance medals and numerous prestigious USEF national Silver Stirrup awards and USDF national year-end awards, all while proudly maintaining her amateur status and actively promoting the sport of dressage. In 1997, Janne traveled to Spain to shop for a
new horse. She ended up buying and importing the Pura Raza Espanola (PRE) stallion Gaucho III. They competed at the FEI level from 1998-2000, including the Grand Prix. In 2000 Gaucho broke his cannon bone during a CDI vet check and required surgery. “His gaits were never as good after the surgery and I didn’t want to show him if he wasn’t fully himself, so he became a breeding stallion,” Janna recounts. Janne bred Gaucho III to her PRE mare La
Nina (by Brioso VI.) La Nina had good move- ment and three good gaits, and Janne felt
Warmbloods Today 37
she’d be a good match for Gaucho. The resulting foal was born in 2002 and Janne named him Junior. Almost from the moment he was born,
Junior was a handful. “He was very naughty,” Janne laughs. “He was bucking and rearing even as a foal.” Janne had bred Junior for herself. “I figured I’d take it one day at a time, because you never know. But I didn’t breed him to sell him; he was mine,” she says. Together Janne and Junior debuted at Training
Level in 2006 with an impressive 70.4%. But he wasn’t an easy horse. He was a very opinionated alpha-type horse, according to Janne, and would challenge her constantly. By the time he was six, Janne had had enough.
Junior was becoming more difficult and rearing. “One day he stood up [rearing] fifty times!” Janne recalls. “I called the vet and told him to geld him.” So at six years old, Junior became a gelding. Janne had already decided she would use Junior to test the Ameri- can system of dressage levels. A big supporter
RIGHT: Janne Rumbough and her PRE stallion Gaucho III, who was also the sire of her PRE gelding Junior. BELOW: Janne and her homebred Ju- nior, whom she trained to Grand Prix.
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Phelps Photos
Joanna Jodko
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