Mickayla Frederick and Wrainier Q Turn Cowboy Granddad into a Hanoverian Fan
flashy extended trots (all of which are required in the Grand Prix dressage tests) started when she was just eight years old, and her achievements are in partnership with her Hanoverian gelding Wrainier Q. She gives thanks to her granddad, Robert Susa, who generously provided the horsepower. Mickayla started riding when she was eight at a stable
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that kept mostly Arabian horses. Te first horse that was her own was a Warmblood-cross rescue who had washed out of jumper training, fallen on hard times but seemed to like doing dressage. Mickayla made some progress on that horse, but at her grand “old” age of fourteen, her granddad, Robert Susa, purchased another equine partner more suitable to Mickayla’s dreams of advancement in dressage. Granddad Robert grew up on a cattle farm and had ridden horses only for the pur-
owan Mickayla Frederick is the 2014 Junior/Young Rider American Hanoverian Society Champion at Tird Level dressage. Her path to flying changes, half passes and
pose of herding cattle. But, he must have a good eye for dres- sage horses because he liked what he saw in Wrainier Q and bought the Hanoverian gelding for his granddaughter from Lisa Royal of Adel, Iowa. Te fact that Wrainier Q was a tow- ering 17.1 hands tall and Mickayla was only fourteen didn't deter him. Granddad wasn’t wrong. Wrainier Q was bred by the
executive vice president of the American Hanoverian Society, Suzanne Quarles, who with her husband Steve owns and operates Some Day Soon Farm in Mt. Airy, Maryland. Wrainier Q is the product of grand old dres- sage bloodlines. His sire, the Hanoverian stallion Welt- bekannt (Weltmeyer/ Imperator/ Werther), was licensed in Germany and later imported to the United States. Two of his closest male ancestors are such highly regarded Hanoverian sires that both have been named Hanoverian Stallion of the Year in Germany, Weltmeyer in 1998 and Werther in 1992. Wrainier Q's sire, Weltbekannt, had a very successful FEI dressage show career himself, com- peting through Grand Prix with Maryland trainer Fred Weber. Wrainier Q's imported dam, Elite Mare Desert Princess, carries the blood of two more pillars of dressage breeding, Donnerhall and Bolero. All four of the horses on Germany’ºs 2012 Olympic dressage team descended from Donnerhall, and Bolero's bloodline also has pro- duced Olympic dressage horses (Brentina with U.S. rider Debbie McDonald and Bonaparte 67, ridden by German team member Heike Kemmer at both the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games). Tis all-star breeding behind Wrainier Q provided the talent for the dressage partnership Mick- ayla was looking for. Although Wrainier Q had been trained up to Second
level, first by Fred Weber and then by Lisa Royal, when Rob- ert Susa bought him, Mickayla has advanced that training and moved on to FEI level movements with her horse. Mak- ing dressage training progress has proved to be a logistical challenge for Iowa-based Mickayla since her current trainer, Jami Kment, lives in Palmyra, Nebraska and also travels to Florida for the winter show season. In order for the pair to continue to progress, Mickayla frequently has her mom video her solo practice sessions. Mickayla then has to upload the video to Youtube, contact her trainer and wait for Jami to call back with training tips and schooling exercise sug- gestions. Tat takes loads of dedication and determination. Tanks to that dedication, in 2013 Mickayla and Wrainier Q won the USEF Dressage Seat Medal Finals and took the 14-18 age group victory in Estes Park, Colorado with a whopping 85% score. Mickayla says that Wrainier Q simply loves to please and is
TOP: Mickayla and Wrainer Q win overall Hanoverian high point at the Iowa Dressage Classics in 2013. BOTTOM: The pair competing at Second Level Test 3 in Iowa in 2013.
66 March/April 2015 SPECIAL HANOVERIAN SECTION
the hardest working horse she can imagine. She also says that he is such a trustworthy horse that Mickayla sometimes al- lows her non-horsey friends to ride him, despite his seemingly intimidating 17.1 hand size. Wrainier Q gets bananas after
American Hanoverian Society Diane Crone D&G Photography
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