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INTHE CENTURY CLUB… Age


As a sport, dressage continues to thrive and attract new participants, both women and men of all ages. Most will agree it requires a certain level of fitness, and as people age, some even claim “it keeps them feeling young.” Therefore, it’s no surprise that many riders enjoy competing in dressage well into their senior years.


T


he Dressage Foundation offers a program called the Century Club, which recognizes mature horse and rider combinations where together, horse and rider must have a combined age of 100 years or


more. According to the Century Club rules, these pairs may compete at any level at a dressage show or event, and are scored by a dressage judge or professional. The Century Club was formed in 1996. It was the brain-


child of U.S. Dressage Federation (USDF) Hall of Fame inductee Max Gahwyler. The first member was Lazelle Knocke, riding a gelding named Don Perignon. Max Gahwyler became the second member, riding his Hanove- rian gelding Prinz Eugen. Some riders have enjoyed the challenge of the Century Club so much they’ve gone on to complete Century Club rides on multiple horses. Rider Charles Chapin rode Century Club rides on six horses over a six-year span from 1997 to 2003, and in 2014 Floridian Lillian Floyd completed Century Club rides on fourteen different horses. For the last twenty years the Century Club has grown to include 226 horse and rider pairs. A few of the most recent Century Club members agreed to share their stories with us—and what a fascinating group of riders they are!


Matter Kathryn Rideout & Tallahassee


Kathryn (Kay) Rideout, 81, of Florida is the newest member of the Century Club, riding the 19-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare Tallahassee (by Nicholas). A mother of five and a native of Nova Scotia, Canada, Kay estimates she’d been riding 15 to 20 years when she started formally studying dressage with Florida trainer Janet Gillespy. “One day I told Janet I would die happy if I could show at


Second Level, and Janet said ‘we’ll make that happen!’” Kay recalls. In 2013, she was given the opportunity to ride Talla- hassee (affectionately known as Tally) when owner Laura Andrews was diag- nosed with breast cancer. Around the same time, she bought a Welsh/ Thoroughbred cross gelding of her


own, named Tango. Having always ridden “mostly backyard type horses,” Kay was thrilled to find herself riding such nice horses. Kay was schooling Second and Third levels on both Tally


and Tango in 2015 when she learned of the Century Club awards and she decided she wanted to give it a try. “Janet has always been really supportive, and she said to go for it,” says Kay.


On December 5, 2015 Kay achieved her goal of complet- ing a Century Club ride—and her dream of showing at


Warmbloods Today 39


DOES By Gigha Steinman


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