him, but he is not a tall horse at the withers. He opens up, relaxes and the stride opens. He’s quite a sensitive horse too; he can also add strides and compress. He’s always forward thinking. So the combinations never get long. He is thinking forward to jump through it.” “You combine that trait with wanting to be careful and
not touch a pole. He doesn’t waste time. He gets up, over and down before another horse would be over the jump.” Andrew says
Cocq a Doodle and Andrew Ramsay in the Coachella Valley Classic, National Sunshine II, last November in Thermal, California.
that with this style Stranger makes the tight times allowed. “It’s nice to have a horse who’s quick and efficient, so you don’t waste resources think- ing about having to make up time.
You don’t have to ride a line to make up the time allowed, which can be harder for the horse.” Stranger 30 is a 2006 Hanoverian gelding, 20 percent
Thoroughbred. He won the 2017 CSI3*-W in Ocala and the $35,000 Old Salem Farm Jumper Classic CSI3* in North Salem, New York. Andrew says
Stranger 30 and Andrew Ramsay in the $200,000 Sunshine Grand Prix, National Sunshine II, November 2016, in Thermal, California.
Doodles is also quite forward thinking. “She has a large stride when she starts to open up. She was in Calgary last summer and on a field like that you can pick up a gallop. In my opinion she’s more clear (has less rails) over a
larger field or arena. She’s a fighter. You can really pick up your pace and let her do her job. She is fun to ride.” She’s a 2007 KWPN mare with 31 percent Thoroughbred in her pedigree. In 2017 she won the $86,000 Grand Prix at the Tryon CSI2* and also the $130,000 Empire State Grand Prix CSI3* in North Salem. Andrew likes riding two horses who are eager and don’t
need to be pushed. “They take you to the fence. That’s a blood horse. Especially important for courses today, with
22 September/October 2017
delicate fences. They let you ride these careful tracks. Go around the turn, jump the fence and allow them to turn. They are just naturally fast horses. You never have to push them.”
He likes bold horses who also take care not to touch the
fences. “A horse can be too careful and can lose that enthu- siasm, that forward impulsion,” he explains. “If a horse has too much impulsion, you can hit that top rail. As a rider, work on the horse to have him in front of the leg and capi- talize upon that trait.” “Doodles and Stranger are quality horses who fit my
riding style. It’s really a pleasure to work with them, six days a week. Stranger has really developed nicely, with more confidence. He’s matured and grown into his own. He’s 11 years old, and to see him come so far is personally very rewarding.”
LESL IE BURR-HOWARD
Leslie is a veteran of the USET who was on the gold medal team at the 1984 Olympic Games and the silver team in 1996. She earned team silver at the 1999 Pan-American Games. From Newtown, Connecticut, she’s also competed in World Championships and World Cup finals. She praises one of her current mounts, Donna Speciale
(Cavalier keur x Concorde preferent x Libero H), saying simply, “She’s winning a lot lately.” The 2008 KWPN mare won two first places in the June 2017 CSI5* at Spruce Meadows, where she also took a second and a third place. “She has all the attributes of a top horse: scopey, care- ful and quick,” Leslie says. “She’s a very fast horse, very competitive in jump-offs.” She’s had the mare for two years. Asked if Donna Speciale compares well with horses she rode in the past, Leslie says, “Absolutely, yes.” As a seven-year-old, Donna Speciale was jumping double clear rounds in young jumper classes in Belgium and the Netherlands. She jumped 1.30- and 1.35-meter heights with Lowie Joppen and then Jan Maly.
“She’s
Leslie Howard and Donna Speciale rode to the win in the $35,000 Salamander Hotels and Resorts Accumulator Class CSI4* in November 2016 at the CP National Horse Show.
a wonder- ful mare,” she adds. “I have high hopes for her. She’ll continue to show in the Grands Prix.” Donna Speciale is 34 percent Thorough-
bred. Her sire Cavalier (Maykel x Orthos), also known as San Patrignano Mister, is 25 percent Thoroughbred in five generations.
Charlene Strickland
Charlene Strickland
Taylor Renner/Phelps Media Group
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