YOURDRESSAGE
February 2017
A United States Dressage Federation Publication
Michael Bragdell finds training stallions extremely rewarding
Welcome to Your Wonderful World of Dressage YourDressage is compiled by the United States Dressage Federation, written by participants from throughout the dressage community. The articles in this publication are submitted by people like you to share and be shared by all. Experience their stories as they navigate through the wonderful world of dressage and become friends with your dressage community. It’s YourDressage, be part of it! If you would like to submit your story see the last page of this publication.
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WHAT TO SEE INSIDE DEPARTMENTS YOUNG & INSPIRED: How Dressage Became My Future Emily Karls finds the opportunity to attend clinics and programs have opened a whole new world of dressage for her. MY TIME TO RIDE: Fun in Kentucky Carol Alonso has a totally positive experience competing at the US Dressage Finals in Kentucky. HEARD AROUND THE ARENA: Trainers Conference Attendees at the 2017 AdequanÂŽ/USDF FEI-Level Trainers Conference in Loxahatchee, FL shared their experiences. USDF FLASHBACK: Gifted and Keen We take a look back at the first two horses to be inducted into the Roemer Foundation/USDF Hall of Fame. GMO SPOTLIGHT: State of Maine Dressage Association (SMDA) Take a look at this group member organization.
COVER STORY Michael Bragdell: A Philosophy for Training Stallions Developing a real partnership based on trust and respect is key with any horse, but especially with stallions. Natalie DiBerardinis of Hilltop gives us an inside look at what trainer Michael Bragdell does to create that partnership.
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YOUNG & INSPIRED
How Dressage Became My Future By Emily Karls
I
Emily with JJ Tate.
love dressage. In fact, it’s an obsession I’m sure many can relate to. The past year has held some of the most influential experiences in my life because of this love, this obsession. It became more than a hobby or a sport. Dressage became my future. Last summer, after my high school graduation, one of my favorite clinicians and idols, JJ Tate, offered me a position as her working student in South Carolina. This motivated me to go on an educational adventure over the past year. In addition to getting to visit her barn, JJ got me involved in the Emerging Dressage Athlete Program (EDAP) and Lendon Gray’s Dressage 4 Kids (D4K). In July, I was also able to audit the 2015 Courtney King Dye Horsemastership Clinic and, in January, my participation in these programs allowed me to become a participating auditor in the 2016 Robert Dover Horsemastership Clinic.
Traveling to Wellington for the Robert Dover Clinic was absolutely incredible. The caliber of the young riders, trainers, and professionals was inspiring. The instructors- Robert Dover, Laura Graves, George Williams, Charlotte Bredahl-Baker, and Steffen Peters- were so positive and effective. A common phrase I heard throughout the clinic was “Don’t work so hard”. By making riders not work so hard, the trainers created a harmony in the horses and riders that I hadn’t realized was missing. I specifically remember Robert creating the piaffe by establishing so much forward motion, with quick upward and downward transitions, that the horse quite literally piaffed on its own. Suddenly, eTRAK Extra
Read “Young Blood” about more opportunities for youth in dressage.
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YOUNG & INSPIRED
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constant micromanagement of the horse faded into mere instinct, and the horse could sit in an impeccably effortless piaffe. For the first time, I was able to witness the development of truly invisible aids. We’ve all seen the “greats” who have accomplished invisible aids, and we’ve all seen the not-so-greats. At this
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clinic, I got to see these students in their transition to greatness. These clinics and programs have opened my mind and shown me so much of the big dressage world that I think, many times, we don’t get to experience in rural Colorado. All I could think of was how much I want to be a part of this sport, and how lucky
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MY TIME TO RIDE
Fun in Kentucky By Carol Alonso
L
ast April, to celebrate the 24th birthday of my PRE gelding, El Gavilan (“Julio”), I choreographed a “Happy Birthday” freestyle. After all, we’d been together for 22 years. We scored well at a local show, and went on to qualify for the California and Great American/ USDF Region 7 Championships. In September, we competed in both championships in Sacramento; and to my amazement, we were the top scoring Adult Amateur pair. This earned us an invitation to compete in the US Dressage Finals at the Kentucky Horse Park. To me, a 73-year-old rider, this was the chance of a lifetime. I decided to make it happen. Logistics were challenging. We felt it would be too hard on a 24-year-old horse to travel in a van for four days. So, I emptied my piggy bank and flew Julio to Kentucky on a Boeing 727 called Air Horse One, whose sole mission is to transport horses around the USA.
Carol and Julio
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MY TIME TO RIDE
every night. Karen was able to provide things, like manure rakes, that we couldn’t bring on the airplanes. Despite my cold, I rode Julio every day in a different arena, preparing for our Sunday freestyle to music. I was immensely helped by Team Julio, which consisted of my husband, groom Karen, and on the last day, coach Jolie, who flew out from California. Julio behaved impeccably throughout the whole week. He was the second oldest horse among 400 competitors, but he acted like a young dude. I totally enjoyed riding around the Kentucky Horse Park among some awesome dressage riders, and the show staff were all very nice and friendly. Julio was wonderful during our competition ride, but alas I never heard the bell, and the ring steward was distracted elsewhere. The judges did not eliminate me, bless them, but I was penalized. As a result, we missed being in the ribbons by one place. The top ten got ribbon sashes and a victory lap around the Alltech Arena…but, at least we weren’t last. The whole week was a wonder-
ful experience. I totally enjoyed my ride on my beautiful Spanish horse. Just being there was awesome to me. When I came out, a USEF reporter interviewed me while I sat on Julio, another new experience. They seemed amazed to find a 73-year-old rider on a 24-year-old horse competing at the finals! At 4:00am the next morning, we put Julio on a van to Lexington’s Bluegrass Airport. He flew home to California, and a van brought him north to Kismet Farm. Julio arrived home, happy as a clam and proud as punch. He’s been bragging to his friends ever since! All in all, this was a totally positive experience. It expanded my horizons considerably. I would have liked to be in the ribbons, but just being there was a miracletruly the chance of a lifetime. Podcast Alert
PODCAST
Julio hadn’t a clue he was so far from home. Four hours after leaving Ontario, CA, he landed in Lexington, KY, and was vanned straight to the park, where we awaited his arrival. He looked at me nonchalantly, as if to say, “Oh, hi mom.” We had a stall in an older barn with a concrete floor, but I was able to rent rubber mats. Close to our barn was the supplier of bedding and feed. Julio flew with his own tack box and muck bucket, both laden with his tack, winter blankets, grain bags, and my show boots and helmet. I flew with a suitcase laden with show clothes and various other horse items. My California trainers had lined up an excellent groom, who works near the park. Karen was a huge help in taking care of Julio, which was a good thing because I came down with a head cold from standing in the cold rain all day, at Keeneland, prior to Julio’s arrival. Karen fed and hand walked Julio in the morning, helped me groom and tack up for my daily rides, and blanketed him and put him to bed
Listen to another 70+ year old rider, Janne Rumbough in episode 73 on the USDF podcast
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M ICHAEL B RAGDELL : A P HILOSOPHY FOR T RAINING S TALLIONS by Natalie DiBerardinis
Qredit Hilltop and Michael
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“You can have it all. Just not all at once.”
W
hile I know Oprah wasn’t referring to showing stallions, or horses in general, it does succinctly sum up our philosophy at Hilltop Farm. There are currently thirteen breeding stallions living at the farm. While some of them have finished competition careers, and are enjoying a life of leisure and breeding, others have the challenge of managing two careers— show horse and breeding stallion. Can a stallion be successful in both jobs? Absolutely, but they are going to need a little help along the way. Stallions like routine in their day, their handling, and their ‘herd’, and they will notice any change in that routine. “The training we do at home gives us the tools we need to help the stallions stay focused on us when in a new environment,” says Michael Bragdell, Hilltop’s Head Trainer. When traveling with stallions, esThe jog can be a particularly distracting environment for stallions and even the most mild mannered stallion can get a bit excited.
pecially young stallions, you need to be more aware of the horses around you, in the stabling areas, the warm-up ring, etc. Stallions should be exceptional individuals, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have the same phases of development that other horses have, or that they aren’t entitled to having an ‘off day’ on a rare occasion. Michael is well-aware of the pressures on stallions to perform well in competition. “With the stallions, especially, I have to tune out the outside distractions of spectators and other competitors, and maintain the training system I have for each horse. If I am confident and focused, my stallion will be as well.” Not all stallions can mentally handle breeding during the week and competing on the weekend. Some are better at separating their ‘jobs’ than others are. For some stallions, you may need to choose shows outside of breeding season, or only breed via frozen
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semen, to give a stallion his best chance in competition. People underestimate the physical demands a breeding season places on a stallion. Their bodies can get sore, they may drop weight, and some stallions are tired after collecting, while others are energized. A popular stallion, with a good book of mares, may be headed for collections three times a week on average, and possibly up to six days a week at peak breeding season. We must balance the breeding schedule with the training and competition goals for each horse. Some goals have finite time lines, like qualifiers for championships, and requirements and deadlines to maintain a breeding license, etc. Those events must sometimes take priority, and the breeding season schedule, or book of mares, will be accommodated to allow for those competitions. At other times, breeding takes Qredit & Sternlicht. Our stallions often travel next to another stallion or gelding, but only if it’s one they know and they are used to being stabled next to each other.
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priority for a stallion owner and the competitions can be selected around, and in balance with, the breeding season. So why does Michael prefer to train and show stallions? “Despite the extra work that goes into training and competing a stallion, I find it extremely rewarding. When you have built the trust and relationship with them, I feel that they will really do anything for you, and the partnership you create is really something unique.�
Sternlicht Hilltop quietly waits for the start of his awards ceremony at the 2016 US Dressage Finals.
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Advice, Guidance, & Insight TAILORED TO THE DRESSAGE COMMUNITY
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HEARD AROUND THE ARENA
What interesting or fun thing have you heard lately? Send it to us using #aroundthearena
Attendees at the 2017 AdequanÂŽ/USDF FEI-Level Trainers Conference in Loxahatchee, FL shared their experiences.
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USDF FLASHBACK
Gifted and Keen
G
ifted and Keen were the first two horses to be inducted into the Roemer Foundation/ USDF Hall of Fame. They were inducted in 1997. Gifted, 1980-1997, a 17.1 hand Hanoverian ridden by Carol Lavell, rose through the levels earning 5 USDF titles from second level through Grand Prix. He competed at two World Cups, and won team bronze medals at both the ‘92 Olympics and the ‘94 World Games. Carol Lavell purchased Gifted in 1984 as an untrained four-year-old from a German horse dealer. Within three years, the enormous bay Hanoverian gelding (Garibaldi II out of Lola by Lornbard) was named USDF Horse of the Year at Fourth Level and Prix St. Georges. In 1988, Gifted was named USDF Horse of the Year at Intermediate I. The following year, Lavell brought Gifted out at Grand Prix and the pair made their debut on the European dressage circuit. Carol Lavell and Gifted Shortly after completing his tour, February 2017 Z YOURDRESSAGE
USDF FLASHBACK
Carol Lavell and Gifted
Gifted won an individual gold medal at the North American Dressage Championships in Canada. In 1990, Gifted placed eleventh at the World Championships, and in 1991 he was USDF Horse of the Year at Grand Prix. Lavell and Gifted were the first Americans to win the Grand Prix at the Hermes International Dressage Show in Goodwood, England. At the 1992 Volvo Dressage World Cup Final, Gifted was fourth.
One of the undisputed highlights of Gifted’s dressage career came at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, where he and Lavell placed sixth individually and clinched the team bronze medal, breaking a twelve-year dry spell for the U.S. Olympic dressage squad. Two years later, at the 1994 World Equestrian Games in The Hague, Gifted helped the U.S. team bring home another bronze medal. Gifted with groom Andrea White
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USDF FLASHBACK
Described as noble, light on his feet, and a dressage hero, Gifted put the U.S. firmly back on Europe’s radar as a serious dressage competitor and piaffed his way into America’s heart. In a 1997 Dressage & CT “Salute” to her legendary partner, who died in January of 1997, Lavell described Gifted as “a volunteer, with a cooperative spirit that keeps on giving.” Keen, 1966-1989, a17.2 H Thoroughbred, trained by Hilda Gurney, dominated U.S. dressage in the mid-1970’s. He earned 5 USDF FEI level titles, Gold and Silver medals at two Pan Am Games, Bronze team medal at the ‘76 Olympics, and competed at age 19 at the ‘84 Olympics. Purchased by California dressage pioneer Hilda Gurney for $1,000 from a Thoroughbred breeder in 1969 at the age of three, the gelding Keen (Money Broker - Mabel Victory) embarked on a new career: dressage. Saved from being traded for
cattle (he had been laughed off the racetrack because of his large size), Keen started his training. The chestnut gelding swiftly worked his way through the levels, dominating the U.S. dressage scene in the mid-1970s. He captured the USDF Horse of the Year title at the International levels in 1974, 1976, 1977, and 1978; and in 1979 he earned the titles at both Grand Prix and Intermediate II. At the 1975 Pan American Games in Mexico City, Keen and Gurney won individual silver and team gold medals. At the Montreal Olympic Games in 1976, a historic moment in American dressage, the pair placed fourth individually and helped bring home the team bronze, the first U.S. Olympic medal in dressage since 1948. Keen went on to place fourth in the Grand Prix Special in Aachen, Germany, in 1978 and seventh at the World Championships at Goodwood, England. When he and Gurney won both the Grand Prix and the Intermediate II at Dressage at Devon (PA) in
Hilda Gurney and Keen
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USDF FLASHBACK
1979, Keen was largely undefeated in the U.S. That same year, at the Pan American Games, Keen won team and individual gold, with all five judges placing him first. At the age of eighteen, at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Keen placed fourteenth individually. At nineteen, he was second at the FEI North American Championships and won the West Coast Olympic Selection Trials. In 1985, the gelding won the U.S. Equestrian Team National Championships for the sixth time. Gurney made a practice of stopping and giving dressage demonstrations with Keen during her frequent coast-to-coast road trips to train and compete. A true ambassador for dressage, Keen introduced dressage to many, promoted the sport, and made a major contribution to the growth of dressage in the United States. Podcast Alert
PODCAST
Listen to Hilda Gurney talk about Keen in episode 143 on the official USDF podcast
Hilda Gurney and Keen
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GMO SPOTLIGHT
Tell us about your GMO. #GMOSpotlight
State of Maine Dressage Association (SMDA) Group Member Organizations (GMOs) are the foundation of USDF and integral in bringing dressage and dressage education to the masses. Stay connected with your local dressage community and support dressage at the local level by joining a GMO in your area today! USDF GMO Established: 2014 Locality: USDF Region 8, Maine Website: hƩp://mainedressage.com/ How many members does your GMO have annually, on average? 125 members Tell us about your GMO. State of Maine Dressage Association is committed to advancing the sport of dressage, and we have a particular focus on helping those who are new to dressage. SMDA offers three schooling shows and one USDF/USEF Level 1 Recognized show each year, and we have a network of affiliated shows that allow members opportunities to earn scores towards SMDA Medals and our Year End Awards Program. SMDA is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and we sponsor an annual grant program to help support our riders with various educational and other special activities. SMDA has been pleased to help support the Hollis Equestrian Park, which is our local show venue that is managed by an all-volunteer team. GMO members receive subscriptions to USDF Connection, The Horse’s Maine monthly newspaper, SMDA’s newsletter, and opportunities for discounts at various local clinics or other events. Our shows are relaxed and offer riders a friendly and supportive environment. We have competitors at all levels from Intro through FEI, and our membership includes youth and adults, amateurs and professionals. Our one-day recognized show is a great opportunity to gain a score towards USDF medals or qualify for the Great American/ USDF Regional Championships, in a quiet setting.
Does your GMO offer unique classes or activities that cater to youth, adult amateurs, or professionals? If so, please provide a brief description. Our shows are open to all riders, including youth, adult amateurs, and professionals. If the entries warrant it, we will typically split our classes to pin separately the Junior and Senior riders. For each show, and for our year end awards, we also offer ribbons for High Point Junior, High Point Senior, and High Point Intro scores. What type of educational events does your GMO offer? SMDA has offered clinics with both locally- and nationally-recognized clinicians. Periodically, we will also offer special events such as group discussion of USDF’s “On the Levels” DVD or listen to a guest speaker. What type of “fun” events does your GMO offer? Our shows are a lot of fun! We will, periodically, include a special event or demonstration during the lunch break. Recent events have included an equine massage demonstration and a tack swap event. We also host an annual meeting and awards banquet. This is a fun social event where we review the past year’s events and upcoming plans, and give out the various year end awards for each test and level, high point awards, and SMDA Rider Performance Medals. February 2017 Z YOURDRESSAGE
Visit www.usdf.org for a list of GMOs in your area.
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