YOURDRESSAGE
January/February 2019 Lydia Gray Finds Her Path to Dressage through Cross-training
A United States Dressage Federation Publication
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: Starting Young Genevieve Rohner, a Para-equestrian, tells us about attending the 2018 Adequan®/USDF Annual Convention as a youth scholarship winner. ENGAGEMENT: A Reflection of Research Collin Pursley pursued a research project to study the relationship of horse and rider. MY TIME TO RIDE: Equitation in Life is Good Terri Sue Wensinger rediscovered her love of equitation later in her life and it earned her a win at the Regional Adult Amateur Equitation Finals. HEARD AROUND THE ARENA: 2018 Adequan®/USDF Annual Convention Members receive education, recognition, and have fun in Salt Lake City. GMO SPOTLIGHT: Kentucky Dressage Association (KDA) Take a look at this group member organization. USDF FLASHBACK: Fiona Baan The highest scoring young rider is presented with a trophy named for Fiona Baan. Dressage youth should know who Fiona Baan was and her importance to the American dressage community.
COVER STORY Cross-training Our Way to Fun and Excitement
Lydia Gray talks about all the disciplines she does with her dressage horse, Newman. She has found cross-training improves both her horse and herself. January/February 2019 Z YOURDRESSAGE
YOUNG & INSPIRED
Starting Young By Genevieve Rohner Para-equestrian Grade V 2018 USDF Youth Convention Scholarship Winner
I
was excited to find out that I was a scholarship winner for the USDF Youth Convention Scholarship! My mom and I went, and were really interested in the youth seminars they had. We were at the convention for two days and got to meet so many people. I really enjoyed listening to the coaches and riders talk about their experiences in competition and with their horses. Horses are everything for me. Riding has helped me with Cerebral Palsy and so much more. Being around so many people who also love horses, and spend their whole life working in dressage, was a treat for me. My mom has learned a lot about horses in the seven years I have been riding, but I still have to tell her some things she did not know. That Genevieve with Kasey Perry-Glass
always makes me laugh, but she likes to learn with me. We attended the Youth Activities Meet and Greet, and we met all the other scholarship winners. I was the youngest by about four years, as I’m 10. They were all nice and it was very cool to see other kids there. All the other meetings and events were adults. In this meeting, we got to hear some coaches talk about how to be a good rider and competitor. It was very exciting to listen to Kasey Perry-Glass, and we got to meet her after! The parents had a lot of questions about school and how to manage it, so I drew some horses in the meeting guide. My favorite was hearing Roz Kinstler. She said not everyone is going to the Olympics, so always think of your horses first. I also got to meet Charlotte Bredhal-Baker, which made me a little nervous, but it was definitely a high point. The next meeting we went to was more conversation about school and training. The competitor that was speaking told us
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YOUNG & INSPIRED
not to be afraid to try different things to make our training and school situations work for us. She reminded us that education is very important and not to give it up to ride. Later in the day, we walked around and met the ladies from The Dressage Foundation, and a few more people from the vendor tables. My mom got me a USDF beanie. I love wearing it and I am happy that I can be part of USDF. We went to the USEF Athlete Open Forum and heard a whole lot more talk about competition and the athletes. Then, my mom told me part of the U.S. Dressage Team was sitting right in front of us. I couldn’t believe it! When the meeting was over, I got to take photos with all of them: Kasey Perry-Glass, Adrienne Lyle, Steffen Peters, and Olivia LaGoyWeltz. The only one missing was Laura Graves. I really wish Genevieve with Olivia LaGoy-Weltz, Adrienne Lyle, Kasey Perry-Glass, and Steffen Peters
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YOUNG & INSPIRED
I could have met her too. I love her horse Verdades so much. It would be a dream to meet them both. My coach, Sydni Peterson, was there and she introduced us to Laura Killian, a coach from Florida. I think it would be so wonderful to train in Florida in the future. After that meeting, we walked around with Sydni and found some other riders from our barn. We did not go to the gala that night, but we visited with our friends before they went to the gala. The next morning, my mom and I talked a lot about what we did at the convention, and how grateful we were to be part of it. Thank you USDF!
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@USDF Genevieve with Charlotte Bredahl
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ENGAGEMENT
A Reflection of Research By Collin Pursley
I
remember the pressure of seeing the gate begin to open and my muscles begin to tighten. I can still hear the words of my trainer telling what not to forget, just seconds before entering the arena. There’s that moment when you are walking in, replaying your pattern in your head, listening to your trainer’s feedback, reminding yourself of any last-minute changes made in practice, and telling yourself to stay calm and take a deep breath. At least, that was what I was doing. What was my horse doing during that time? Backing up, stomping, swishing his tail, and/or sometimes rearing. That reaction was one I could never understand. In practice, I had this lackadaisical horse who rarely acted up. Seriously, I would kick my feet out of the stirrups and lay backwards to try and nap when we were walking. Laid back was an understatement. That’s what made the competition behavior so unorthodox. Grow-
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ENGAGEMENT
ing up, I never had the means to form an understanding, but as a graduate student studying sport psychology, I set out to find my answer. I know horses and riders form an empathetic bond. You spend hours on hours of time with each other—something must cultivate. You’re each other’s partner, and the most successful partners are the ones who are harmonious and have developed a synergy. When I told this to a room of academic professionals, one of them looked me in the eyes and called me crazy. However, when I said the same statement to the volunteers in my study, three-fourths of them looked at me as if I wasted my breath and followed up with “Well…. YEAH!?!” My equestrian background was nowhere close to English. I grew up wrapping my horses around barrels and weaving through poles. However, I had respect for dressage, knowing the discipline and harmony it takes January/February 2019 Z YOURDRESSAGE
ENGAGEMENT
to make movements look so effortless. I was fortunate enough to have the support of multiple Region 9 residents throughout Texas to conduct my research. The process began very slow, with only a few women allowing me to come and observe them. But as I’ve learned many times in my life, having a combination of tenacity
and talking to the correct people, many things can happen. Fortunately, the first two women in my study were that combination. They were the kind of people that were not afraid to call on or their friends, or walk through their barn, and say “Hey, why are you not in this study?” (Which they did…a couple times). I spent days
before and after school walking around with my purple binder, out at barns, watching riders. On weekends, I would drive to the rated competitions all day. By the time I’d gained momentum, I had around six weeks to squeeze in over 30 hours of observations and over 1500 survey responses into a data analyzer. The premise of my study was that as the riders’ mood became more disturbed, the more their horse would show behaviors to mirror that. The results of the women and their horses, from practice to competition, clearly demonstrated exactly that. I proudly looked at the professor who called me crazy when I delivered these results… I also may have done a little wiggle-like dance… but c’mon, it was justified. Does this mean that a horse and rider’s bond is deep and intimate? Possibly. In research, there can always be another study to come along and counter what I found, or provide different variables as to what else could have happened.
There are many people I have spoken to who claim to have hated doing their thesis research, but I have to disagree. I spent my time in nostalgia of walking into a barn, retrieving memories with the different smells, and petting every barn animal to walk my path. I like to say I put my blood, sweat, and cabernet-induced tears into this project. No matter the outcome of the results, I was reminded of why I chose to study what I did. This journey began because I had a horse as a child, who acted differently at competition than in practice. This study and the participating women of Region 9 helped give me that answer, and hopefully could apply the findings to their own performance. Maybe I am biased, but not everyone can do what equestrian athletes do. There are so many disciplines across the equine industry, making it fascinating and challenging. I would like to continue my research in the future, to continue to understand the depth of the horse-rider relationship.
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MY TIME TO RIDE
Equitation in Life is Good By Terri Sue Wensinger
M
y equitation journey began in the 1970s, when I competed in hunt seat, saddle seat, and stock seat equitation classes on Arabian horses. In 1978, I was fortunate to win the US Stock Seat Equitation National Championship on my horse Ballendrad, in Louisville, KY, and the Canadian Saddle Seat Equitation Championship in Vancouver, on a leased horse we called Spider (don’t recall his real name). Life was good! Then, came college. My parents divorced, horses were sold, and figuring out how to grow up became my priority. Not fun! Finished college, went to law school, married a great guy, raised three sons, started a company, worked hard, and didn’t think of horses. Life was good! Then, one day, I bumped Terrie Sue Wensinger and Asterios, Region 9 Adult Amateur Equitation Regional Final Champion; Taylor Chism, USDF representative
into an acquaintance rocking riding breeches and boots. She shared that a group of working women took riding lessons from Becky Brown at 8AM every Friday morning , then arrived at the office a bit late, taking full advantage of “casual Fridays”. At that point, my boys were in high school and my work had become more flexible, so I joined the class. We rode in flat saddles and the focus rotated weekly between jumping, quadrille, and dressage. I loved the class and it wasn’t long before I signed up for the Wednesday class too. Life was good! We all know how equine addiction takes hold. Within six months, I had purchased a horse and begun competing in dressage. That was ten years, three medals, thousands of hours in the saddle, and five horses ago. As an adult amateur, my equitation background has served me well. Last year, I purchased an 18-year-old Grand Prix school master, Asterios. Asti has com-
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MY TIME TO RIDE
peted in 65 Grand Prix classes and knows that test as well as Steffen Peters. So, when I read about the adult equitation class, I was all in. Relive my youth and show Asti something new in the ring? Perfect plan! Our first adult equitation class was in Tyler, TX, last spring. I was the only competitor. The judge took her time and put me through paces and patterns for fifteen minutes. She then talked to me about what I was doing well and where we could improve. It was terrific for me, but rumor is that the riders in the warm up were not pleased. Apparently, we put the ring behind schedule. Our second adult equitation class was last summer in Del Mar, CA. In that class, I believe there were six competitors. We rode on the rail in walk, trot, and canter, then proceeded with individual patterns. I loved steering around other horses to find a clear spot on the rail. It was terrific for Asti
to stand among other horses in an arena, for something other than an awards ceremony. Lots of folks watched because they didn’t know what an adult equitation class was and were curious. Finally, there was the Regional Adult Amateur Equitation Finals in Katy, TX, held in conjunction with the Great American/ USDF Region 9 Championships. The equitation finals class was open to all adult amateurs who had qualified for regionals. To my surprise, there were at least 20 riders who entered. I had worried that this class was to happen on the tail of Asti and my Grand Prix championship. I should not have worried. Asti scored a 67.7 (my personal best) at Grand Prix and was hotter than a pistol in the equitation class. It was so fun to feel him strut his stuff with the other horses. Neither of us could wipe the smile from our faces. The field was reduced to six for the pattern work, and Asti carried me to the win. Life is good!
Š John Borys Photography
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CROSS-TRAINING Our Way to Fun and Excitement By Lydia F. Gray, DVM, MA
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Cross-training: the action or practice of engaging in two or more sports or types of exercise in order to improve fitness or performance in one’s main sport
W
hen the USDF Senior Competition Coordinator approached me to write an article about my journey as an Adult Amateur in Dressage Seat Equitation, I asked if I could expand the topic and talk about all the disciplines my dressage horse, Newman, and I have explored, including driving, hunters, and sidesaddle. I originally purchased this Trakehner gelding as a four-yearold with the express purpose of going up the levels in dressage and earning my Bronze (and potentially Silver and Gold) Medal with him. And while the Bronze Medal and several other awards are displayed in my home, the universe has clearly indicated that our path is more breadth than depth. That is, between his medical issues and his tendency to quickly lose interest in things, cross-training has been our savior.
Cross-training #1: Carriage driving Since day one with Newman, I had been working with Wolfgang May who was teaching me not only to ride, but also lunge, long line/ground drive, and work in-hand. During a session, he mentioned that by going one step further and actually learning to carriage drive, we might improve our ridden dressage. Through the HUB Club, which was based near me, I located a driving trainer with a strong background in classical dressage. Together, we introduced Newman to carriage driving, going through all the steps in order and taking no shortcuts, even though he took to the sport like a duck to water. Of the three driving disciplines – combined driving, pleasure driving, and recreational driving – we chose combined
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driving, since it’s the closest to our primary sport of dressage. Combined driving is modeled after three-day eventing, being made up of three phases: dressage, marathon or cross-country, and cones (the stadium portion). Singles, pairs, and four-in-hands at Training, Preliminary, Intermediate, and Advanced can choose from full CDEs or combined driving events, HDTs or horse driving trials, ADTs or arena driving trials, and even CTs or combined tests. There’s even Driving Derbies for those who only want the fun and
excitement of cones and obstacles, without any of that dressage. We try to make it to at least one clinic, one recognized show, and a couple of schooling shows each year, along with some recreational drives at forest preserves. In 2018, Newman helped me earn the Carriage Association of America Level 1 Driver Proficiency Certificate, and in 2019, we hope to complete the requirements for a Bronze Medal in driven dressage from the American Driving Society, which requires a total of four scores 70% or above at Prelim Level.
Cross-training #2: Hunters After a couple of years of including driving in our program, it was time to look to a new sport. This time, I went with the discipline he had actually been bred to excel at: hunters. Jumping was something we’d played with since the beginning, to add some variety to his weekly schedule and to develop some carrying and pushing power in his hind legs which we’d need for extended gaits, half pass, pirouettes, and so on. Since he
was struggling a bit with flying changes, I thought approaching them from a different perspective might help things click. Hunters, though, felt really out of my league, so I tagged along with some friends and began taking jumping lessons at their barns. After identifying someone that I got along well with and who I thought would get along well with Newman, I started bringing my horse along with me to lessons. Sometimes I would ride and sometimes the trainer would ride, but
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when competition season rolled around, we decided – at least the first time – that he would take the reins. Having shown dressage all my life, with advance ride times, the whole “stand around and wait at the in-gate” scene was completely foreign to me. The trainer was headed to the Showplace Spring “B” show at Lamplight, and he recommended we sign Newman up for two Baby Green Hunter O/F classes and one U/S to complete that division. He also had us enter Schooling Hunters, since this division was also 2’6”. Although Newman and I have a lot to learn about the hunter/jumper world (apparently there is an actual class called “Warm Up”), he still earned 2nd place out of 11 horses in one class!
Cross-training #3: Sidesaddle At the 2010 World Equestrian Games in Lexington, KY, I fell in love with sidesaddle when a park-type chestnut half-Arabian entered the demo ring ridden January/February 2019 Z YOURDRESSAGE
aside by her owner wearing a gorgeous Wedgewood Blue riding habit. They were so elegant, sophisticated, and stylish that it was at that moment I decided I had to try it! With Newman’s proven ability to adapt to multiple disciplines, as well as his continual need for new and interesting challenges to keep from getting bored, I was pretty sure he would take to sidesaddle, but I was not prepared for him to enjoy it as much as he did.
Once again, luck was on my side as an American Sidesaddle Association certified instructor lived not ten minutes from me! Since she and I (and our horses) are roughly the same size, I was able to borrow her sidesaddle and get started right away, until I found one of my own. Once I’d gotten my sea legs, so to speak, the next challenge was developing a “dictionary of cues.” Belgian Paralympian Barbara Minneci describes this perfectly in the
article “Riding Aside: Shortcuts Forbidden,” in the October 2018 issue of Dressage Today magazine. “Each horse’s reaction to the whip and rider’s weight aids varies and each rider has to figure this out during the course of the horse’s training. ‘Where to touch a horse, and with what intensity to cause a reaction, is a bit of trial and error at the beginning,’ said Minneci. ‘This continues until a horse and rider have found a common language and can enlarge
their dictionary step by step.’” In three months of weekly lessons, Newman and I had figured out all the aids necessary to get through a Training Level test, so I started entering recognized dressage shows. With scores of 67.6%, 71.9%, and 68.9% (with 8s for several movements including Rider Position and Seat), I feel confident making the move to First Level in the sidesaddle next year. Leg yielding, here we come!
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HEARD AROUND THE ARENA
What interesting or fun thing have you heard lately? Send it to us using #aroundthearena
Members receive recognition, education, and have fun in Salt Lake City at the 2018 AdequanÂŽ/USDF Annual Convention.
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HEARD AROUND THE ARENA
What interesting or fun thing have you heard lately? Send it to us using #aroundthearena
Members receive recognition, education, and have fun in Salt Lake City at the 2018 AdequanÂŽ/USDF Annual Convention.
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GMO SPOTLIGHT
Tell us about your GMO. #GMOSpotlight
Kentucky Dressage Association (KDA) 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: 1979 Locality: Region 2, Kentucky Website: https://www.kentuckydressageassociation.com/
Rider division was a KDA member. We also recognize the number of Open and Amateur riders who represent KDA in the ribbons each year at the US Dressage Finals presented by AdequanÂŽ.
How many members does your GMO have annually, on average? 250 members
Does your GMO offer unique classes or activities that cater to youth, adult amateurs, or professionals? If so, please provide a brief description. We offer three $750 Adult Amateur grants each year, one $750 to Open riders and one $750 scholarship to a Junior/Young Rider. In addition, our Junior/Young Riders are eligible for one $5000 grant, for those aspiring to NAYC, and one $500 scholarship for our collegeaged riders.
Tell us about your GMO. The Kentucky Dressage Association is proud to represent not only Kentucky but the surrounding states of Tennessee, Illinois, Ohio, Virginia, and Indiana, in addition to members from Florida, California, and Michigan. We offer a vast array of benefits to our members through clinics, scholarships and grants, discounts, monies for sponsored classes at our USEF-licensed/USDF-recognized spring show series and several schooling shows throughout the year. All of our shows offer classes for Junior, Amateur, and Open riders. Our board works hard to provide education to all levels of riders, by providing opportunities to ride with nationally recognized clinicians and unmounted instruction for riders and volunteers alike. We are very fortunate to have a wide base of fantastic volunteers. We are also proud to have a growing number of active Junior/Young Riders among our membership. KDA has sponsored several youth who attend the FEI North American Youth Championships (NAYC), all of who have placed in the top ten. This past year, the overall winner in the Young
What type of educational events does your GMO offer? In the winter, we offer a free clinic to educate volunteers on bit checking, ring stewardship, scribing, and scoring. It helps not only our volunteers in their role, but gives riders, who are encouraged to attend, a better understanding of show expectations and an appreciation of the duties of the volunteers. Members are also invited to audit all our clinics without a fee. We put on no less than two schooling shows each January/February 2019 Z YOURDRESSAGE
YOUR CONNECTION TO DRESSAGE year, to give riders the opportunity to gain show experience without the pressure of a large, competitive show. Our members like being able to get judge feedback in a slower, quieter setting. KDA publishes a newsletter, The Impulsion, that includes feature articles covering all areas of interest to its readers.
riders, who share their knowledge and experiences. At both our Spring Series and Fall Classic shows, we invite our riders to a competitor party followed by the Friday night vendor party. Riders and guests are able to meander through the vendor tents, enjoying wine and appetizers offered by the businesses.
What type of “fun” events does your GMO offer? We always have a good time at our Year End Awards Banquet, held each fall, with well over 100 people in attendance. Members and guest are able to bid on a variety of items at the silent auction. Our youth participate in bake/ tack sales, supported by show attendees, and a pizza party during recognized shows. They are able to interact with our professional
Additional Comments Our purpose is to promote and strengthen the art and sport of dressage. We provide leadership to our members to assist them in fostering individual and collective growth through education, publications, competitions, and exhibitions. We pride ourselves for having a collaborative, all inclusive environment for show exhibitors, owners, trainers, volunteers, judges, and spectators.
EDUCATION • COMPETITION • ACHIEVEMENT
© John Borys Photography
© John Borys Photography
Support dressage and connect with your local dressage community by joining a USDF Group Member Organization today!
Visit www.usdf.org for a list of GMOs in your area.
January/February 2019 Z YOURDRESSAGE
USDF FLASHBACK
Fiona Baan Reprinted from the October 2017 USDF Connection magazine.
E
ach year at the FEI North American Junior and Young Rider Championships dressage competition, the overall highestscoring young rider is presented with a trophy, called “Pursuit of Excellence” and named in memory of someone named Fiona Baan. The passage of time has a way of eroding memories, and before long a name on a trophy is just a name. After all, today’s NAJYRC competitors weren’t even born yet in 1994, when Baan lost her battle with cancer at the all-too-young age of 55. But our dressage youth—the entire American dressage community, actually—should know Podcast Alert
PODCAST
For more on Fiona Baan, check out podcast 164 at usdf.podbean.com.
who Fiona Baan was, and why that trophy exists. Let’s find out. Like many people, Baan wound up in a career quite different from the one she started out in. Born in Scotland, Baan first worked in the hotel industry. An avid horsewoman, she began riding in England and would go on to enjoy various equestrian sports, including dressage (in which she competed successfully up to the FEI levels), jumping, eventing, and foxhunting. Baan’s hotel career took her to England, Bermuda, Florida, and Nevada. In 1966 she accepted a secretarial position with the United States Equestrian Team (now USET Foundation) at its Gladstone, NJ, headquarters, and settled with her husband, Leslie, and daughter, Natalie, in nearby Far Hills. The USET soon realized that it had hired “a master at fitting 50 hours into a 24-hour day,” as one tribute to Baan put it. Before long she was managing programs: dressage, combined driving, and
Fiona Baan
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USDF FLASHBACK
even eventing for a time. Baan also became a nationally and internationally licensed dressage judge as well as a driving judge, and to serve on American Horse Shows Association (now US Equestrian) dressage and driving committees and on American Driving Society committees. It was in her position as USET dressage director that Baan made her greatest contributions to our sport. She served as dressage-team manager or chef d’équipe at a total of six Olympic Games, World Equestrian Games, and Pan American Games from 1976 to 1992. Baan also managed the dressage teams for four Olympic Festivals and two North American Dressage Championships, and she organized the 1991 and 1992 USET Festival of Champions competitions. A crowning moment of Baan’s career came in 1992, when the US Olympic dressage team of Carol Lavell on Gifted, Charlotte Bredahl on Monsieur, Robert Dover on Lectron, and Michael
Poulin on Graf George won the bronze medal at the Barcelona Games. It was Team USA’s first Olympic dressage medal in 16 years, since the team bronze in Montreal 1976. The forward-thinking Baan knew that developing and sustaining excellence in American dressage requires providing opportunities to promising youth. She devoted much time and energy to the Advanced Young Riders program, as it was called then, a signature achievement being the securing of the previously hard-to-get German master Conrad Schumacher as the program’s clinician for many years. Baan also was responsible for developing and refining dressage selection criteria for the North American Young Riders Championships, as it was known at the time. And that’s why the Fiona Baan “Pursuit of Excellence” Memorial Trophy was established in 1994, the year Baan died. Baan was inducted into the Roemer Foundation/USDF Hall
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USDF FLASHBACK
of Fame in 2008. At the time, one of “her” riders, six-time Olympian Robert Dover (who now holds a position somewhat similar to Baan’s at US Equestrian), remembered her thusly: “Fiona had to deal with all of us self-absorbed, supremely focused athletes, making each of us feel like we and our horses were the most important things in her life; and to a certain degree that was true. For all these years, the USET, and especially dressage, were not a job to Fiona, but most definitely her raison d’être. She is, and will always be, one of the greatest reasons for every bit of success I have ever achieved in my life.”
Fiona Baan’s efforts helped put the US dressage team (from left: Charlotte Bredahl, Robert Dover, Michael Poulin, and Carol Lavell) on the bronze-medal podium at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games
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YOUR CONNECTION TO DRESSAGE EDUCATION • COMPETITION • ACHIEVEMENT © John Borys Photography
© John Borys Photography
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