14 minute read
Ringside
Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
Progress in dressage is most decidedly not linear
Enjoy the journey”—that’s the clichéd phrase all dressage riders hear in reference to the long, winding, sometimes frustrating road up the levels.
There have been times during my own dressage career when I would have liked to tell someone where they could stuff their “journey” advice. Having just been grounded for the better part of a year following a colic surgery, for one. After a grim lameness diagnosis, for another. Or at a show at which my scores were lower than the prices in a bargain bin, confidence went out the window, and that damned pyramid of training suddenly seemed as eternal and impossible to scale as the pyramids at Giza.
These and other setbacks, including the day-in, day-out hiccups—lost shoes, saddle-fit problems, equitation struggles, training plateaus—are all part of “the journey.” As a one-dressagehorse owner, I don’t take setbacks well—as Olympian Carol Lavell once told me, “When all of your eggs are in one basket, you live in fear,” and boy, was she right—and so I will never “enjoy” these twists of fate but have learned to try to at least accept them, as in, “This too shall pass.”
In one aspect of the journey, however, I have been fortunate: I have not (yet, anyway) sustained an injury or illness serious enough to sideline me for a significant period of time.
But there are plenty of dressage riders who have, and their stories of battling life-changing or even life-threatening conditions to get back in the saddle are truly profiles in courage. Meet some of them, including cover rider and breastcancer survivor Jessica Jo “JJ” Tate, in our story “Back in the Saddle” on page 40. Reading about what these riders have overcome and what they continue to face each day, you may feel somewhat abashed at your own minor gripes. I know I was. Mostly you may feel the force of their determination to get back to horses and riding, whether as profession or pastime, as the activity that grounds them and makes life more meaningful.
Also in this issue, we examine two of the many aspects that can affect the dressage journey. I asked longtime USDF Connection contributing editor and renowned equinebiomechanics expert Dr. Hilary Clayton to write a “Sport Horse” article on the subject of equine fitness. She got so enthusiastic about the topic that she asked if she could make it a two-parter. Nobody in their right mind says no when Hilary offers to share her knowledge, so enjoy part 1 of “Is Your Horse Fit to Compete?” on page 34. We can’t easily equip our horses with heart monitors to evaluate their fitness (I asked), so Hilary delves into how best to ensure that our mounts are conditioned to meet the physical demands of dressage, for optimum performance and career longevity.
Another aspect of dressage that can significantly derail saddle time is one that many riders are embarrassed to bring up: rubbing and chafing in the area where the, ahem, rubber meets the road. Search online and you’ll find voluminous threads devoted to the topic of how to alleviate pain in the nether regions while riding. A few discreet inquiries to instructors and fellow riders will almost certainly reveal sufferers in your midst. I myself have been plagued by rubbing and chafing for years, and it has taken much trial-and-error experimentation to (mostly) solve the problem. Let’s get this issue out in the open, I decided, when I asked freelance writer Jennifer Mellace to tackle it for her “Rider” column. To find out what she learned about causes and solutions, turn to page 26.
May your own dressage journey be less pain and more gain!
Jennifer O. Bryant, Editor @JenniferOBryant
Praise for de Kunffy Thank you for publishing the article “Renaissance How to Evaluate Sport-Horse Bloodlines (p. 44) Man” in the JanuThe Key to a Better Seat (It’s Not What You Think) (p. 30) ary/February issue. I agree 100% with Charles de Kunffy about the NONPROFIT ORG. U.S. Postage PAID Lebanon Junction, KY Permit # 559 importance of preserving the art of classical riding. I hope that more readers understand his words and appreciate this article.
David De Wispelaere Wellington, Florida
Is This Your Last Issue? (p. 33) January/February 2022
Official Publication of the United States Dressage Federation
SPORT-HORSE BREEDING ISSUE 20% 3% 4% 18% 12% 7% 18% 18%
The Crowdfunded Horse: Creating an Ownership Syndicate
Mixed Review
I love the new US Equestrian dressage rule change that allows competitors to wear dark- or light-colored breeches in competition (“Collection: US Equestrian Revamps Dressage Attire Rules, Relaxes Amateur-Status Requirements,” January/February). White is a terrible color for a sport that involves horse slobber and dirt unless you have a team to keep you away from slobber and dirt. What I did not like was the magazine’s reason for the new colors: “If you hate the way your thighs look in white breeches, you may now wear dark- or light-colored breeches….” First, you can wear them for any reason, not just if you hate the way your thighs look. Second, aren’t we past using this kind of language?
Ruth Montague Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Correction
The photo on page 12 of the January/February issue was incorrectly credited. Credit is to Katie Lewis/USDF.
These organizations, in partnership with USDF, promote and recognize a high standard of accomplishment within their breed, through their participation in the Adequan®/USDF All-Breeds Awards Program.
*Akhal-Teke Association of America American Connemara Pony Society American Dutch Harness Horse Association American Hackney Horse Society American Haflinger Registry American Hanoverian Society American Morgan Horse Association *American Mustang & Burro Association American Paint Horse Association American Quarter Horse Association American Rhineland Studbook American Saddlebred Horse and Breeders Association American Shire Horse Association American Trakehner Association American Warmblood Registry American Warmblood Society & Sporthorse Registry Appaloosa Horse Club Arabian Horse Association *Barock Pinto Association USA Belgian Warmblood Breeding Association -North American District Canadian Horse Breeders Association Canadian Warmblood Horse Breeders Association Cleveland Bay Horse Society of North America Clydesdale Breeders of the U.S.A. Curly Sporthorse International *Dales Pony Breeders Association Draft Cross Breeders & Owners Association Fell Pony Society of North America Friesian Heritage Horse & Sporthorse International Friesian Horse Association of North America Friesian Horse Society Friesian Sport Horse Registry Friesian Sporthorse Association German Sport Horse Association Gypsy Horse Registry of America Gypsy Vanner Horse Society Holsteiner Verband - North American Breeding District Hungarian Horse Association of America International Andalusian & Lusitano Horse Association International Drum Horse Association International Georgian Grande Horse Registry International Rescue Horse Registry International Sporthorse Registry/Oldenburg NA Irish Draught Horse Society of North America Knabstrupperforeningen for Danmark (KNN) KWPN of North America New Forest Pony Society of North America *New Forest Pony Society of North America - Ambassador Performance North American Danish Warmblood Association North American Shagya-Arabian Society NorthAmerican Sportpony Registry Norwegian Fjord Horse Registry Oldenburg Horse Breeders Society/German Oldenburg Verband Percheron Horse Association of America Performance Horse Registry Performance Shagya-Arabian Registry Rheinland Pfalz-Saar International Swedish Warmblood Association of North America The Jockey Club Trakehner Association of North America United States Icelandic Horse Congress United States Lipizzan Federation United States P.R.E. Association *United States Trotting Association US Lusitano Association Welsh Pony and Cob Society of America Weser-Em Ponies & Small Horse Registry of the GOV Westfalen Verband NA
*Denotes a new Participating Organization for 2022.
2022 All-Breeds
Participating Organizations
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 amateurs and professionals, or entry-level and high-performance riders, these are not “us vs. them” situations. Dressage enthusiasts in the US are a community. Instructor certification needs to be expanded. We need to develop more true professionalism to improve how we guide the uninitiated, to help make good dressage education more accessible to everyone and to provide a safe, correct learning and training environment for all horses and people.
We are also a community of organizations. In addition to USEF and USDF, there are many others that serve the American dressage community: among them, USDF’s group-member organizations (GMOs), The Dressage Foundation, the US Equestrian Team Foundation, Dressage4Kids, and the American Horse Council. All of these groups need to work together for the good of our sport. Our goal must be to keep it a community while we expand our outreach.
www.usdf.org/join
IN THE NEXT ISSUE
• The latest on laminitis • Dr. Hilary Clayton: Get your horse fit for the upper levels • Cross-training for riders • Meet US national para-dressage coach Michel
Assouline
Bits and Pieces from USDF and the World of Dressage
★ US Dressage Team Chosen for World Maccabiah Games ★ Meet USDF Certification Examiner Lendon Gray ★ ★ USDF Updates Regional Schooling Show Awards Program Rules ★
IN THE FRAME
Equestrian photojournalist and regular USDF Connection contributor Sue Weakley gets her pink on at the 2022 Challenge of the Americas presented by The Pink Hats in Wellington, Florida, in March. The benefit for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation features the Grand Prix Musical Quadrille Challenge. This year’s event included a moving pas de deux by breast-cancer survivors Shannon Dueck and JJ Tate (read Tate’s story on page 40 of this issue).
COMPETITION
A team of three dressage riders will represent the USA at the 2022 World Maccabiah Games in Tel Aviv, Israel, July 12-26. The US equestrian contingent will also include a fourmember jumping team. Riders will compete on borrowed horses.
This will be team member, coach, and chef d’équipe Rebecca Cord’s third trip to the World Maccabiah Games. Cord, 40, of West Grove, Pennsylvania, and Clarksboro, New Jersey, is an FEI-level dressage competitor who owns and operates a training and sales business in Clarksboro, New Jersey. She is a USDF bronze and silver medalist, a USDF L graduate, and a USDF- and ARIA-certified instructor.
Aviva Nebesky, 63, of Bowie, Maryland, is a former social worker who now is a full-time equestrian professional. She specializes in teaching dressage to adult amateurs and to riders who struggle with fear issues. She has competed through Fourth Level and is a USDF bronze medalist and a USDF L graduate with distinction.
A fashion designer by trade, Lauren Sara, 59, of Cochranville, Pennsylvania, is an adult-amateur competitor who has been riding since childhood. Her primary equestrian discipline is eventing, and she has competed up to Third Level in dressage and has earned her USDF bronze medal. Following the World Maccabiah Games, she plans to return her focus to eventing.
International eventing and dressage competitor and longtime US para-dressage coach and chef Missy Ransehousen will travel with the team as an advisor. She is based out of her family’s Blue Hill Farm in Unionville, Pennsylvania.
The 2022 edition of the World Maccabiah Games will be the third time in its 85-year history that equestrian sports will be included. Drawing more than 10,000 athletes representing 80 countries and participating in 43 sports, the Games are the third-largest sporting event in the world. The quadrennial competition, sometimes called “the Jewish Olympics” and patterned after the Olympic Games, is produced by the global Jewish sports organization the Maccabi World Union for Jewish and Israeli athletes. More than 1,000 athletes will represent the USA at this year’s Games. Learn more at MaccabiUSA.com or Maccabiah.com.
ON THE TEAM: 2022 US World Maccabiah Games dressage team member Lauren Sara. Riders will compete on borrowed horses at the event in Tel Aviv.
FINANCIAL AID
TDF Awards Barnett Fund Grant
The Dressage Foundation, Lincoln, Nebraska, has awarded the first 2022 grant from its Maryal and Charlie Barnett Continuing Education for Dressage Instructors Fund.
Maria Mendonca-Collito of Pennsylvania received a $1,500 grant to further her education as an instructor through the USDF Instructor/Trainer Program. Maria currently works with 35 students ranging from Introductory to Second Level. Her students’ ages span from nine to 72 years old.
Interested instructors can apply for a grant to attend any portion of the USDF Instructor/Trainer Program, including workshops, precertification, and testing. To learn more, call (402) 434-8585 or visit dressagefoundation.org.
ALWAYS LEARNING: 2022 Barnett Fund grant recipient Maria Mendonca-Collito
MEET THE INSTRUCTOR
Lendon Gray, Bedford, New York
Two-time US Olympian Lendon Gray gives back to the sport of dressage in nearly innumerable ways. One of her more prominent roles is that of an instructor-certification examiner in USDF’s Instructor/Trainer Program.
Gray, who grew up in Maine, began riding before she could walk. During her competitive heyday, she rode in the 1980 alternate Olympics and in the 1988 Seoul Games; and she has trained horses to numerous national-championship titles and other honors, including the famous Grand Prix-level pony Seldom Seen. Gray hung up her spurs for good about 10 years ago, and today she focuses entirely on teaching, especially youth and young adults. She founded the organization Dressage4Kids, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2018, to provide educational opportunities to help young riders and instructors develop to the best of their ability.
How I got started in dressage: I grew up in Pony Club and was a successful event rider. I started to focus on dressage when I was 25. After judging a Second Level test, [1976 US Olympic team bronze medalist] Hilda Gurney told Seldom Seen’s owner that she should let me take him to Grand Prix. He was the first horse I trained to Grand Prix from the beginning.
Why I wanted to be involved with the USDF Instructor/ Trainer Program: I was part of an amazing group that started the Instructor/Trainer Program. We wanted to try to improve the quality of teaching and riding in the US by helping instructors with a true system.
What surprised me the most about the certification program: I continue to be surprised at what I learn from participants doing workshops and at exams!
My horses: I have none now, but my best-known ones were Seldom Seen and my two Olympic horses, Beppo and Later On.
Tip: Continue to seek knowledge. So many instructors feel they cannot take time from their business to gain more experience for themselves, but it is worth it in the long run. Read, watch, and ask questions.
Contact me: graydressage@gmail.com or (914) 234-4158.
LEADER: Olympian, USDF certification examiner, and Dressage4Kids founder Lendon Gray with a D4K horse and rider THE NEAR SIDE
UNIVERSITY
2 DIVISIONS
Art and Photography
3 AGE GROUPS
15 and under, 16 to 21, and Adult
The grand prize winning entry will be used as the cover art for the USDF Member Guide.
ENTRY DEADLINE JULY 1
www.usdf.org
(awards/other awards) for complete contest rules and entry form
USDF BULLETINS
Intermediate I & Intermediate II Reminder For Adequan®/USDF year-end award purposes, Intermediate I and Intermediate II are not considered consecutive levels. See the USDF Member Guide for award requirements regarding consecutive levels. Is Your Horse Declared for the All-Breeds Awards Program? Declaring a horse for the 2022 Adequan®/USDF All-Breeds Awards is easy! Simply submit a copy of your horse’s breed or performance registry papers along with a completed All-Breeds Awards declaration form and fee to USDF no later than August 1, 2022. Find the declaration form on the USDF website under Awards.
Applying for USDF Rider Medals Is Simple After all award requirements are met for the USDF bronze, silver, or gold medals or freestyle bars, complete the easy online Rider Performance Awards application. Applications must be received by September 30, 2022. Master’s Challenge Award Available for Senior Competitors USDF offers the Master’s Challenge Awards for members age 60 and older. Six levels of recognition are offered, and scores do not expire. See the USDF Member Guide for complete award requirements. Regional Schooling Show Awards Program Rules Updated for 2022 The USDF has made several significant changes to the rules for its Regional Schooling Show Awards Program: • Score requirements have been reduced • Horse/rider nomination deadline has been removed • Nominee score-submission deadline has been removed.
To learn more, visit the USDF website at usdf.org. Annual Change of Region for Great American/USDF Regional Dressage Championships Riders wishing to compete at a Great American/USDF Regional Championship in other than the region of residence associated with their membership information on file as of July 1 must submit a Change of Region form and fee. Find the form and submit online via the Great American/USDF Regional Championship Competitors page on the USDF website. USDF Regional Adult Amateur Equitation Program Prizes The USDF Adult Amateur Equitation Regional Finals presented by Big Dee’s Tack & Vet Supply will be held in conjunction with each of the nine Great American/USDF Regional Championship competitions. Big Dee’s will be providing champions with a $100 gift certificate; reserve champions, a $75 gift certificate; third-place finishers, a $50 gift certificate; and fourth-place finishers, a $25 gift certificate. For dates, locations, and qualifying requirements, see the USDF website.
2022 Great American/USDF Regional Championship Awards Announced Champions in each region will each receive an embroidered vest provided by SmartPak and an embroidered stall guard, in addition to $437 in prize money.
Reserve champions in each region will receive an embroidered saddle pad provided by SmartPak, in addition to $291 in prize money.
See the USDF website for more information about the Great American/ USDF Regional Championships.
