the same time, as I get older I’ll have to start thinking about careers and graduate schools, so a career is kind of far down the line. CS: Is there any hope at all that you’d be picked for the Olympics in Hong Kong? HD: No, we opted not to do the trial this year, in order to compete for the Nation’s Cup two weekends ago. You can’t do the same horse in both. It something that, it’s so early in my grand prix career, and I have been very lucky to have some wins that we have to really remind ourselves that I’ve only been doing it a year and so have my horses CS: Have you ever had a fall that made you frightened? HD: No, I’ve been very lucky, knock on wood, to not have any injuries. I had a fall about two weeks ago and I actually have tendonitis from it. But, you have to come back in the next round or the next class and remind yourself that it’s a different circumstance and freak things happen. You have to move on from each fall. It’s great that I’m also not naturally a nervous competitor. I’m calm and I try to stay focused. I really believe that the way you think about things and where you’re head is, is a huge part of it. CS: Have you ever given thought to how you
are perceived among the young children and the people who are up and coming in this sport as far as being a role model? Do you ever think about that? HD: Yeah, it’s a funny dynamic. It’s nice with the younger girls at the barn, they look up to me. I think about that all the time. Not just the way I ride but how I conduct myself because I was that little girl that was looking up to the older riders not that long ago. I was talking about it the other day, I remember, even before teens, at twelve, thirteen, looking up to Georgina Bloomberg and Sarah Williams and those riders and emulating them CS: It’s not an easy sport is it? HD: No, it’s really not. And I am in no way a finished product. I have a lot of learning to do. It’s a humbling sport. I won two grand prix in a row down here and the one right after that is the one where I fell off at the last jump in the jump-off. You can go from winning a class the week before, the same class, and then falling off in the next one. It is humbling in that way.
good round, and then Beezie Madden or Peter Wylde or McClain Ward, they show you how to do it better. CS: Yeah, every class is a fresh slate. Do you feel that having a strong background in equitation is valuable when it comes to riding jumpers? HD: I feel that having a strong background in the equitation has been crucial for my jumper riding: for me, the equitation was never about winning medal finals-- it was never in the cards for me. However, the equitation ring was where I learned to ride precise courses and refine my riding. The equitation courses and exercises in the show ring and in lessons gave me fundamentals that are invaluable when the jumps get big and the courses more challenging. Things I worked on at 3’6” in the equitation are still things I work on today for the grand prix ring. That’s what the equitation was for me: a place to learn fundamentals and good riding-- it was not the ultimate goal (to win a finals), but rather a stepping stone to learn how to ride well at the next levels.
CS: That’s what keeps it interesting, isn’t it? HD: Oh, of course. It’s also humbling when you’re competing against the top riders down here and you go in and you think you had a
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April 2008 - TEXAS HORSE TALK
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