November 2017 YourDressage

YourDressage

November 2017

A United States Dressage Federation Publication Taryn Anderson has a fairy tale ending to her Road to the Finals

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.

Get Connected

Don't Miss Out! Advertise Your Stallion in the 2018 Online Stallion Guide

This annual online stallion guide is released by the United States Dressage Federation for the dressage community.

The guide is available both through the USDF website and the USDF app.

We continue our look at breeding statistics from USDF’s major championships, adding Great American/USDF Regional Championshps.

Once again we will have the “Index of Progeny for Advertised Stallions,” which includes progeny that have ranked 1-100 in Adequan®/USDF Year-End Awards. It also includes horses that have placed in US Dressage Finals, Great American/USDF Regional Championships, and Great American/USDF Breeders Championships from 2009-2017.

This guide contains interactive links to give you all the information you need to make a favorable breeding decision. Whether interested in breeding, or looking for a breeder with offspring already on the ground, this is a great way to learn more about dressage breeders throughout North America.

Contact Danielle Titland 720-300-2266 dtitland@usdf.org

2017 USDF Online Stallion Guide

The Hottest Bloodlines in Rio

Trending Stallions in the Sport Horse Arena: USDFBC Statistics

Pursit of Excellence: Regional Championship Statistics

Finals by the Numbers: US Dressage Finals Statistics

Check out last year's guide

November 2017 Z YOURDRESSAGE

Give us your feedback. #yourdressage

What to See Inside Departments Horse Tales: Dressage, Endurnace, and Horsemanship Alessandra Deerinck tells us about raising and riding her horse Aria de Los Cielos, a Mangalarga Marchador.

MY TIME TO RIDE: Have Dressage, Will Travel Tamera Mayo has traveled around the world and wherever she goes she takes her joy of riding horses with her.

YOUNG & INSPIRED: Started in Shanghai Isabel Linder started riding on Mongolain ponies but her goals eventually lead her to competing at NAJYRC and Festival of Champions.

Heard ARound the Arena: At the 2017 US Dressage Finals presented by AdquanÂŽ Competitors shared their experiences and photos on social media.

USDF flashback: Ivan I. Bezugloff Jr. The founder of the first magazine about dressage in the US, Bezugloff gave a national dressage forum throughout the dressage community.

Cover story Road To The Finals

We have followed the stories of three competitors trying to make it to the 2017 US Dressage Finals presented by AdequanÂŽ . Now, we finish their stories. Taryn Anderson is pictured on our cover with her two horses, Addison and Romulus.

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Horse tales

Dressage, Endurance, and Horsemanship

By Alessandra Deerinck www.HHSensing.com

M

y mare, Aria de Los Cielos (Aria) is a Mangalarga Marchador, a breed native to Brazil. She was born at Rancho de Los Cielos, in Riverside, CA, on May 1, 2012. Aria and I have been together through every aspect of her upbringing, training, and competition. Aria has helped me live my dream of working and communicating with horses.

My riding experience spans across different disciplines, and my focus has always been on horsemanship, as the performance tool, because the communication supports the performance. I look at horsemanship as an always dynamically changing state, and think that it can be instantly managed through an ongoing code of communication with the horse.

Riding Aria in her first dressage schooling show, in June 2016,

Aria with her mother

was a very important milestone.

She had been under saddle for only a short time, but her personality and breed made it very easy to feel like we could do anything together.

On the first loop around the arena, while waiting for our time in the ring, Aria and I rode by a brightly colored banner that vibrated because of the wind.

While bunnies, squirrels, and coyotes on a trail are not a concern for Aria, the banner was something she had never seen.

She was distracted and listening for my lead. At first, I allowed Aria to slow down, and even stop to assess the banner because no leader would force an individual that is hesitant, or they would lose their leading position. The next time we were near the banner, I asked her to go by it and let her deviate slightly away. This allowed her to see it from a different angle, apparently convincing her that the banner was not a scary object, and in our next passage she had no problem. She earned a score of 63%.

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Horse tales

I’ve spent many years observing and teaching about animal behavior. In general, when we set the goal to establish this kind of dynamic relationship with the horse, we need to give our actions a meaning that horses can understand, so they will want to participate instead of being forced to do so. When horses experience a pleasant interaction, they always end up looking at horsemanship as a desired time, even when it involves the practice of an equestrian discipline. This kind of attitude for horsemanship will always result in a better training. I believe that horsemanship plays a determinant role in any moment between human and horse. Being able to understand in depth, and to manage in detail the human to horse relationship, can make it go from a fearful experience to one that we would always want to have. What Aria and I did in that dressage ring was a step in that direction.

Alessandra riding Aria at a schooling show.

That year, we continued to diversify our training by participating in American Endurance Ride Conference, placing fifth in Aria’s first 35 mile ride in October. We then went on to win in the 2016 Death Valley Encounter 30 mile ride in December, and placed third in the Eastern Mojave Desert 25 mile the following February. Aria was the first of her breed to win an endurance competition in the United States, and in May of 2017, she completed a 50 mile ride in Descanso, CA. During the Death Valley Encounter, the trail went through many different kinds of terrain, from a flat easy trail in the desert sand, to a foot wide trace across a very rocky slope, with a shear drop on one side. What I chose to manage in my horsemanship was just taking care of staying on the marked path, and letting Aria have the control of the speed.

The place we were going through really felt like the moon, and the view was breathtaking. Aria and I were alone most of the time,

November 2017 Z YOURDRESSAGE

and the Slate Range Trail did not point to base camp, so she had no motivation to speed up or slow down to join another horse, or to go back to camp, which are some of the things that often happen in endurance. The rocky terrain was making her walk slowly and very carefully. Watching from the saddle how Aria negotiated the terrain, barefooted and following my lead, was heartwarming, given that it was the most challenging trail we had been on.

The horses I train currently all compete in dressage and endurance. These two disciplines both require a true partnership with horse and human. It’s not always an easy goal to achieve, but is definitely worth trying for, in order to experience what I have with Aria. eTRAK Extra

Read "The Science of Horsemanship" from October 2013 USDF Connection magazine The pair competing at their first endurance race.

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my time to ride

Have Dressage, Will Travel

By Tamera Mayo

M

y journey with dressage started when I was 14, in a very unique location: Tripoli, Libya. My father’s job took us to Libya for four of my teenage years. Since my parents had long since given in to their horse crazy daughter, I had a little Barb Arab. A British expat friend knew Robert Hall, a classical dressage trainer based in England. She invited him to come to Tripoli to teach for two weeks, and then invited me to join them for lessons. Even though the horse I rode wasn’t trained in dressage, and the saddle I used wasn’t meant for dressage, those two weeks changed my whole outlook on my riding and my connection with my horses. I was so enamored with dressage that I talked my parents into letting me spend a summer at Mr. Hall’s school at Fulmer, England, when I turned fifteen. When I was attending university, I took a semester off for

Tamera riding in Australia

another four months stay to earn my BHSAI and deepen my understanding of classical dressage.

Years later, married now with kids, my husband’s job took us to France. We lived in a small village on the Seine River, and I bought a beautiful black Selle Francaise mare named Quif Quif. I got to experience something unusual to us Americans- riding to a show.

We saddled up at home, rode two miles through the woods to an old Abbey that had been turned into an equestrian center where I showed dressage and won my class, and then rode home. On the way back, my mare suddenly side stepped, staring at something just off the trail. When I followed her gaze, there nestled in the undergrowth was a tiny fawn, just a few feet away. Experiences like this put the joie de vivre (joy of living) back into competition, and I proceeded to have a blast learning about classical dressage the French way.

Some years later, my husband’s job moved us again, this time to

November 2017 Z YOURDRESSAGE

my time to ride

Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela. There the situation was such that owning a horse was not a good idea.

An evacuation on 24-hour notice was always a possibility, and in fact did happen once while we were there. Instead I came to an arrangement with a local man, actually something of a celebrity in the Venezuelan horse world, where he made sure I always had at least two horses to ride, but they would change since they were also always for sale. Each morning there were at least two, but sometimes as many as six, horses for me to ride. This turned into an irreplaceable opportunity for me to learn from many, many different horses. It was this arrangement that helped prove to me that dressage training improves any horse, for any sport. In particular, there was one mare that I rode dressage on daily, but the barn manager showed her once a month in team penning. The competitions and occasional weekend were the only times the mare worked cattle.

Riding in New Zealand

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my time to ride

Her work was 90% dressage, 10% cattle. As the months went by, the barn manager’s smile got bigger and bigger as the mare kept winning. One day I came out to find the biggest smiles on the entire family as the girls danced around in their new dresses and the boys ran in their new shoes. The mare had come through big and won a large cash prize for him the previous weekend.

Some time passed, and my family uprooted to Jakarta, Indonesia, where I bought a New Zealand OTTB and stabled with a group of like-minded expats and locals. Our intrepid leader was half Indonesian and half German. She was an excellent rider, twice winning the individual and team gold in dressage at the Southeast Asian Games. She has competed successfully at Aachen and recently became a FEI judge.

I was fortunate to benefit from her unique point of view in the international dressage competi-

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Riding in Kenya

November 2017 Z YOURDRESSAGE

my time to ride

tion, and had the opportunity to compete under FEI judges as they made a yearly tour through Asia.

After Indonesia, we took a relatively short relocation to Darwin, Australia. Here I bought another OTTB that taught me a lot and gave me some great moments, such as the time he executed a beautifully balanced capriole. It was such a feeling, but of course it would have been more thrilling if I had asked for it! A wallaby leaping out of the bush and crossing the trail right in front of us made him decide he needed to leap, too.

The most incredible thing about riding in Darwin was the stable’s location. It was in the middle of East Point Nature Reserve with waves from the Timor Sea breaking against bluffs at the edge of the pastures. Just outside the gate were wonderful trails that always included sightings of wallabies. But the greatest sights, in my opinion, were the birds. A flock of black Tamera and her husband Steve on their 25th wedding anniversary riding in Portugal.

Palm Cockatoos would perch on the paddock rails,waiting for my horse to finish eating so they could clean up any dropped grain, the trees flitted with the color of dozens of parrots, and much to our delight, a pair of the critically endangered Curlew Sandpipers built a nest just a few feet from the letter E. Once more, my family transferred to the Middle East country of Qatar. Again it was not advisable to buy a horse so I leased a German Warmblood, and worked with a few other warmbloods, putting dressage training on high dollar jumpers brought from Europe. Here I had the interesting experience of working within a very luxurious equestrian complex. They had three full-time veterinarians on staff and four farriers, two tack shops, a restaurant, and cafĂŠ. The horses had air-conditioned stables and indoor arenas, an equine swimming pool, and several outdoor arenas, plus a conditioning track.

Since it was the national eques-

November 2017 Z YOURDRESSAGE

ANTIPROTOZOAL PELLETS

(1.56% diclazuril)

FOR ORAL USE IN HORSES ONLY For the treatment of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) caused by Sarcocystis neurona in horses.

CAUTION Federal (U.S.A.) law restricts this drug to use by or on the order of a licensed veterinarian.

NADA #141-268 Approved by FDA DESCRIPTION Diclazuril, (±)-2,6-dichloro-α-(4-chlorophenyl)-4-(4,5 dihydro-3,5-dioxo-1,2,4-triazin-2(3H)-yl)benzeneacetonitrile, has a molecular formula of C17 H 9 CI 3 N4O2, a molecular weight of 407.64, and a molecular structure as follows:

Diclazuril is an anticoccidial (antiprotozoal) compound with activity against several genera of the phylum Apicomplexa. PROTAZIL® (diclazuril) is supplied as oral pellets containing 1.56% diclazuril to be mixed as a top-dress in feed. Inert ingredients include dehydrated alfalfa meal, wheat middlings, cane molasses and propionic acid (preservative).

INDICATIONS PROTAZIL® (1.56% diclazuril) Antiprotozoal Pellets are indicated for the treatment of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) caused by Sarcocystis neurona in horses.

DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION Dosage: PROTAZIL® (1.56% diclazuril) is administered as a top dress in the horse’s daily grain ration at a rate of 1 mg diclazuril per kg (0.45 mg diclazuril/lb) of body weight for 28 days. The quantity of PROTAZIL® necessary to deliver this dose is 64 mg pellets per kg (29 mg pellets/lb) of body weight.

Administration: To achieve this dose, weigh the horse (or use a weigh tape)). Scoop up PROTAZIL® to the level (cup mark) corresponding to the dose for the horse’s body weight using the following chart:

Tamera, with her son Tim, riding in Bali

trian center, it was often a stop for busloads of tourists. I am sure my horse and I are in several Japanese photo albums, as they were thrilled to have their picture taken touching a real live horse!

Seeing the world through the ears of a horse has been amazing.

The connections I’ve had with all my horses lends to a deeper connection to the world around me. I have been blessed in my journey to have a husband that fully supports my passion, who also rides well enough that we have had some

fantastic gallops; across beautiful northern Mongolia, beaches on the Cayman Islands and Bali, the Bell Forest of Australia, under the cork trees of Portugal, and extra special gallops with the giraffes and zebras of Kenya. Now we are back in the US and my journey has taken another path, this time within, a whole new area of exploration for me and my horses. I am actively showing two Friesians and enjoying the friendship of the local dressage community. I can’t wait to see where dressage will take me next.

Weight Range of Horse (lb)

mLs of Pellets

Weight Range of Horse (lb)

mLs of Pellets

275 - 524 525 - 774 775 - 1024 1025 - 1274

20 30 40 50

1275 - 1524 1525 - 1774 1775 - 2074 -

60 70 80 -

One 2-lb bucket of PROTAZIL® will treat one 1100-lb horse for 28 days. One 10-lb bucket of PROTAZIL® will treat five 1100-lb horses for 28 days.

CONTRAINDICATIONS Use of PROTAZIL® (1.56% diclazuril) Antiprotozoal Pellets is contraindicated in horses with known hypersensitivity to diclazuril.

WARNINGS For use in horses only. Do not use in horses intended for human consumption. Not for human use. Keep out of reach of children.

PRECAUTIONS The safe use of PROTAZIL® (1.56% diclazuril) Antiprotozoal Pellets in horses used for breeding purposes, during pregnancy, or in lactating mares has not been evaluated. The safety of PROTAZIL® (1.56% diclazuril) Antiprotozoal Pellets with concomitant therapies in horses has not been evaluated.

ADVERSE REACTIONS There were no adverse effects noted in the field study which could be ascribed to diclazuril. To report suspected adverse reactions, to obtain a MSDS, or for technical assistance call 1-800-224-5318.

CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY The effectiveness of diclazuril in inhibiting merozoite production of Sarcocystis neurona and S. falcatula in bovine turbinate cell cultures was studied by Lindsay and Dubey (2000).1 Diclazuril inhibited merozoite production by more than 80% in cultures of S. neurona or S. falcatula treated with 0.1 ng/mL diclazuril and greater than 95% inhibition of merozoite production (IC 95 ) was observed when infected cultures were treated with 1.0 ng/mL diclazuril. The clinical relevance of the in vitro cell culture data has not been determined.

PHARMACOKINETICS IN THE HORSE The oral bioavailability of diclazuril from the PROTAZIL® (1.56% diclazuril) Antiprotozoal Pellets at a 5 mg/kg dose rate is approximately 5%. Related diclazuril concentrations in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) range between 1% and 5% of the concentrations observed in the plasma. Nevertheless, based upon equine pilot study data, CSF concentrations are expected to substantially exceed the in vitro IC 95 estimates for merozoite production (Dirikolu et al., 1999) 2. Due to its long terminal elimination half-life in horses (approximately 43-65 hours), diclazuril accumulation occurs with once-daily dosing.

Corresponding steady state blood levels are achieved by approximately Day 10 of administration.

EFFECTIVENESS Two hundred and fourteen mares, stallions, and geldings of various breeds, ranging in age from 9.6 months to 30 years, were enrolled in a multi-center field study. All horses were confirmed EPMpositive based on the results of clinical examinations and laboratory testing, including CSF Western Blot analyses. Horses were administered PROTAZIL® (1.56% diclazuril) Antiprotozoal Pellets at doses of 1, 5, or 10 mg diclazuril/kg body weight as a top-dress on their daily grain ration for 28 days. The horses were then evaluated for clinical changes via a modified Mayhew neurological scale on Day 48 as follows: 0. Normal, neurological deficits not detected.

1. Neurological deficits may be detectable at normal gaits; signs exacerbated with manipulative procedures (e.g., backing, turning in tight circles, walking with head elevation, truncal swaying, etc.).

2. Neurological deficit obvious at normal gaits or posture; signs exacerbated with manipulative procedures.

3. Neurological deficit very prominent at normal gaits: horses give the impression they may fall (but do not) and buckle or fall with manipulative procedures.

4. Neurological deficit is profound at normal gait: horse frequently stumbles or trips and may fall at normal gaits or when manipulative procedures were utilized.

5. Horse is recumbent, unable to rise.

Each horse’s response to treatment was compared to its pre-treatment values. Successful response to treatment was defined as clinical improvement of at least one grade by Day 48 ± conversion of CSF to Western Blot-negative status for S. neurona or achievement of Western Blot-negative CSF status without improvement of 1 ataxia grade.

Forty-two horses were initially evaluated for effectiveness and 214 horses were evaluated for safety. Clinical condition was evaluated by the clinical investigator’s subjective scoring and then corroborated by evaluation of the neurological examination videotapes by a masked panel of three equine veterinarians. Although 42 horses were evaluated for clinical effectiveness, corroboration of clinical effectiveness via videotape evaluation was not possible for one horse due to missing neurologic examination videotapes. Therefore, this horse was not included in the success rate calculation.

Based on the numbers of horses that seroconverted to negative Western Blot status, and the numbers of horses classified as successes by the clinical investigators, 28 of 42 horses (67%) at 1 mg/ kg were considered successes. With regard to independent expert masked videotape assessments, 10 of 24 horses (42%) at 1 mg/kg were considered successes. There was no clinical difference in effectiveness among the 1, 5, and 10 mg/kg treatment group results.

Adverse events were reported for two of the 214 horses evaluated for safety. In the first case, a horse was enrolled showing severe neurologic signs. Within 24 hours of dosing, the horse was recumbent, biting, and exhibiting signs of dementia. The horse died, and no cause of death was determined. In the second case, the horse began walking stiffly approximately 13 days after the start of dosing. The referring veterinarian reported that the horse had been fed grass clippings and possibly had laminitis.

ANIMAL SAFETY PROTAZIL® (1.56% diclazuril) Antiprotozoal Pellets were administered to 30 horses (15 males and 15 females, ranging from 5 to 9 months of age) in a target animal safety study. Five groups of 6 horses each (3 males and 3 females) received 0, 5 (5X), 15 (15X), 25 (25X) or 50 (50X) mg diclazuril/kg (2.27mg/lb) body weight/day for 42 consecutive days as a top-dress on the grain ration of the horse.

The variables measured during the study included: clinical and physical observations, body weights, food and water consumption, hematology, serum chemistry, urinalysis, fecal analysis, necropsy, organ weights, gross and histopathologic examinations. The safety of diclazuril top-dress administered to horses at 1 mg/kg once daily cannot be determined based solely on this study because of the lack of an adequate control group (control horses tested positive for the test drug in plasma and CSF). However, possible findings associated with the drug were limited to elevations in BUN, creatinine, and SDH and less than anticipated weight gain. Definitive test article-related effects were decreased grain/top-dress consumption in horses in the 50 mg/kg group.

In a second target animal safety study, PROTAZIL® (1.56% diclazuril) Antiprotozoal Pellets were administered to 24 horses (12 males and 12 females, ranging from 2 to 8 years of age). Three groups of 4 horses/sex/group received 0, 1, or 5 mg diclazuril/kg body weight/day for 42 days as a top-dress on the grain ration of the horse. The variables measured during the study included physical examinations, body weights, food and water consumption, hematology, and serum chemistry. There were no test article-related findings seen during the study.

STORAGE INFORMATION Store between 15°C to 30°C (59°F to 86°F).

HOW SUPPLIED PROTAZIL® (1.56 % diclazuril) Antiprotozoal Pellets are supplied in 2-lb (0.9 kg) and 10-lb (4.5 kg) buckets.

REFERENCES 1. Lindsay, D. S., and Dubey, J. P. 2000. Determination of the activity of diclazuril against Sarcocystis neurona and Sarcocystis falcatula in cell cultures. J. Parasitology, 86(1):164–166.

2. Dirikolu, L., Lehner, F., Nattrass, C., Bentz, B. G., Woods, W. E., Carter, W. E., Karpiesiuk, W. G., Jacobs, J., Boyles, J., Harkins, J. D., Granstrom, D. E. and Tobin, T. 1999. Diclazuril in the horse: Its identification and detection and preliminary pharmacokinetics. J. Vet. Pharmacol. Therap. 22:374–379.

May 2010 Intervet Inc. 56 Livingston Ave, Roseland, New Jersey 07068 © 2010 Intervet Inc. All rights reserved.

08-10 211.x.3.1.0

November 2017 Z YOURDRESSAGE

The Science of Convenient Protazil® (1.56% diclazuril) is the only FDA-approved alfalfa-based top dress antiprotozoal pellet for the treatment of EPM. • Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis (EPM) is a serious neurological disease that can strike anytime, anywhere.

Make treatment easy with Protazil® • Safe and accurate dosing with a calibrated scoop • Easier to use than paste, less stress for you and your horse • Rapid absorption — no loading dose required1 Now that’s convenient.

Ask your veterinarian for Protazil®. Visit us at Protazil.com to learn more about Merck Animal Health and the equine products and programs that help keep horses healthy.

Use of Protazil® (1.56% dicazuril) is contraindicated in horses with known hypersensitivity to diclazuril. Safe use in horses used for breeding purposes, during pregnancy, or in lactating mares has not been evaluated. The safety of Protazil® (1.56% dicazuril) with concomitant therapies in horses has not been evaluated.

See related page in this issue for details. For use in horses only. Do not use in horses intended for human consumption. Not for human use. Keep out of reach of children.

The Science of Healthier Animals

1

Hunyadi L, Papich MG, Pusterla N. Pharmacokinetics of a low‑dose and DA‑labeled dose of diclazuril administered orally as a pelleted top dressing in adult horses. J of Vet Pharmacology and Therapeutics (accepted) 2014, doi: 10.111/jvp.12176. The correlation between pharmacokinetic data and clinical effectiveness is unknown

2 Giralda Farms • Madison, NJ 07940 • merck‑animal‑health‑usa.com • 800‑521‑5767 Copyright © 2017 Intervet Inc., d/b/a/ Merck Animal Health, a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc. All rights reserved. 3662 EQ-FP AD Protazil®

YOUNG & INSPIRED

Started in Shanghai

By Isabel Linder

I

started riding at the age of five, in Shanghai, China. Due to my dad’s job, my family lived in Shanghai from 2004 to 2013. I first started riding, with my sister, when my mom found an advertisement for lessons, and she signed us up as a weekly after school activity. The stable where we took our lessons is one of only a handful of riding stables in Shanghai, and the only one that offers English riding lessons. It is very different from the U.S., where there are horse farms all over the place.

I started on one of the 25 Mongolian lesson ponies that reside at the stable. After years of lunge line lessons and group lessons on these ponies, I moved up to horses (an incredibly exciting thing, as horses were for the big kids). The stable would put on an annual schooling show, but this was the only showing I knew, as there are no dressage shows in

Isabel and Elvis

Shanghai and horses never left the premises of the farm.

While I had been riding at this stable for years, and always adored the horses, I didn’t really start to develop a love for riding until about 2009, when I was a little older and started taking more lessons. I had my first experience with riding in the United States that year, when I attended a summer riding camp during a return visit to Michigan.

At the end of 2010, my mom and I started the process of getting our first horse. Being the inexperienced horse people we were, we decided to import Yasmine, a three year old Friesian mare into Shanghai - despite being told by Ed, my trainer/stable owner that we should get a laid back 8+ year old. The entire process of buying and importing Yasmine into Shanghai took around six months, and in that time period, Ed taught me the basics of riding and handling young horses, by teaching me on one of his newly started (and safe) four-year-olds.

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YOUNG & INSPIRED

When my family moved back from Shanghai with Yasmine, we moved close to Traverse City, MI. I attended my first recognized dressage show with Yasmine in the summer of 2014. Even though we may not have seen much success in the show ring, I loved it and developed bigger goals for my future riding.

Those goals lead me to Elvis, the special horse that I competed at NAJYRC and Festival of Champions this summer. He came into my life in the spring of 2015. His owner, Hai Wei, had imported Elvis, a 7-year-old jumper, from Germany to Shanghai. After three and a half years, however, Elvis did not do well in Shanghai, and his health began to really decline.

Hai Wei decided that it would be in Elvis’s best interest to live in the US, and so he came to live with my family. When Elvis arrived at our farm, after the long trip, he was in bad shape and in need of TLC. After months of good feed, Riding Mongolian ponies in Shanghai

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YOUNG & INSPIRED

Your Sport... shoeing, health care, and hacks, Elvis was sound, healthy, and ready to go to work. Only after I began riding him more seriously, and taking him for a few lessons, did I begin to realize the potential that he had as a dressage horse.

Elvis is a very unconfident and weary horse, but as he began to trust me and come out of his shell, he started to really enjoy his work and to try his best for me. He went to his first dressage show ever, in the summer of 2016, where we showed First and Second Level. I decided to try and qualify Elvis for the summer events of 2017.

This summer has been absolutely amazing with Elvis; competing at NAJYRC and Festival of Champions was incredible, and the success that we had was icing on the cake. It would not have been possible without so many people and horses that have helped me to be the rider that I am, and have helped Elvis and I become the team that we are.

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Visit USDF’s secure online giving site at www.usdf.org, or call us at 859-971-7826 to make your contribution.

The jog at NAJYRC

November 2017 Z YOURDRESSAGE

If you liked McNasty, you're going to LOVE Crib-Guard!

STOPS CRIBBING Protect your horse from the harmful effects of chewing, gnawing AND cribbing! CRIB-GUARD is a long-lasting anti-chew spray and gel that is guaranteed to stop your horse from chewing and cribbing!

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Road To The Finals

By Jennifer M. Keeler

Taryn Anderson, with her mother Tammy, and the two horses she competed with Addison and Romulus.

Every year when riders and horses from across the country gather in Lexington, KY. for the US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan®, they not only bring top performances to the Alltech Arena – they also bring amazing stories.

From overcoming tough odds, facing life’s daily challenges, healing from medical and veterinary conditions, or simply being the unlikely underdog, the tales which unfold at the Finals are nothing short of inspiring.

For the last three months, USDF’s exclusive series titled “Road to the Finals” shared competitors’ stories as they tried to punch a ticket to the Kentucky Horse Park on November 9-12, 2017. We met Taryn Anderson of Colorado (August), Patricia McVary of Illinois (September), and Ana DiGironimo of New Jersey (October) as they generously shared their journeys to Lexington. From the winner’s circle to the sidelines, here’s how each one turned out: November 2017 Z YOURDRESSAGE

The Fairy-Tale Ending

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Taryn Anderson with Addison & Romulus, Erie, Colorado (Region 5)

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Taryn and Addison

t would be a challenge to come up with a better fairy-tale ending to the 2017 US Dressage Finals for Taryn Anderson.

As outlined in Anderson’s profile in the August issue of YourDressage (read it here), for the last two years Anderson has successfully qualified for the US Dressage Finals. And for both of those years, she also had to make the decision not go to simply because she couldn’t afford it.

“I have desperately wanted to go to the Finals every year I’ve qualified, but it just never worked out for me and I’ve always been so disappointed,” said Anderson in YourDressage. “But this year I’ve been saving money and have set my mind to do it, so I have no excuses if I’m lucky enough to qualify once again.”

Finally, Anderson got her chance. With invitations in hand thanks to success at the Great American/USDF Region 5 Cham-

pionships and money saved from months of hard work and sacrifice, she packed up herself and her horses and embarked on the 17-hour trip of a lifetime to the Kentucky Horse Park. And it only got better from there.

Aboard her nine-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Romulus, Anderson claimed the First Level Freestyle Adult Amateur Championship with 72.556% for their performance featuring music from Lady Gaga’s “The Edge of Glory” and The Script’s “Hall of Fame”, which Anderson described as “feeling like they tell a little story about the two of us.” Not to be outdone, her second ride aboard her mother Tammy Anderson’s 10-year-old Oldenburg mare Addison earned 70.011% to win the Third Level Freestyle Adult Amateur Championship in the Alltech Arena (watch Anderson’s winning ride here). “For Addison,

November 2017 Z YOURDRESSAGE

Taryn and Romulus

we chose Katy Perry’s ‘Firework’ song because it fits her perfectly – she really is a firework,” Anderson laughed. “We also use American Authors’ ‘Best Day of My Life’ for our canter work, which seemed especially appropriate today.”

In finally achieving her goal of competing at the Kentucky Horse Park, Anderson said her Finals experience turned out to be everything she dreamed of. “The anticipation of wanting to come for three years and not being able to, but then finally being here…it’s even more than I expected,” she explained. “I loved all of it – the huge atmosphere, the arenas, and everything going on…it was just awesome, and it surprised me a little in that the horses really took to it as well. Even though it took a couple of days for all of us to settle in, I felt like we really hit our stride on that last day. Both of the horses love their music and were really expressive in their tests and gave me great rides.

“The competition is really tough, and coming from a smaller November 2017 Z YOURDRESSAGE

Addison and Romulus keeping each other company

region I was like, ‘whoa’ – there were a lot of really good riders and really nice horses,” Anderson continued. “Everyone was so nice though! It was cool competing against so many people from all over the country and such big classes – it really is an achievement just getting here and being able to place in the ribbons! It was not an easy task, and I feel like you have to be in the high 60’s/70’s to be in contention. I also learned a lot about the horses on the trip and how they travel and handle environments like this, so it will be nice to have that in my pocket for the future.

For instance, both of them traveled well, but Romo didn’t eat much the first two days so know I know that he will take a little longer to settle in then Addison. Those sorts of things are so important to know.”

Anderson had a sizeable support team who also traveled to Kentucky to share in the experience. “My mom, dad, boyfriend and sister all came out, as well as my trainer Greta Vowell and our Dressage Pacifico team. It was

awesome because we all show together, so it was like being at home. Having two horses to compete at the same time is plenty of work, but I had a lot of help so that relieved a lot of stress.”

Anderson, her family and friends also found time to enjoy activities outside the show ring.

“My favorite thing was the venue and all the things to do on the grounds that kept us occupied,” she said. “It was so cool having such a nice huge indoor arena that you can shop at all the vendors and sit around and warm up and watch rides! Plus all the different places to eat and get coffee, as well as the USDF Hall of Fame just across the park and the famous Keeneland racetrack. It was cool having stuff to do all the time! We made sure to try a new restaurant to eat at every day, and we had a ton of good BBQ and southern food, including one place we found which had an amazing bourbon milk shake. Next time we come we hope to tour some of the Thoroughbred farms.

And we do plan to be back!”

November 2017 Z YOURDRESSAGE

The Joy of Being a Spectator Patricia McVary & Aureo, Springfield, Illinois (Region 4)

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Patricia, a former competitor now spectator, with the StarWest Team. Left to right: Martin Kuhn, Judy Ethell, Judy Nordstrom, Kate Fleming-Kuhn, Kelly Griffith, Patricia, and Pinky Noll.

onversely to Anderson, one-tenth of a percentage point was all that stood in the way of Patricia McVary returning to ride in this year’s US Dressage Finals (read her profile here). While her disappointment still stings, McVary nevertheless found a way to participate in the 2017 Finals experience. “Since like they say, ‘almost’ only counts in horseshoes, I realized I needed to move on,” she explained. “So I decided to travel to the Kentucky Horse Park this year anyway as a former-competitor-now-spectator.”

Normally when riding in competitions, McVary strives to keep her nerves and stress level to a minimum by busying herself with chores around the barn instead of watching other rides. But at the Finals, she found herself in a very different position. “I had the luxury of walking around the show grounds and trying to learn how the other riders earned the chance to compete at this level,” she noted.

November 2017 Z YOURDRESSAGE

And this new opportunity provided McVary the ability to see a side of competition that she hadn’t appreciated before – and gave her a whole new perspective for the next time she returns to the ring herself.

“Up until now, if I had not holed myself up in the barn so much at shows, I would have seen that others do make mistakes – even professionals!” McVary explained. “Their horses spook, they go off course, they miss changes.

You know how you are not supposed to let your horse stop to do his business while you are riding?

So they don’t do this in the show ring? Well, this can and does happen – even to a professional. The rider kicked the horse forward, finished the test, saluted, looked at the judges and shrugged. And that rider won the class.

“If I hadn’t had my head in the sand I would have seen the strong bonds between horse and rider that allows success to happen,” she admitted. “After hearing the bell to enter the ring, one adult amateur took a moment to lean over to give her horse a kiss on the neck. After exiting the ring after a test, I saw

a professional with tears running down her face while telling her horse how good she was. This is a reminder that riders are not in this alone but have a partner that is trying just as hard as they are.

“And if I had looked around at shows long before now, I would have seen how much hard work and patience it takes to coach a rider and give them the skill and confidence to enter an event like the Finals,” she concluded. “From my vantage point in the Alltech Arena, I saw half-halt after half-halt. This reminded me of something Tuny Page said during a presentation at her barn: ‘At the end of the day, we are all just looking for that perfect half-halt.’ Watching the lower levels helped me see what my trainer tries to help me improve upon; and watching the upper levels showed me what the outcome is supposed to be.”

Even though the 2017 US Dressage Finals turned out to be a very different kind of learning experience than McVary had expected, her newfound perspective will no doubt provide inspiration and motivation for a triumphant return to Lexington in 2018.

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November 2017 Z YOURDRESSAGE

Wizarding Magic

Ana DiGironimo & Anna Miriah C, Turnersville, New Jersey (Region 8)

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Ana and AM proudly show off their ribbon.

fter earning a wild card invitation to compete in the Third Level Open Freestyle Championship at the 2017 US Dressage Finals, the “small but mighty” pair of young professional Ana DiGironimo and her 14.2-hand Arabian pony Anna Miriah C could not have been more excited to take advantage of the opportunity to show the world their fabulous “Wizard of Oz”-themed performance (read their profile here).

November in Lexington can certainly be chilly, but after traveling 14 hours to the Kentucky Horse Park the DQ Performance Horses team arrived to unseasonably frigid temperatures. “I wasn’t sure how the weather might influence our performance, but ‘AM’ and I kept our sights set high and just bundled up!” said DiGironimo.

Luckily, the pair’s championship class was scheduled in the heated Alltech Arena, where they first

schooled on Wednesday. “We had a super session, and AM decided to show off a bit,” she laughed. “Our sound check went off without any issues, and the excitement was truly palpable everywhere. These Finals have such a truly magical vibe to them. Everyone is so happy to just be there, it’s almost as though the placings come secondary to everyone having a great time and feeling so proud to be there! I know for me, I felt like a champion just getting to go!”

But DiGironimo also wanted to take advantage of a warm-up class on Thursday, and despite belowfreezing temperatures for their 8:18am ride time, the pair braved the elements. “I was so proud of her.

We went to our warm up test in the Murphy arena and she gave me a solid performance,” DiGironimo said. “I couldn’t feel my hands or toes so I know she was also very cold, but she didn’t take one step wrong.” They ended up in second

November 2017 Z YOURDRESSAGE

Ana and AM in the Alltech Arena.

place in their warm-up class. “I was so impressed with the footing, which did not freeze! The competition staff and volunteers did their best to keep everyone warm – they even had a golf cart with coffee and tea!”

Saturday dawned as the pair’s big day, and DiGironimo had drawn what she felt was a “perfect” ride time. “But by now it was our fifth day there with no turnout and freezing weather, so our warmup was not quite as effortless as I had hoped for,” DiGironimo said. “AM was a bit tight from the get-go so we took our time and slowly got into our zone. I stayed focused on us, though we had some amazing horses and riders in our division. I knew with a clean and fun ride we could be competitive too!”

All smiles, the pair trotted into the Alltech Arena. The bell rang, and DiGironimo took a moment to pat her pony before waving to the announcer – her cue for the music to begin. As the familiar soundtrack to “The Wizard of Oz” rang out across the arena, the charismatic petite

pair danced down the yellow brick road until their final halt, with cheers from fans and supporters following them out of the arena (watch their charming ride here). With happiness beaming from Ana’s face, their score of 67.022% flashed on the scoreboard – putting them in ninth place and securing a place in the Top Ten awards ceremony for their division.

“I came to Kentucky with the mindset that good things come in small packages,” DiGironimo explained. “We may not be ‘typical’, but I’ll take unique any day of the week! To say I am proud of Anna Miriah wouldn’t even begin to explain my gratitude I have for her.

She makes me believe anything is possible. So here’s to ponies and non-warmbloods – you can do it!

And last but not least, Finals were everything I could have imagined and more. A huge thank you goes out to the USDF, the sponsors, show management and volunteers, because without you none of this would be possible!”

November 2017 Z YOURDRESSAGE

Heard around the arena

What interesting or fun thing have you heard lately? Send it to us using #aroundthearena

Competitors at the US Dressage Finals presented by AdequanÂŽ shared their experiences.

November 2017 Z YOURDRESSAGE

Heard around the arena

What interesting or fun thing have you heard lately? Send it to us using #aroundthearena

Competitors at the US Dressage Finals presented by AdequanÂŽ shared their experiences.

November 2017 Z YOURDRESSAGE

Heard around the arena

What interesting or fun thing have you heard lately? Send it to us using #aroundthearena

Competitors at the US Dressage Finals presented by AdequanÂŽ shared their experiences.

November 2017 Z YOURDRESSAGE

USDF FLASHBACK

Ivan I. Bezugloff Jr. Reprinted from the June 2015 USDF Connection magazine.

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n the pre-Internet era in which the USDF was founded and dressage began gaining a foothold in the American landscape, dressage-related information was primarily disseminated via print media. The problem was, there was no US-based magazine dedicated to dressage.

In 1971, a Czech-born amateur dressage rider named Ivan I. Bezugloff Jr. changed that when he founded the first national periodical dedicated to our sport.

Thanks to Bezugloff ’s European connections, Dressage, as it was originally titled, brought the advice and viewpoints of the Continental dressage establishPodcast Alert

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Check out our podcast 78 about Ivan I. Bezugloff Jr. at usdf. podbean.com.

ment to the New World. Soon American voices entered the mix, as did dressage’s cousin, eventing; and for 25 years Bezugloff edited Dressage and Combined Training, as the magazine was renamed (later shortened to Dressage & CT), to serve as the USA’s primary information highway for dressage and eventing enthusiasts.

In its heyday, Dressage & CT was a must-read for the intellectual equestrian. There was no gloss, no “equestrian lifestyle” component, no stunning photography, no award-winning design.

D&CT was rather more like a scholarly journal, with lengthy treatises on training, equine biomechanics, competitions, and sport and governance issues. Its small but passionate group of subscribers hoarded every issue and spent hours poring over the dense content. D&CT was known for its willingness to delve deeply into topics—Kay Meredith, a former USDF president, penned a “Dressage for Beginners” series in the early 1970s that lasted for November 2017 Z YOURDRESSAGE

USDF FLASHBACK

22 issues—and for its role as the national dressage forum, with letters to the editor being followed for months by replies to that letter, rebuttals to subsequent missives, and so on.

The monthly magazine was quite an accomplishment for a man whose knowledge of dressage was rudimentary at best until he reached his mid-twenties.

The son of a Russian emigrant, Bezugloff came to the US in 1952 and took a job as an electronics engineer in New London, CT. Ten years later, he started his own company in Cleveland, OH. From a Hungarian-born employee he learned of nearby Lake Erie College’s equestrian program and its director, Laddie Andahazy, and soon the men were having discussions about dressage.

It bothered Bezugloff that there was no US dressage magazine because he believed that, as In an undated photo: Stephen Schwartz, Ivan Bezugloff, Jr., Mary Jean Rogers; and Kay Meredith.

November 2017 Z YOURDRESSAGE

USDF FLASHBACK

in any other sport, there were theoretical aspects to dressage and horse training. Andahazy challenged him to act on his convictions, and in 1971 Bezugloff sold his company and created Dressage.

The list of D&CT contributors reads like a Who’s Who of dressage at the time. Besides Kay Meredith, bylines included Charles de Kunffy, Karl Mikolka, Sally O’Connor, Dr. Kent Allen Vasko, Dr. Deb Bennett, Hans von Blixen-Finicke, Dr. Henri L. M. van Schaik, and Capt. Andrew de Szinay. D&CT also published an events calendar, show results, and news shorts. Correspondents in the UK, Germany, and Denmark covered important dressage and eventing competitions.

Bezugloff was also a founding member of the USDF and the founder of Xenophon Press,

which published dressage texts by the likes of French trainer François Baucher and equinebiomechanics clinician Jean-Luc Cornille.

Eventually D&CT fell on hard times, and Bezugloff exhausted most of his retirement nest egg to keep the magazine afloat. In the late 1990s he sold the struggling title to a consumer enthusiastmagazine publisher, but a little more than a year later, D&CT ceased publication.

For his contributions to American dressage, Bezugloff was inducted into the Roemer Foundation/USDF Hall of Fame in 2002. He died in 2011 at the age of 85. He donated his extensive equestrian library to the USDF, where it now resides in the Gypsy Woods Farm Resource Center at the USDF National Education Center in Lexington, KY.

November 2017 Z YOURDRESSAGE

YOUR CONNECTION TO DRESSAGE EDUCATION • COMPETITION • ACHIEVEMENT © John Borys Photography

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