September/October 2020 USDF Connection

September/October 2020

Official Publication of the United States Dressage Federation

ANNUAL YOUTH ISSUE Dressage Career?

College? Both? (p. 36)

Master Fourth Level with Beth Baumert (p. 16) Youth-Organized Clinic Wins GMO Award (p. 24)

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USDF CONNECTION

The Official Publication of the United States Dressage Federation EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Stephan Hienzsch (859) 271-7887 • stephh1enz@usdf.org EDITOR Jennifer O. Bryant (610) 344-0116 • jbryant@usdf.org

An official property of the United States Dressage Federation

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Hilary M. Clayton, BVMS, PhD, MRCVS EDITORIAL ADVISORS Margaret Freeman (NC), Anne Gribbons (FL), Roberta Williams (FL), Terry Wilson (CA) TECHNICAL ADVISORS Janine Malone, Lisa Gorretta, Elisabeth Williams

YourDressage delivers exclusive dressage stories, editorial, and education, relevant to ALL dressage enthusiasts and is your daily source for dressage!

Look for these featured articles online at YourDressage.org

SENIOR PUBLICATIONS COORDINATOR Emily Koenig (859) 271-7883 • ekoenig@usdf.org GRAPHIC & MULTIMEDIA COORDINATOR Katie Lewis (859) 271-7881 • klewis@usdf.org ADVERTISING SALES REPRESENTATIVE Danielle Titland (720) 300-2266 • dtitland@usdf.org

USDF OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE BOARD PRESIDENT LISA GORRETTA 19 Daisy Lane, Chagrin Falls, OH 44022 (216) 406-5475 • president@usdf.org VICE PRESIDENT KEVIN REINIG, 6907 Lindero Lane, Rancho Murieta, CA 95683 (916) 616-4581 • vicepresident@usdf.org SECRETARY MARGARET FREEMAN 200 Aurora Lane, Tryon, NC 28782 (828) 859-6723 • secretary@usdf.org TREASURER LORRAINE MUSSELMAN 7538 NC 39 Hwy, Zebulon, NC 27497 (919) 218-6802 • treasurer@usdf.org

EDUCATION “Helping Horses of All Breeds” Get to know the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, our charity partner for the 2020 US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan®.

COMPETITION “My Money Is On Dressage” Technical delegate Jean Kraus discusses her thoughts on the COVID-19 environment, & what we need to do together to keep everyone safe at shows.

ACHIEVEMENT “Challenged, To Victory – The Genevieve Rohner Story” Meet Genevieve Rohner, the youngest US classified para equestrian, whose whole life has changed because of her connection to horses.

COMMUNITY “Self-Care” A graduate student in clinical mental health counseling shares the true meaning of self-care, with tips you can use to take care of yourself as an equestrian.

It’s YourDressage, be a part of it!

Visit https://yourdressage.org/ for all these stories & much more!

REGIONAL DIRECTORS REGION 1 DC, DE, MD, NC, NJ, PA, VA BETTINA G. LONGAKER 8246 Open Gate Road, Gordonsville, VA 22942 (540) 832-7611 • region1dir@usdf.org REGION 2 IL, IN, KY, MI, OH, WV, WI DEBBY SAVAGE 7011 cobblestone Lane, Mentor, OH 44060 (908) 892-5335 • region2dir@usdf.org REGION 3 AL, FL, GA, SC, TN SUSAN BENDER 1024 Grand Prix Drive, Beech Island, SC 29842 (803) 295-2525 • region3dir@usdf.org REGION 4 IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD ANNE SUSHKO 1942 Clifford Street, Dubuque, IA 52002 (563) 580-0510 • region4dir@usdf.org REGION 5 AZ, CO, E. MT, NM, UT, W. TX, WY HEATHER PETERSEN 22750 County Road 37, Elbert, CO 80106 (303) 648-3164 • region5dir@usdf.org REGION 6 AK, ID, W. MT, OR, WA PETER ROTHSCHILD 1120 Arcadia Street NW, Olympia, WA 98502 (206) 200-3522 • region6dir@usdf.org REGION 7 CA, HI, NV CAROL TICE 31895 Nicolas Road, Temecula, CA 92591 (714) 514-5606 • region7dir@usdf.org REGION 8 CT, MA, ME, NH, NY, RI, VT DEBRA REINHARDT 160 Woods Way Drive, Southbury, CT 06488 (203) 264-2148 • region8dir@usdf.org REGION 9 AR, LA, MS, OK, TX SHERRY GUESS 18216 S. 397th East Avenue, Porter, OK 74454 (918) 640-1204 • region9dir@usdf.org

AT-LARGE DIRECTORS ACTIVITIES COUNCIL SUE MANDAS 9508 Bridlewood Trail, Dayton, OH 45458 (937) 272-9068 • ald-activities@usdf.org ADMINISTRATIVE COUNCIL KEVIN BRADBURY PO Box 248, Dexter, MI 48130 (734) 426-2111 • ald-administrative@usdf.org TECHNICAL COUNCIL SUE MCKEOWN 6 Whitehaven Lane, Worcester, MA 01609 (508) 459-9209 • ald-technical@usdf.org USDF Connection is published bimonthly by the United States Dressage Federation, 4051 Iron Works Parkway, Lexington, KY 40511. Phone: 859/971-2277. Fax: 859/971-7722. E-mail: usdressage@ usdf.org, Web site: www.usdf.org. USDF members receive USDF Connection as a membership benefit, paid by membership dues.

Copyright © 2020 USDF. All rights reserved.

USDF reserves the right to refuse any advertising or copy that is deemed unsuitable for USDF and its policies. Excluding advertisements, all photos with mounted riders must have safety head gear or USEF-approved competition hat. USDF assumes no responsibility for the claims made in advertisements. Statements of fact and opinion are those of the experts consulted and authors, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or the policy of USDF. The publishers reserve the right to reject any advertising deemed unsuitable for USDF, as well as the right to reject or edit any manuscripts received for publication. USDF assumes no responsibility for unsolicited material. All materials must be accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

Questions about your subscription or change in address? Contact USDF Membership Department, 859/971-2277, or usdressage@usdf.org.

POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO: USDF, 4051 IRON WORKS PARKWAY, LEXINGTON, KY 40511. Canadian Agreement No. 1741527. Canada return address: Station A, P.O. Box 54, Windsor, Ontario N9A 6J5.

2 September/October 2020 | USDF CONNECTION

USDF Connection

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

Volume 22, Number 3

Columns

36

4 Inside USDF

Virtual (Convention) Reality

By Stephan Hienzsch

6 Ringside

A Reckoning

By Jennifer O. Bryant

Departments 16 Clinic

Nailing It! Riding with Success Through the Levels Conclusion: Fourth Level

By Beth Baumert

22 The Judge’s Box

Dressage-Arena Etiquette

By Marilyn Heath

24 Salute

Kid Power

By Amber Heintzberger

26 Free Rein

Features

36

Some think higher ed is a smart move; others, an unnecessary detour. Longtime pros and current students share their stories and perspectives.

By Natalie DeFee Mendik

Olympic, Paralympic, and World Cup Final dreams were put on hold this year. Here's how top contenders are coping and regrouping for 2021.

By Sue Weakley

48

The Florida Project

By Hilary M. Clayton, BVMS, PhD, Dipl ACVSMR, FRCVS

50 Tack Shop

New Products: Pandemic Edition

56 My Dressage

Pandemic Perseverance

42

By Mickayla Frederick

30 Sport Horse

I Want to Be a Dressage Professional.

Do I need College?

A Silver Lining to the COVID Pause

Horse Showing in a COVID-19 World

By Michelle King

Basics 8 Contact 10 Sponsor Spotlight 11 Collection

Meet the Candidates

52 Rider’s Market

Get to know who's nominated for USDF Executive Board office this year

54 USDF Connection Submission Guidelines

On Our Cover Illustration by Jody Lynne Werner for USDF Connection.

54 USDF Office Contact Directory 55 Advertising Index USDF CONNECTION | September/October 2020

3

Inside USDF Virtual (Convention) Reality The 2020 Adequan®/USDF Annual Convention is going virtual. Here’s what that means for you.

W

hat comes to mind when you think about the Adequan®/USDF Annual Convention? Perhaps it’s the opportunity to visit an exciting locale and to enjoy the company of friends and dressage colleagues old and new. Maybe it’s your chance to help steer our sport into the future, by participating in committee meetings and making your voice heard at the Board of Governors General Assembly.

When it became clear that the traditional in-person convention could not take place in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the USDF Executive Board voted to hold a virtual convention in its place. Instead of gathering in Omaha, Nebraska, this December, we’ll be meeting in a virtual environment. Although organizing a virtual convention has its challenges, we’re discovering that it also presents some new and unique opportunities.

Going virtual produces the unprecedented opportunity for members to partake in the convention and what it has to offer, while also revamping the event format for a new audience. Although at press time we were still ironing out the details, USDF participating, group, and education members are eligible to register for the 2020 convention at no cost!

The 2020 convention will include the traditional USDF business—and, thanks to the virtual platform, we will also be able to host webinars, panel discussions, and special presentations. Through our

virtual-meeting dashboard, you will be able to maintain your schedule, organize all of your meeting links, download any reference documents, and connect with other attendees socially, all in one place.

You’ll want to attend as many live sessions as possible because we will be featuring some surprises and giveaways. But if you can’t make it, forums and education sessions will be recorded and made available for on-demand viewing so you can learn at your convenience. We’ll collect questions and answers for certain speakers and sessions, both live and on demand, with follow-up responses to be published on USDF’s website YourDressage.org.

Replicating the social aspect of the convention is a unique challenge in a virtual environment, but as many of us have learned in quarantine, online parties and happy hours can help us stay connected. Welcome presentations and virtual socialization opportunities will be offered to maintain the social aspect that many attendees look forward to at the annual convention.

4 September/October 2020 | USDF CONNECTION

As each year and each USDF convention draw to a close, we take time to recognize the outstanding efforts and lifetime contributions of our members, competitors, volunteers, and other luminaries. By going virtual, more USDF members will have the opportunity to join in the festivities to provide all of these individuals and horses the recognition they so deserve.

In 2020, for the first time ever, you’ll attend the USDF convention via your computer, tablet, or smartphone—putting the future of dressage, quite literally, in your hands. Folks who have never been able to travel to the convention will now have the chance to join us, and we are excited to introduce as many members as possible to everything the USDF convention has to offer. Start by following USDF on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter and by visiting YourDressage.org for the latest pre-convention news and information, coverage throughout the event, and post-event content.

We hope that you will take advantage of this extraordinary opportunity to experience USDF governance in action, as well as to take part in the celebration of the year that was. The 2020 Adequan®/ USDF Virtual Convention promises to provide an unprecedented experience that you won’t want to miss. Join us this December as we connect while we’re apart.

USDF FILE PHOTO

By Stephan Hienzsch, USDF Executive Director

Ringside A Reckoning Viewed through a different lens, a decades-old editorial decision still haunts

make it difficult for me to say no and explain why. In short, it wouldn’t be fair.

The rationale made sense to me back then, but I was, of course, dead wrong.

I failed to grasp what is blatantly obvious today: that if our sport, and the horse industry as a whole, want to thrive and grow, we must be accessible and welcoming to all potential participants—which means ensuring that diversity and inclusion are reflected in everything we do and produce, from photos and articles in the equine media to the models in equestrian-apparel ads and catalogs. Because the horse world is populated primarily by white people, nearly everyone I have ever encountered, from my first riding lesson as a horse-crazy kid to the present day, “looks like me.” When I declined to do a story on that Black rider, it had never occurred to me that the white riders and the svelte blonde breeches models in the magazines were sending a message to people of color: No one here looks like you.

You don’t belong here.

6 September/October 2020 | USDF CONNECTION

Over time, it began to sink in that all the models in the equestrian ads and catalogs were white, and the lack of diversity started to bother me. Still, it took more time—and the cultural reckoning that the US has been grappling with in recent months—for me to fully understand that although I never intended to slight or to marginalize, I was in fact part of the problem.

A reckoning is a difficult process.

It requires challenging long-held norms and being willing to look at things from someone else’s perspective. It can be uncomfortable, and sometimes it feels awkward, like trying on an outfit that’s unlike anything you’ve ever worn. But that strange feeling doesn’t necessarily mean that the clothes don’t fit; maybe the awkwardness is just the newness.

If I had it to do over, I would run a story on that Black equestrian. I would ask her how she got into horses, whether she ever felt discriminated against in the horse world, and what advice she’d give to other people of color who might want to ride and own horses. And then I’d probably plaster her photo on the cover and cross my fingers that some little girl—or not-so-little girl—of color would see it and think, “She looks like me. I could ride, too.”

Jennifer O. Bryant, Editor @JenniferOBryant

MICHAEL BRYANT

T

he woman on the phone wanted me to do a story on her.

It was the mid-1990s, and I was the editor of an all-breed, all-discipline equine monthly in upstate New York. With e-mail not yet ubiquitous, my telephone rang a lot more frequently in those days.

Nearly every reader, it seemed at times, thought that their horse, child, or significant other was so outstanding as to deserve coverage.

They would call me up, make their pitch, and then I would have (more often than I would have liked) the uneasy task of rejecting their idea over the phone.

The pitches generally involved a recitation of Dobbin’s or Susie’s accomplishments. So it came as a bit of a surprise that the woman on the line didn’t have much to speak of in the way of equestrian achievements.

She was a rider, but she hadn’t done or won anything particularly noteworthy.

So why did she think the publication might want to profile her?

Because she was Black. Which, in that overwhelmingly white New York/New England equestrian community, made her unique, indeed.

I said no to the story idea.

My logic at the time went something like: Feature subjects should be chosen on the basis of objective, measurable achievement.

To relax that standard would open the door to other readers’ demanding equal ink, and it would establish a precedent that would

Photo: Alden Corrigan

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Contact Warm Your Horse up Right Kudos to the USDF for focusing on the warm-up at the 2020 Adequan®/USDF FEILevel Trainers Conference at High Meadow Farm (“Warming up in Welly World,” May/ June). This is where the training starts in every ride for every horse, regardless of the level of achievement.

Elizabeth J. Crosby Ada, Michigan USDF Responds to COVID-19 Crisis (p. 6)

May/June 2020

Official Publication of the United States Dressage Federation

Set Your Horse up for Success

Warmup Strategies Are Focus of USDF Trainers Conference (p. 36) Move up to Second Level with Beth Baumert (p. 30)

Fund-Raising Ideas for GMOs

Trainers Conference demo rider Kasey Perry-Glass on Mistico TM

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WHERE DO YOU AND YOUR HORSE RANK? Yo u c o u l d re c e i ve a n a w a rd !

Don’t Miss These Important Year-End Award Deadlines!

September 30, 2020 • Submission deadline for: birthdates for Vintage Cup; adult amateur and junior/young rider awards • Declaration deadline for Vintage Cup and verifying adult amateur status • Membership deadline for USDF Breeder of the Year eligibility

October 15, 2020

• All corrections must be reported to USDF by 5:00 p.m. ET

October 30, 2020

• Photo submission deadline (first place recipients only) for inclusion in the yearbook issue of USDF Connection Learn more about the year-end award requirements in the USDF Member Guide.

Check your scores at USDFScores.com Visit usdf.org/awards/preliminary to find out where you and your horse are ranked.

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Collection Bits and Pieces from USDF and the World of Dressage

COURTESY OF HILARY CLAYTON

Bredahl Has Surgery to Remove Brain Mass ★ Amanda Johnson, Verne Batchelder Memorialized

IN THE FRAME The year 2020 has been pretty dreadful—which is why, more than ever, we need to find reasons to smile. So we’re extra glad that renowned equinebiomechanics expert and USDF Connection contributing editor Dr. Hilary Clayton (who’s also a member of the class of 2020 Roemer Foundation/USDF Hall of Fame inductees) sent us this selfie of herself and her 12-year-old Lusitano gelding, Donzi MC, all masked up during the COVID-19 pandemic.

USDF CONNECTION | September/October 2020

11

Collection Charlotte Bredahl Recovering After Brain Surgery US Equestrian national dressage development coach, 1992 US Olympic dressage team bronze medalist, and FEI 4* dressage judge Charlotte Bredahl is recovering in California from surgery June 27 to remove a brain mass that had rendered her unable to use her left leg and that also robbed her entire left side of its strength.

The surgery went well, Connelly reported, with the surgeon believing that “he was able to get everything.”

Bredahl began her physical-rehabilitation program the next day—giving it her all, according to Baker, whom Connelly quoted as saying, “She approaches it like she does her riding. Everything she gives to her riding, she is giving to this.”

After making excellent progress in her initial intensive physical therapy, Bredahl and Baker decided that she should continue her recovery at his ranch in Santa Ynez, California, which unlike Florida was relatively free of COVID-19 cases SUPPORT SYSTEM: Among Charlotte Bredahl’s (right) support and whose 40 network during her brain surgery was her dear friend Kathy acres would allow Connelly (left). They’re pictured at the 2019 Adequan®/USDF Annual for easy social Convention, where they co-presented an educational session. distancing yet is accessible to wellAs Bredahl recounted on her regarded outpatient rehab facilities.

Facebook page, in mid-June she Friends established a GoFundMe began noticing weakness in her left account to raise money to charter leg. In a few days’ time her condition a flight, but then on July 6 Bredahl worsened to the point that she was announced that an anonymous forced to use a wheelchair between donor had provided the flight. On airport terminals while traveling July 9 Bredahl and Baker flew home to Wellington, Florida, from a nonstop on a chartered plane from clinic in Michigan. She saw a neurolWest Palm Beach to Santa Barbara. ogist, who ordered imaging scans On July 18, Bredahl posted that that revealed the brain mass. her left foot—the last body part to Bredahl’s ex-husband, Joel Baker, regain strength—“is waking up” flew from California to be by her side and that she was no longer having for the surgery; also with her was her to use a walker, although she was close friend the international dressage still occasionally wearing a brace. trainer and judge Kathy Connelly, Her rehab process would continue who posted updates to Bredahl’s for some time, she wrote, including Facebook page and conveyed regular rounds of immune therapy, but her friend’s appreciation for the she was doing well enough that she outpouring of support and concern planned to begin teaching lessons at from the dressage community. the ranch the week of July 20.

12 September/October 2020 | USDF CONNECTION

“Thank you again for all your prayers and incredible love and support,” Bredahl wrote. “You all continue to give me so much strength.”

—Jennifer Bryant

Juan Matute Guimón Recovering After Brain Bleed In another health scare, Spanish international dressage competitor Juan Matute Guimón is on the road to recovery after losing consciousness after working horses on May 5 in Spain. He was airlifted to Hospital Universitario La Paz in Madrid, where emergency surgery stopped the bleeding on his brain. After he was stabilized, he was moved to Hospital Universitario Fundación Jiménez Díaz, where a top neurosurgical team

GLOBAL WELL WISHES: Juan Matute Guimón on Quantico Ymas at the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games in North Carolina

operated on the hypothalamus area in the left temporal lobe of Matute Guimón’s brain to repair damage from a genetic disorder, arteriovenous malformation (AVM).

The 22-year-old was short-listed for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. A dual citizen of Spain and the USA, he moved to Madrid to develop his dressage and to attend school.

He competed in Wellington, Florida, before the 2020 show season was cut short by COVID-19. His parents, former Spanish Olympic team rider Juan Matute Azpitarte and his mother, Maria, are with their son in Madrid.

—Sue Weakley

JENNIFER BRYANT

HEALTH

BEHIND THE SCENES

Rebecca Didier, Equestrian Book Editor and Designer

THE NEAR SIDE

Job title: Managing editor/ graphic designer, Trafalgar Square Books, North Pomfret, Vermont (horseandriderbooks. com) What I do: Because we’re so small—a six-woman company— my duties are varied. One of the A LIFE IN BOOKS: Didier in her home office things that I’ve always enjoyed about the job is the opportunity to wear many hats. My role starts with acquisitions. I’m heavily involved in determining the kinds of books and who we publish. I help guide authors through the process. I share editing duties. I also have a hand in marketing and publicizing our books. In the terms of the graphic design, I do all our book covers.

How I got started: I discovered that being a novelist was a very hard thing to do right out of college. I saw that a local publisher was hiring. I applied for the editorial assistant’s job and got it. I’ve been here 18 years now.

Best thing about my job: I work with words and words about horses every day.

Worst thing about my job: Not enough hours in the day.

My horses: I ride whenever I can. Because we live in the city, I had to give up having a horse of my own. I plan all the time about when I will reenter horse ownership.

Tip: Read. It’s such an affordable way to learn.

—Katherine Walcott

MEET THE INSTRUCTOR

AUGUSTIN DIDIER; SUSANJSTICKLE.COM

Jennifer Truett, Lebanon, Ohio Jennifer Truett is a Grand Prix-level competitor who has earned her USDF bronze, silver, and gold medals and freestyle bars. She is popular clinician, a USDF L graduate, a USDF-certified instructor through Second Level, and the owner of Dancing Horse Farm.

How I got started in dressage: My show career started with Quarter Horses in 4-H, transitioned to Pony Club as a teenager, and continued to eventing, where I finally discovered my love for the art of dressage.

I wanted to get certified because: Structured education that leads to certification is important to being able to prove baseline knowledge and capability. The certification process is not easy, but it is an incredibly valuable experience and asset to both the instructor and their clients.

What I learned during EXPANDING HER TOOLBOX: Truett the process: During the FEI

workshop, I learned many new exercises and methods of tackling training issues from my fellow participants. I developed lasting friendships and enjoyed the sense of camaraderie and support shared by all.

My horses: My two competition horses are Lafayette HQ (“Taffy”), a 2002 Hanoverian gelding; and Absolute Dream (“Dreamy”), a 2014 Westfalen gelding. I purchased Taffy in 2009 as a seven-year-old to save him from euthanasia because of an old injury. After rehab and a mere five years later, he developed into a successful Grand Prix horse. Now 18, Taffy is in his fifth year of competing at Grand Prix and is better than ever. I purchased Dreamy in Holland in 2016. I hope to compete him in the FEI Six-Year-Olds this year, and he is on track for the Developing Prix St. Georges next year.

Training tip: Always be open to learning, and surround yourself with valuable people who are strong in areas where you are weak and who believe in you and what you are doing. They will help to build you up and make your journey easier.

Contact me: jen@mydhf.com or (937) 532-3108.

—Alexandria Belton USDF CONNECTION | September/October 2020

13

Collection FINANCIAL AID Grant Funds Aid Breeders, Honor Dressage Legacies The Dressage Foundation’s (TDF) US Breeder Excellence Fund provides financial assistance to breeders to pursue related educational opportunities that will advance their careers, promote sound breeding practices,

ALWAYS REMEMBERED: Johnson

Friends and family of the dressage instructor and sport-horse breeder Verne Batchelder, who died in 2019, established the Verne Batchelder Instructor Fund, which will provide an annual grant of up to $2,500 to a professional instructor from USDF Regions 1, 3, or 8 for continuing education and training.

“Through this grant, we hope to share the spirit of my father’s support of grass-roots dressage and the conviction that dressage education is a noble endeavor for all horses and riders,” said Batchelder’s daughter Nora Batchelder, a member of the 2019 US Pan American Games silver-medalwinning dressage team.

Learn more about all of TDF’s grants, including how to donate, at dressagefoundation.org.

COVID-19 United Horse Coalition Offers Coronavirus Resources Operated under the auspices of the American Horse Council, the United Horse Coalition (UHC) promotes education to encourage responsible horse ownership and humane treatment of horses, and to reduce the number of unwanted and at-risk equines.

The COVID-19 Resources tab on the United HorseCoalition.org website leads to a stable of links to pandemic-related information and resources for horse owners, equine nonprofit organizations, equine businesses, and equine-industry employees, as well as a list of state-specific resources. Users will find information ranging from disease protocols to advice

14 September/October 2020 | USDF CONNECTION

on reducing horsekeeping costs, fund-raising, and applying for loans and grants.

IN THIS TOGETHER: Pandemic resources on the United Horse Coalition website

COURTESY OF THOMAS EDWARDS; JOHN BORYS PHOTOGRAPHY

at Hilltop Farm in 2016, which fueled his interest in breeding and bloodlines and led him to establish his breeding farm. He plans to use the grant money to attend the Hanoverian Breed Orientation Course in Germany next year.

TDF, Lincoln, Nebraska, also announced the creation of two grant funds established in memory of notable contributors to the sport of dressage in the US. The Amanda Johnson Freestyle Fund will provide an annual grant of up to $2,000 to a young professional aged 20 to SEEKING EDUCATION: Sport-horse breeder and grant recipient 30, to pay for the Thomas Edwards costs of creating a professionally and further enhance the quality of prepared musical freestyle for compeUS-bred dressage horses. Thomas tition. Applicants must be current Edwards, who operates Fairview residents of USDF Region 2 or 4.

Farm in Minnesota, is the 2020 grant Johnson, who lost her battle with recipient, TDF announced in June. triple negative breast cancer in 2018 A breeder for three years, Edwards at the age of 37, was a well-loved and strives to produce three or four highaccomplished FEI-level competitor quality, well-bred warmblood foals and instructor/trainer who particularly a year. He attended the American enjoyed riding freestyles in compeHanoverian Breed Orientation Course tition and exhibition.

USDF BULLETINS Check Your Scores

Check your scores at USDFScores.com. Contact USDF at scorecorrections@usdf.org or at (859) 971-2277 if you notice an error. The 2020 competition year ends September 30. All corrections must be reported by October 15 at 5:00 p.m. ET.

Great American/USDF Regional Championships Competitor Survey

USDF wants to hear from you! Please complete the electronic evaluation form that will be e-mailed to competitors following each Regional Championships.

US DRESSAGE FINALS Declare and Nominate

If you hope to compete at the 2020 US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan®, be aware that horse/rider combinations must declare their intention to participate by filing a Declaration of Intent form.

The deadline to declare is midnight the day prior to the first day of your Great American/USDF Regional Championships competition (including any day of open competition before the start of championship classes). You must declare at the level(s) and eligible division(s) in which you intent to compete. There is no fee to declare. Find the declaration form at usdressagefinals.com/declare.

In addition, nomination (preliminary entry) is required for participation in US Dressage Finals classes. The nomination deadline is midnight, 96 hours after the last day of your Regional Championship. Find the nomination form at usdressagefinals.com/nominate.

See pages 28-29 of this issue for declaration, nomination, and entry deadlines by region. Go to usdressagefinals.com for the prize list and other information.

Travel Grants Available

US Dressage Finals competitors who reside in Washington state, Oregon, California, Hawaii, Alaska, Montana, Idaho, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico, or Colorado are eligible to apply for travel grants. A rider may apply for a grant with each eligible horse entered. A grant request is required to be submitted with the entry by checking the grantrequest box. For more program details, see the prize list.

High-Score Breed Awards

The popular high-score breed awards will again be offered at the 2020 US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan®.

Participating breed and performance registries will award two high-score awards in both the adult-amateur and open divisions: one for the national levels (Training through Fourth) and one for the FEI levels (Prix St. Georges through Grand Prix).

To be eligible, declare your horse for the awards when you enter. Learn more at usdressagefinals.com.

Awards Deadlines and Reminders

As the 2020 competition year draws to a close, be sure not to miss the following deadlines: USDF Connection 2020 yearbook issue photo submissions: • Rider awards: October 2 • Year-end awards (first place only): October 30 See the USDF Photo Release form (online at usdf.org) for submission instructions.

Year-end awards: September 30 is the deadline for: • Submitting birthdates for Vintage Cup, adult-amateur, and junior/young rider awards • Filing Vintage Cup status and verifying adult-amateur status • Joining USDF for Breeder of the Year awards • Submitting online Rider Performance Award applications • Submitting online Horse Performance Certificate applications.

USDF CONNECTION | September/October 2020

15

Clinic

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EXCLUSIVE TRAINING SERIES

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Nailing It! Riding with Success Through the Levels K

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P

F

Based on USDF’s On the Levels videos, our series concludes with a look at Fourth Level

F

ourth Level, the highest of the national dressage levels in the USA, is the training ground for the big time. There are quite a few new movements at Fourth Level, but if your basic work has been good so far, you can bask in your ability to master Fourth Level and then make the leap to the FEI Prix St. Georges a successful one.

Story and Photographs by Beth Baumert Fourth Level, he might be at least seven or eight years old, and assuming he did well at the previous levels, he’ll rise to this occasion, too. The Fourth Level tests are of “medium difficulty”: that is, if your horse’s foundation is strong and your foundation is strong, the tests are not too difficult.

As it was at Third Level, the double bridle is optional at Fourth.

for a long time. However, in those situations, you have the rail and the corner to help you. Now you need to be able to shorten the stride purely on your own, without the help of the corner. You need to maintain the activity, the rhythm, and the swing in the back during those collected strides. Your half-halts (see “How Half-Halts Work” on the facing page) are how you’ll get that job done.

The medium-collected-medium trot is the movement that best prepares you and your horse for piaffe— for which you need to do the exact same thing: shorten the stride while maintaining the activity, the rhythm, and the swing in the back. Personally, I wish that the directive ideas for this movement mentioned “swing in the back,” because if we choose to

The Purpose of Fourth Level

FOURTH LEVEL BALANCE: Connecticut-based FEI-level dressage trainer Liz Caron is riding Schroeder, a Hanoverian stallion (Sandro Hit x Escudo I) owned by Kathy Hickerson of Majestic Gaits. Liz is showing Schroeder’s Fourth Level frame and balance.

Now that you’ve come this far in our series, you can see how the tests help us train our horses. The tests tell us what the horse normally should do and when he should do it. The pyramid of dressage training and the US Equestrian dressage rules supplement these guidelines by telling us why we do what we’re doing and, to an extent, they tell us how.

By the time your horse reaches

A Look at the Fourth Level Tests Test 1, movement 1. Pay special attention to the first movement after the entrance in Test 1: a medium trot on the diagonal, with six or seven strides of collected trot over X. It’s a double-coefficient movement, but it’s nothing new, right? After all, you’ve been collecting the trot at the end of the diagonal or the long side

16 September/October 2020 | USDF CONNECTION

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o confirm that the horse demonstrates correct basics and has developed sufficient suppleness, impulsion, and throughness to perform the Fourth Level tests, which have a medium degree of difficulty. The horse remains reliably on the bit, showing a clear uphill balance and lightness as a result of improved engagement and collection. The movements are performed with greater straightness, energy, and cadence than at Third Level.

consider this movement as preparation for piaffe (and why not?), swing in the back is a critical quality.

Do this medium-collectedmedium trot movement well. The Fourth Level demonstration rider in the USDF On the Levels videos, Ana Gilmour, provides us with a good example. The judge in the video, Natalie Lamping, gave Ana a score of 7.5 for this movement.

Ana’s mount, Nicole Wertz’s Ellexus Knight, retained the rhythm, activity, and swing in the back. How did she do that? Review the sidebar on half-halts and transitions from the second article in this series (January/February)—yes, the one about

Convenience doesn’t always equal results.

MAYBE IT’S TIME TO KICK THE CUP!

How Half-Halts Work

RESULTS FOR YOUR HORSE

H

alf-halts balance your horse underneath you by connecting and collecting him. A half-halt has three parts.

They are: 1. Your seat and leg ask your horse’s hind legs to step directly under your center of gravity and reach toward and into the contact (“Go”). You want the hindquarters to become more attentive than they usually are inclined to be.

2. Your hand stops following his motion, closes in a fist, or both to say Stay with me (“Whoa. Don’t flatten, stiffen, or speed up.”) You want his forehand to cover less ground than it is inclined to cover.

As a result of this “whoa” aid, you transfer a bit of weight to a grounded hind leg.

3. As the weight is transferred back, you soften your hand and the contact, allowing your horse to carry himself (and you) and to become more supple, both longitudinally and laterally.

Half-halts should make your horse more active, more supple, and better connected—all of which will make him more ridable.

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17

Clinic How Transitions Work

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Training Level. This is what we mean by the basics in dressage. The basics never change, no matter how far up the levels you go.

The new movements and requirements in the Fourth Level tests include: Collected walk. In previous levels, the walk was uncollected, with only a brief “shortening of the stride” before movements such as turns on the haunches. We just talked about shortening the stride within the medium trot in Fourth Level Test 1.

To ride collected walk, you need to do the same thing: maintain the activity, the rhythm, and the integrity of the use of the back. When the horse loses

the integrity of the use of his back, it causes the rhythm problems that are all too common in the walk. So again, your half-halts need to shorten the stride in a forward way. From the USEF dressage rules: Although “the steps cover less ground, they are higher than at the medium walk because the activity is retained and the joints bend more markedly.”

The collected walk has a double coefficient.

“Very collected canter.” In exactly the same way that you shortened the stride from medium to collected trot and walk, you’ll now do it even more so in canter to create a “very collected canter,” as required

18 September/October 2020 | USDF CONNECTION

“VERY COLLECTED CANTER”: This Fourth Level requirement is the necessary prep for canter pirouettes. The slack in Liz’s inside rein proves that Schroeder is in self-carriage.

in Fourth Level, Test 1 (another double-coefficient movement). Collection is much easier in canter because the nature of the canter stride invites collection more so than the trot and the walk strides. That’s why these dressage tests provide greater preparation for canter pirouettes than for piaffe (which is essentially a trot movement), and that’s why canter pirouettes appear earlier within the FEI tests than does the piaffe.

Walk pirouettes. In the walk pirouette—a more “on the spot” version of the turn on the haunches, which was introduced at Second Level—the horse’s hindquarters can prescribe a one-meter circle. The radius of the pirouette is “equal to the length of the horse, the forehand moving around the haunches” (see the US Equestrian dressage rules for a more thorough description— which can help you!).

The judge evaluates the walk pirouette based on its directive ideas, which are “regularity [of the rhythm]; activity of the hind legs; bend; fluency; size; self-carriage.” Walk pirouettes are double-coefficient movements.

US FEI 5* dressage judge Janet Foy reminds us that “the frame of the collected walk is higher and has more activity” than that of the medium walk. If you have succeeded in achieving a correct collected walk, she

USDF ILLUSTRATION

ransitions between and within the gaits do exactly the same thing as half-halts. Upward transitions train and confirm the horse’s “go” response from the rider’s leg and seat, and downward transitions train and confirm the “whoa” response to the hand.

Half-halts balance your horse. Then, to make a transition, half-halts ask for a change of rhythm or—in the case of the medium trot/collected trot/ medium trot movement in Fourth Level Test 1—they ask for a change in the length of stride.

Try this: Practice the transition between medium trot and collected trot on an accurate 20-meter circle.

Increase collection The bend in your horse’s body will help you keep his back swinging S R during the half-halts that shorten his stride.

To begin the exercise, develop medium trot on the circle. Between the two quarter lines, shorten the M H stride to collection (see diagram at right). Look for the qualities you want.

Are the rhythm and tempo the same?

Did the activity stay the same? Does C his back still swing? Be sure that your leg and seat are doing more than Transition between medium and collected trot and canter on a 20-meter circle your hand so that the rhythmic halfhalts create collection that is more forward, not less forward. Ride this exercise in both directions.

Next, try the exercise in canter, making the transitions between collected canter and “very collected canter” as is required in movement 23 of Test 1. (See “Very collected canter” below.)

Your transitions will become better with time!

X

USDF ILLUSTRATION

COUNTER-CHANGE OF HAND: Liz rides trot half-pass left, the first half of the counterchange of hand in Fourth Level Test 2

says, “The pirouettes won’t be hard.”

She also suggests utilizing all of the space between H and M so as to give yourself the maximum chance for preparation.

Multiple flying changes on the diagonal. Fourth Level Test 1 requires three single flying changes of lead on the diagonal (H-X-F), placing the changes near the quarter lines and near X. The directives read: “quality of canter; clear, balanced, fluent, straight flying changes; engagement.”

To the extent that your half-halts can retain the quality of your forward, balanced, and straight canter after the flying changes, these sequence changes will become easier, you will be able to do them whenever you wish, and they will become genuine tempi changes. These are double-coefficient movements.

Working quarter- and halfpirouettes in canter. In Fourth Level Test 2, your horse is required to show working quarter-pirouettes; and in Test 3, working half-pirouettes. Here’s

X

Counter-change of hand as shown in Fourth Level Test 2

what the rule book has to say about these movements: The requirements for a working half-pirouette [or quarter-pirouette] are identical to those of a regular half-pirouette, except that the allowable diameter for ‘working’ is increased to approximately three meters. The directives read: “bend and balance of working pirouette; straightness, regularity, engagement, and collection of canter.”

To prepare, you’ll need to ride one or two highly collected canter strides before the quarter-turn (90 degrees and two to three pirouette strides) or the half-turn (180 degrees and three to four strides). Both are double-coefficient movements.

Counter-change of hand in trot and canter. Fourth Level Test 2

Ten-meter half-circles from true lead to counter-canter, followed by a flying change back to the true lead.

requires a counter-change of hand (two half-passes with changes of direction) in trot and in canter (see diagram above). (A movement containing more than two half-passes with changes of direction is referred to as a “zigzag.”)

The trot counter-change not only gets a double coefficient; it is also more than one movement. In all counter-changes (and zigzags), it’s important that the horse be balanced and straight for a moment before changing direction. The directives for the trot movement are “alignment, bend, fluency and crossing of legs; engagement and collection.” In canter, the directives are “alignment and bend while moving

USDF CONNECTION | September/October 2020

19

Clinic fluently forward and sideways; engagement and collection.” Note that crossing of legs occurs only in trot half-pass, not in canter half-pass.

Ten-meter half-circle in counter-canter. This movement (see diagram on the previous page) was in the FEI Prix St. Georges test many years ago. Some of the trainers of that day still use this movement because it is a wonderful balancing and straightening tool that requires correct collection. In the On the Levels video, USDF Instructor/Trainer Program senior faculty member Rachel Saavedra reminds us to concentrate on the horse’s straightness to assist in collecting the canter.

The directive ideas for this movement are: “shape and size of halfcircles; positioning; self-carriage; engagement; clear, balanced, fluent, straight flying change.”

Looking Back at “the Basics” No matter where your horse is within the levels, the articles in this se-

ries have told the whole story—from start-to-finish, Intro-to-Fourth—for your understanding. It needs to be in your mind before you can successfully execute your horse’s plan.

Look, once again, at the purpose of the Introductory Level tests: You must prove that you have “an understanding of riding your horse forward with a steady tempo into an elastic contact with independent, steady hands and a correct balanced seat.” And you must “show proper geometry of figures in the arena with correct bend (corners and circles).”

That’s a large order!

Returning to these early requirements is what we in dressage call “going back to basics.” Throughout the levels, these basic qualities should improve instead of weakening. As you move up from Intro to Training Level, your goal is to show that your horse is “supple and moves freely forward in a clear rhythm with a steady tempo, accepting contact with the bit.” Next, the First Level horse

A

Read the Rules

ll serious competitors should read the US Equestrian dressage rules, which are available online at usef. org. The words in these passages have been crafted and honed by great horsemen over decades.

For example, look at the description of the halt in light of what you’ve just read about half-halts and transitions: The halt is obtained by the displacement of the horse’s weight to the hindquarters by a properly increased action of the seat and legs of the rider, driving the horse toward a softly closed hand, causing an almost instantaneous but not abrupt halt at a previously fixed place. The [transition to] halt is prepared by a series of half-halts.

Similar clear descriptions can be found for all dressage movements.

Odor Free Feelin’ Fresh ts e Tes Dressag L e v e l o u r t h 201o9d US y – F u c t o r I n t r

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(USEF) Federation Equestrian United States (USDF) and Federation or by law.

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On The Levels DVDs

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his is your what you, opportunity dressa as a comp to view ge execut riders, traine etitor, need the dressa ion to know ge tests and through and some rs, coaches, learn ! With and comm Novem on faults judges, riders narrations what is new ber 30, Filmed in the and by intern 2022. at Starr riding will demonstrat ationa Meadowbro Vaugh of the l n Eques latest tests, e proper ok demon trian Cente stratio Farm, effecti each filmin n riders Marlboroug r, CA, ve g locatio and owner h, CT. USDF Valley View projec s of Farm, n. We t: would the horses and USEF would KY, and • FEI 5* used, also like Judge to thank along with like to thank Janet Foy • FEI 4* the follow the suppo the Judges ing contri rt staff at Lois Yukin • USEF butors ‘S’ s, to this • FEI 4* and retired FEI Mike Osins ki, Judge and USDF 4* Judge Natali and William • USEF Warre ‘R’ e Certifi n ed Instru Lamping • USDF Judge and USDF FEI ctor Certifi and Volker Level Certifi ed Instru Sarah Geikie Brommann ed Instru ctor Willia • USDF ctors Reese Certifi m McMu ed Instru Koffle llin r-Stan ctor Heidi field, Rache Chote l Saaved ra,

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Get On the Levels

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ON THE LEVELS 7th Edition

DRESSAGE

On the Levels 2019 jacket.indd 1

F o u r t h

ON THE LEVELS is a trademark of the United States Dresage Federation.

United States Dressage Federation, Inc. 4051 Iron Works Parkway, Lexington, KY 40511 Phone: (859) 971-2277 • Fax: (859) 971-7722 • www.usdf.org

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©2018 United States Dressage Federation (USDF) and United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) All rights reserved.

Reproduction without permission is prohibited by law.

Neither USDF nor USEF is responsible for any errors or omissions in the publication or for the use of its copyrighted material in an unauthorized manner.

I n t r o d u c t o r y

Filmed at Starr Vaughn Equestrian Center, CA, Valley View Farm, KY, and Meadowbrook Farm, Marlborough, CT. USDF and USEF would like to thank the demonstration riders and owners of the horses used, along with the support staff at each filming location. We would also like to thank the following contributors to this project: • FEI 5* Judge Janet Foy • FEI 4* Judges Lois Yukins, Mike Osinski, and William Warren • USEF ‘S’ and retired FEI 4* Judge Natalie Lamping • FEI 4* Judge and USDF Certified Instructor Sarah Geikie • USEF ‘R’ Judge and USDF Certified Instructor William McMullin • USDF FEI Level Certified Instructors Reese Koffler-Stanfield, Rachel Saavedra, and Volker Brommann • USDF Certified Instructor Heidi Chote

2019 US Dressage Tests

T

vailable 2019 US Dressage Tests on DVD or as ON THE streaming LEVELS video from the USDF store (store. usdf.org), the USDF On the Levels series demonstrates the riding of every current (2019) dressage test from Introductory through Fourth Levels. Comments from respected judges help you understand what the judge is looking for in each movement. Together the videos constitute a comprehensive course in dressage training and showing through the US national levels. Get your copy today!

his is your opportunity to view the dressage tests and learn what is new and what you, as a competitor, need to know! With narrations by international dressage riders, trainers, coaches, and judges, riders will demonstrate proper execution and some common faults in the riding of the latest tests, effective through November 30, 2022.

Effective December 1, 2018 through November 30, 2022

1/7/2019 2:12:40 PM

develops thrust or impulsion, all while those previous basics are being confirmed and reconfirmed. Second and Third Levels develop additional US Dressage Tests straightness, balance, and 2019 throughness, and confirm collection.

By the time you get to Fourth Level, the qualities of the pyramid of training and the purposes for which you ride have remained in the back of your mind for years, and your horse is considered to have “good basics.” No matter his age, breed, or temperament, he wears that education, and it is clearly visible to the judge and to onlookers, as well.

Wherever your horse is currently on his dressage journey, check out the path you’ve already travelled as well as the path in front of you. Trust in the process, get help when you need it from someone you trust, and enjoy the journey!

I n t r o d u c t o r y

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F o u r t h

L e v e l

©2018 United States Dressage Federation (USDF) and United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) All rights reserved.

Reproduction without permission is prohibited by law.

Neither USDF nor USEF is responsible for any errors or omissions in the publication or for the use of its copyrighted material in an unauthorized manner.

United States Dressage Federation, Inc. 4051 Iron Works Parkway, Lexington, KY 40511 Phone: (859) 971-2277 • Fax: (859) 971-7722 • www.usdf.org

Effective December 1, 2018 through November 30, 2022

Cover photo ©SusanJStickle

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Meet the Expert

B

eth Baumert is a USDFcertified instructor through Fourth Level, a USDF L program graduate with distinction, and the author of When Two Spines Align: Dressage Dynamics. She currently serves as president of The Dressage Foundation. For many years she owned and operated Cloverlea Dressage in Columbia, Connecticut, and served as the technical editor of Dressage Today magazine. She divides her time between Connecticut and Florida.

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USDF CONNECTION | September/October 2020

21

The Judge’s Box Dressage-Arena Etiquette Brush up on test-riding rules and protocol before your next show

A

funny thing happened the other day at the arena where I was judging. It was 2:52 p.m., and the next competitor was already a minute late. The rider finally appeared at the in-gate, and I rang the bell. She carefully made her way down to my end of the arena; time was flying by, but her horse was uncooperative. When she at last reached C, I tried to explain that although she was late, under the circumstances I would allow her to

She proceeded and made the turn at C successfully, verbally praising her horse with a “Good boy.” Uh-oh, her use of voice cost her another two points. Her trot lengthening would have been an 8, but I had to give it a 6 instead. Darn!

The next movement was a legyield. The rider did not like the way her horse responded to her aids, so she made a circle and began the movement again. I rang the bell and informed her that she was clearly off

GO TIME: Knowing what to do in the minutes before the bell rings is part of setting yourself up for the best test possible

ride her test—but that the bell had rung and she should enter the arena as soon as she safely could.

The competitor entered at A and halted at X, but she was afraid to take her hands off the reins, so she simply nodded her head to salute.

Because she did not salute as required in the rules, I had to deduct points for an “error of test.” I did not upset her further by ringing the bell, but simply allowed her to continue her test.

course with the circle. She explained that she had elected to take the error and repeat the movement. Unfortunately, I had to not only deduct for the error, but also score her first aborted attempt. She had already lost two points for the error of test. This second error—an “error of course”— was then minus four, bringing the total deductions so far to minus six.

If she incurs another error, I thought, I will have to eliminate her!

Part way through the test, the

22 September/October 2020 | USDF CONNECTION

judge in the adjacent arena blew her whistle. Flustered, my rider stopped and asked me, “Did I go off course?”

I explained that she had not and that she had mistaken the whistle in the next arena for my bell. “Please disregard,” I instructed, “and continue with your test. Please pick it up at E.” The rest of the test went smoothly—until the very end. The rider turned down the final center line, halted at X, and was evidently so relieved that she took the reins in one hand, flung her free hand in the air and made a swooping gesture, then turned to the judge at the side and repeated the flourish.

This series of events prompted me to outline some of the etiquette that judges expect in the dressage arena.

Some of them are US Equestrian rules, while others are simply protocol. The dressage rules are clearly spelled out in the US Equestrian Rule Book (available at usef.org).

In preparing for a show, it is wise to review the rules. Beyond that, here are some tips to get on the right side of the judge and to help you have the best test possible.

Arena check-in and timing.

When you arrive at the warm-up ring, check in with the warm-up or ring stewards to let them know you are there. The steward can advise you whether your arena is running on time or behind schedule, and whether any competitors ahead of you have scratched, which might enable you to ride earlier than your time should you wish. Use this information to adjust your warm-up plan accordingly if needed.

When the horse ahead of yours enters the arena, the steward will let you know that you are “on deck.” This is a good time to check that you are ready

JENNIFER BRYANT

By Marilyn Heath

for your test: Remove your horse’s polo wraps or leg boots, have a helper wipe off your own boots, put on your jacket, and make sure all is in order.

As soon as the previous competitor has executed their final halt, you may enter the area around the competition arena. Take note of whether your judge is using a bell, a whistle, or some other device. Some show arenas are close together, and it can be easy for a rider to react to the wrong signal before or during the test.

Grooming, tack, and attire.

Judges do not begin judging before the horse comes down the center line, but it is hard not to notice how well a horse and rider are turned out. A horse with straw in his tail or manure stains on his side is an insult to the judge! You might also consider your own appearance. In the past, virtually all dressage riders wore a black coat and boots, white breeches, and a stock tie. These days there is great diversity in attire, especially in colors. It is wise to choose your outfit carefully, without adding so much bling that it is a distraction. A helmet with crystals emphasizes a bobbing head. And if you sit to one side of the saddle, crystals on the cantle are a red flag!

According to the rules, gloves are not a requirement at Introductory through Fourth Levels. If you elect to wear gloves, you need to decide whether they will be white or black.

Judges should not have a preference; it truly does not matter which color you choose. I have heard trainers recommend black gloves “so judges can’t see the rider’s hands move.” Do they really think we are that blind?

The test: rules and protocol.

Before your test, it is advisable to ride around the arena in the direction that will enable the scribe to see and record your competitor number. If you elect to go the other direction, it would be appropriate for you to stop and let the scribe know your number.

But if the scribe is a friend of yours, it is inappropriate to chat, thereby letting the judge know of your friend-

ship. Instead, use the time before the bell sounds to acquaint your horse with the surroundings. After the bell, you still have 45 seconds to enter the arena at A. The salute is described in the USEF rule book: “At the salute riders must take the reins in one hand. All riders shall let one arm drop loosely along his/her body and then incline his/her head in a slight bow.” It does not matter which hand is used in the salute. It does not matter if you salute with the hand holding the whip, unless doing so causes your horse to react. The judge will deduct for the reaction but should not deduct—or even comment—on having the whip in the hand that you use for the salute. A flamboyant or overdramatized salute is not appropriate, nor is it proper to salute multiple judges on a panel. A military salute is appropriate only for riders in military uniform. Keep in mind that, when accompanied by a salute, the halt must be maintained for three seconds.

If the judge rings the bell during your test, stop and face the judge, or if you’re too far away to hear, approach the judge for an explanation and direction. You may have made an “error of course” (deviation from the prescribed pattern of the test) or an “error of test,” such as rising to the trot when sitting is required. If you incur three errors, you will be eliminated. If this happens, it is inappropriate to remain in the arena to school your horse. And be aware that you do not have the option of repeating a failed movement.

If for any reason you feel the need to withdraw before your test is completed, you are required to obtain the judge’s permission before you leave the ring. If you fail to do this, competition management can eliminate you for the remainder of the show!

Competitors sometimes forget that they are not allowed to talk to their horses or even click their tongues during a test. If the judge hears use of the voice, two points must be deducted from the score the

rider would otherwise have received for that movement.

After the final halt and salute, you must leave the arena in the manner that is prescribed in the test. At Training through Fourth Level, that means leaving at A at a walk on a long or loose rein. Do not discuss your test with your reader or trainer on the way out of the arena, and don’t remove your coat or otherwise adjust your clothing.

Not Stranger Than Fiction You may think that many of these suggestions are common sense, but I have seen all of these scenarios happen at shows at least once. I sincerely hope that these hints will prevent you from mimicking my fictitious rider above.

Hope to see you soon on my center line!

Marilyn Heath, of Venice, Florida, is a US Equestrian “S” dressage judge, a USDF L program faculty member, and a member of the USDF L Program and Judges Committees. In 2013 she received the USDF Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her contributions to the L program.

IN THE NEXT ISSUE • Secrets of top dressage grooms • Gerhard Politz: Retraining the Thoroughbred • Should dressage horses be microchipped?

• How to recruit and retain great GMO board members

USDF CONNECTION | September/October 2020

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Salute Kid Power Winner of a USDF GMO award, this annual clinic is for—and largely by—junior riders

By Amber Heintzberger

WINNING FORMULA: Kids invest a lot in making the SCDCTA Junior Clinics a success.

International competitor Endel Ots teaches Allie McFadden on Spanky about connection at the 2019 event.

Last year, the SCDCTA received the USDF Creative GMO-Sponsored Program Award for its 2019 Annual Junior Clinic featuring 2019 US Pan American Games dressage-team member Endel Ots. The annual award recognizes one USDF group-member

organization (GMO) for an outstanding effort made to develop a program that has contributed to the GMO’s membership growth and retention.

Here’s a look at what made the SCDCTA’s program a standout.

A Youth-Fueled Endeavor SCDCTA youth coordinator Kathryn Butt, of Aiken, South Carolina, encourages the young participants to take ownership of the program.

“The SCDCTA juniors fund-raise all year long to put on this clinic with an FEI out-of-state clinician they wouldn’t otherwise have access to,” Butt says. “They generally raise four to six thousand dollars, entirely thanks to their own efforts. They’ve done a lemonade stand, hosted a bake sale, and they receive various donations, which we raffle off in a gift basket at the Region 3 [championships]. We also compose a letter that kids can share with ‘Great-Aunt Sally,’ their church family, gym family—anyone who might be interested in supporting their interest.”

To be eligible to participate, each junior member must also volunteer eight nonconsecutive hours. Tasks range from scribing and running tests at shows to working at the bake sale.

All those efforts pay off: Thanks to the fund-raising, the Junior Clinic is free of charge to participants.

Riders each receive two lessons, stabling, meals, educational lectures, and fun swag donated by sponsors.

Auditors are welcome, and kids can audit for free.

The clinic is held at the South Carolina Equine Park in Camden. Riding sessions can be held rain or shine in the covered arena, and a pavilion is the site of lectures and Q&A sessions

24 September/October 2020 | USDF CONNECTION

with the clinician and other experts, who have included veterinarians, farriers, and a nutritionist. Parents volunteer to help supply a coffee station, a welcome table, and snacks and meals. Local tack shops and artists set up booths to showcase their wares in exchange for making donations to the program.

“It’s as nifty as the kids make it—as detailed, classy, expensive, pick your adjective,” Butt says of the clinic.

“There’s a direct correlation with how much they put into it. I ‘herd cats’ and book the date for the clinic in February—obviously, grown-up me is needed to make decisions like that—but I’ll ask if the kids want to reach out to Nickerdoodle, for example, and ask if they want to be our treat sponsor.”

The Junior Clinic attracts a broad range of ages and skill levels. The youngest rider at the 2020 event in June was eight, and the oldest was 19, Butt says. A handful of riders were figuring out the mechanics of the Prix St. Georges, while others were learning how to get a horse on the bit and how to ride a leg-yield.

Several are highly accomplished: Of the 12 riders this year, four had invitations to compete at the USEF Dressage Festival of Champions in August, according to Butt.

It’s Not Just About Riding Each of the SCDCTA clinic riders gets a notebook and pen, and they are required to sit ringside—with cell phones turned off—and to take notes and write down questions during the other lessons.

“They can’t show up, ride, and then peace out,” says Butt. “They’re required to watch and learn. If there’s something you’ve been struggling with, something might click

COURTESY OF KATHRYN BUTT

E

very year, youth members of the South Carolina Dressage and Combined Training Association (SCDCTA) look forward to their club’s annual Junior Clinic.

But don’t credit them as just lucky: These kids get out of the event what they put into fund-raising and organizing it themselves.

“Along with learning new exercises and tips in my lesson, I was also able to watch my peers and learn from their lessons,” rider Maya Miller, 17, of Charleston, South Carolina, wrote after her clinic experience. “Being able to learn from and support each other is what the Junior Clinic is all about.”

Eventer Clara Richards, 17, of Charlotte, North Carolina, notes that ordinarily “I don’t get to ride with that many young people.” The clinics are a homecoming of sorts for the Charleston, South Carolina native, who’s “made some really good friends” at the event.

COURTESY OF KATHRYN BUTT

BONDING TIME: Fun and friendship with other like-minded kids is part of the clinic’s appeal.

SCDCTA junior members and 2019 clinic participants Kiara Lutzen, Georgia Dempsey, and Grace Regan enjoy one another’s company.

when you watch someone else ride.”

Kids have to apply to be accepted into the clinic, and the application process itself is part of the education that Butt hopes they’ll gain from the experience.

“They have to sell themselves and turn it all in, and that’s a horse skill as well as a life skill,” she says. Applicants have to answer such questions as “Name two strengths and two weaknesses in your riding” and “What are your riding goals in the next two months?”

Participants also learn the importance of follow-through and gratitude: They’re required to write at least two or three thank-you notes to sponsors and to the clinician.

Even the choice of clinicians is strategic. Butt says she looks for instructors “who have come up through the pipeline—come up the ranks through the [USEF and USDF dressage] programs, and can talk to the kids about not only riding, but doing the paperwork and juggling college and riding.” Besides Ots, such clinicians as Kassie Barteau, Jodie Kelly, Scott Peterson, and Mary Cameron Rollins “can dialog with the kids about everything in the horse business.”

And, of Course, It’s Fun! “As much as it is about [the participants] being exposed to awesome clinicians, the camaraderie is timeless,” says Butt, who herself rode in a Junior Clinic when she was a kid.

“The program was fledgling when I was young, but…I still have friendships from when I participated.

The kids swap texts and Instagram, and even though they’re from all over South Carolina and even North Carolina and Georgia—and we have a few eventers participate, too—they’re always texting each other and wishing each other luck at shows, and things like that. The bonding and social experience is really important. The older kids are really good about lifting up the younger ones and helping show the way, too.”

As Olympian and Dressage4Kids founder Lendon Gray has pointed out, young people want to be with their peers, and so dressage is more likely to “stick” if kids can share the activity with one another (“Youth Outreach,” September/October 2019). So it’s no surprise that the social aspect is a favorite of Junior Clinic participants.

Social…but Distant “Coronavirus made the social part [of the 2020 SCDCTA Junior Clinic] more difficult because it’s hard to keep kids apart,” Butt reports. Attendees were asked to bring masks and to sign COVID-19 release forms, “and people brought their own chairs so I didn’t have to worry about cleaning the bleachers.

We had families chip in with Clorox wipes, and the moms spent a lot of time wiping everything down.”

The protocols didn’t dampen the kids’ enthusiasm.

“When USDF and USEF opened up educational opportunities, the kids were really champing at the bit,” Butt says.

To learn more about the SCDCTA and its award-winning Junior Clinics, visit scdcta.com. Find the nomination form and details about the USDF Creative GMOSponsored Program Award at usdf. org/awards/service/gmo.asp.

Amber Heintzberger is an awardwinning freelance writer, photographer, and author. She lived on a horse farm in the Carolinas for many years and now makes her home outside New York City with her husband and children.

USDF CONNECTION | September/October 2020

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Free Rein A Silver Lining to the COVID Pause With the stresses of riding and competing taking their toll, a former junior/young rider discovers that the shutdowns were the ticket to rebooting her passion

Y

oung dressage enthusiasts are fortunate to be involved in a sport that recognizes the importance of helping the next generation. There are some incredible opportunities for juniors and young riders, both in and out of the competition ring. During my own Jr/YR years, I strived to take advantage of every opportunity, from attending the FEI North American Youth Championships (NAYC) to diligently taking notes at Jr/YR clinics.

Shortly after I competed at the NAYC, I began to feel distant from the sport that I had been passionate about for so many years. I had not lost my love for horses, but riding felt like a chore, not a hobby or a potential career path. I felt as though I had to keep riding simply because I had been doing it for so long. It was the only sport, the only hobby I had ever known.

My riding career had become not a source of joy, but a source of stress.

BURNED OUT: Even the most avid young dressage riders can become exhausted by the demands of training and competing

In 2015 I competed at the NAYC, then known as the North American Junior and Young Rider Championships. It was the highlight of my Jr/ YR career. But as many other Jr/YRs competing or looking to compete at these championships know, it is a demanding journey. From the intense training to the frequent qualifying horse shows, the road to the NAYC can be exhausting.

As I later realized, I was feeling the effects of burnout.

Burnout can best be described as feelings of emotional, mental, or physical exhaustion toward something, usually caused by excessive stress. In my case, I had lost sight of why I had begun my equestrian journey in the first place.

Thankfully, I was able to rediscover my passion for riding. The

26 September/October 2020 | USDF CONNECTION

boost I needed came in quite an unlikely fashion: in the form of the pandemic shutdowns.

This year has been quite the whirlwind for us all, especially in terms of equestrian-related plans.

Many barns shut down temporarily, and riders saw their goals put on hold. Juniors and young riders have found their competition year—and even their eligibility for certain events—hanging in the balance.

With the 2020 NAYC among the many shows cancelled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, young riders who were in their final year of eligibility are left wondering whether their dreams of standing on the medal podium will ever be realized.

But even during these unfortunate and unprecedented times, this might be the perfect opportunity for you to rediscover the roots of your own passion for horses.

When the COVID-19 outbreak began to take hold in the United States earlier this year, I found myself oddly excited by the thought of not having access to the stables for a while. It felt strange to be happy about not riding and competing, and to be welcoming the unplanned time off.

It was at this moment when I realized exactly how burned out I was.

During the shutdowns, I picked up a few new hobbies, which served to pull me even further away from riding. But after a little over a month of being physically and mentally away from my equestrian activities, I began to feel the itch to ride again.

When I finally got back in the saddle, I felt a renewed passion for the sport. Even my horses seemed happier and more motivated to do their jobs.

It was as though my burned-out state

SHUTTERSTOCK

By Mickayla Frederick

SHAY FREDERICK

had leached its way into my horses, making them feel burned out, as well.

As much as COVID-19 threw a wrench into my competition plans for 2020, it helped me regain my passion for horses. To me, rekindling my passion for a sport and for the animals I have always loved is more valuable than a competition season.

It is normal for our passions to wax and wane. Without your realizing it, burnout can sneak up on you.

If you are feeling similar to the way I have been these past few years, take this time given to us by the pandemic to evaluate your stress level and to rediscover why you fell in love with horses in the first place. When our lives begin to resemble the “normal” we are used to, use the strategies I’ve learned to continue to harbor a positive relationship with your riding: Try a new hobby. Horses have always been a stress reliever for me, but when my stress reliever became a stressor, I had no other outlet to turn to. For me, gardening, going for walks, and even playing video games have been helping to fill the role that riding has for so long.

If you’re burned out, your horse is, too. Horses are amazing animals. Their ability to carry the weight of our everyday stresses is remarkable, but keep in mind that they are just as easily stressed as we are. As hard as it is to leave the stress outside the arena, doing so is vital to the relationship with your horse and your learning.

Get out of the arena. As dressage riders, we often get caught up in the perfection of the sport. When the 20 x 60-meter sandbox becomes monotonous, try shaking things up a little. My horses and I love trying some small jumps, rides in the hay field, ground-pole work, and even obstacle courses. I have found these to be extremely beneficial in building my young horse’s confidence as well as in keeping my veteran show horse fresh and excited.

It’s OK to take a staycation. We all need breaks sometimes, including

Meet the Columnist

M

ickayla Frederick, of Earlham, Iowa, is a senior in Oregon State University’s Ecampus program, where she majors in cultural and linguistic anthropology with a minor in nonWestern history. She was bitten by the horse bug during a trail ride near her grandmother’s house in Alaska at the age of seven.

Mickayla Frederick and her Hanoverian A lifelong dressage rider, gelding, Wrainier Q Mickayla worked her way up the ranks in the Junior/Young Rider division, competing in multiple Regional Championships all the way to the 2015 FEI North American Junior and Young Rider Championships (now NAYC). She is a former chair of the USDF Youth Programs Advisory Subcommittee.

Having recently aged out of the Jr/YR division, Mickayla has begun to shift her focus to other opportunities within the Open division. Her partner through most of her career thus far has been Wrainier Q, a 2003 Hanoverian gelding that she co-owns with her grandfather Robert Susa.

The newest addition to the herd is Sir Dakota HA, a 2015 Hanoverian gelding also owned by Robert Susa.

our horses. It wasn’t until the pandemic that I realized that taking some time off can be extremely beneficial for both horses and riders. Even now that I’m riding again, I have decided to incorporate some scheduled breaks for myself and my horses to regroup and spend some time away from one another. As much as I miss being around them, I know that they enjoy having more time with their friends.

Editor’s note: Many in the dressage community, including USDF’s youth members, are experiencing high levels of stress as they deal with issues related to the coronavirus pandemic, among others. USDF members who are also members of US Equestrian (USEF) can take advantage of free, confidential, professional counseling services as a benefit of USEF membership. Learn more at usef.org/joinusef/health-insurance/mental-health.

NEW EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH

USDF UNIVERSITY • USDF Online Courses • USDF Short Courses by Topic • USDF Technical Delegate Learning Modules • USDF Education Library items available for education credits • Footage from 2020 Adequan®/USDF FEI-Level Trainers Conference

UNIVERSITY

www.usdf.org/education/university

USDF CONNECTION | September/October 2020

27

NOVEMBER 5–8, 2020 • KENTUCKY HORSE PARK

featuring up to $100,000 in prize money $50,000 in US Dressage Finals Travel Grant Funds Available To help alleviate some of the financial burden for those traveling the greatest distances to the US Dressage Finals, USDF is making up to $50,000 in travel grant funds available to eligible competitors.

FOLLOW THE ACTION ON Due to the COVID-19 pandemic all information is subject to change.

Visit usdressagefinals.com for more information.

FOUR IMPORTANT STEPS AND DEADLINES 1. Declare – Complete a Declaration of Intent for each level and division for which the horse/ rider combination may qualify. usdressagefinals.com/declare. Horse/rider combinations must Declare by midnight on the day prior to the first day of their Regional Championship competition (including any open class days before the start of the championship classes).

2. Qualify at one of the Great American/USDF Regional Championships.

3. Nominate – Nomination is required for participation in US Dressage Finals classes, whether qualifying through placing in a Regional Championship class or by Wild Card Eligibility. usdressagefinals.com/nominate The Nomination (preliminary entry) deadline is midnight, 96 hours after the last championship day of your Regional Championship.

The Nomination fee paid will be applied to the total amount due at Closing Date. Nominated entries that do not receive an invitation will receive a full refund of nomination fees paid minus the $10 processing fee per nominated class.

Priority for all stabling requests (including stabling in heated Alltech Barn and for double stalls) will be based on the date of receipt of the completed entry and allotted Alltech stalls per region. To maintain priority consideration, a completed entry must be received within five days after the nomination deadline.

4. Enter – Entry Opening Date is is September 17, 2020. Entry Closing Date is

October 19, 2020 midnight Eastern Time. The nomination and entry processes can be completed concurrently.

For additional qualifying, declaration, nomination, and entry information visit

usdressagefinals.com

Sport Horse The Florida Project In 2011, researchers used wearable sensors to study dressage horses’ movement.

This year, the study continued—and has exciting implications for training, riding, and lameness diagnosis.

By Hilary M. Clayton, BVMS, PhD, Dipl ACVSMR, FRCVS

I

’ve been doing research on equine biomechanics since the 1980s, and during that time there have been incredible advances in equine-locomotion analysis.

to describe these measuring devices).

One such device, the Equinosis Q Lameness Locator, is used by veterinarians to determine which of a horse’s limbs is lame, and to what

croup and poll on the left and right diagonals. Results are displayed as numbers and graphs, from which the veterinarian can discern right and left front- or hind-limb lameness.

RESEARCH TEAM: Dr. Marie Rhodin, Dr. Filipe Bragança, Dr. Elin Hernlund, Rosalie Bos, Dr. Sarah Jane Hobbs, and Prof. Hilary Clayton with rider Kim Aikens on Horbjergards Ziggy during the January 2020 data-collection project in Florida

Today’s technology can evaluate a horse’s gaits, monitor changes in movement patterns as training progresses, and detect subtle signs of asymmetry or lameness before they become visible to the human eye. What’s more, this information can be available almost immediately after making a recording.

One of the important scientific advances in locomotion analysis has been the development of wearable sensors that can be used both on horses and riders (in this article, I’ll use the generic term inertial sensors

degree. The Lameness Locator uses inertial sensors that are placed on top of the croup, on the poll, and on the right front pastern. The pastern sensor detects movements of the right forelimb, which enables the system to distinguish between left and right steps and diagonals. The croup and poll sensors detect asymmetries in the vertical movement patterns relative to movements of the left and right limbs and diagonals. The data are transmitted to a tablet or laptop, and custom software evaluates any differences in minimal or maximal heights of the

30 September/October 2020 | USDF CONNECTION

In 2011, researchers from the Mary Anne McPhail Equine Performance Center at Michigan State University partnered with Dr. Thilo Pfau from the University of London to study how the symmetry of the horse’s trot changes on a circle compared with on a straight line. The study used Equigait, an inertial-sensor system developed by Dr. Pfau.

The results showed that when sound horses trot on a circle, their gait becomes asymmetrical in such a way that it mimics lameness of the inside forelimb and inside hind limb. The amount of asymmetry increases at faster trotting speeds and on smaller circles. The sensors were sensitive enough to detect differences even on a large (20-meter) circle.

This is important information for veterinarians because the effects of circling are enough to make a sound horse appear bilaterally lame when evaluated in both directions. A mild lameness may be exaggerated when the affected limb is on the inside of the circle, but it may be neutralized with the lame limb on the outside of the circle.

Further Development of Inertial-Sensor Systems for Lameness Analysis Since the 2011 study was published, there has been a tremendous amount of research into the use of inertial sensors to measure gait asymmetries

COURTESY OF HILARY CLAYTON

Phase 1: The Florida 2011 Project

COURTESY OF HILARY CLAYTON

FIGURE 1. The EquiMoves system uses small inertial sensors that attach to the horse using adhesive pads. At left, Dr. Elin Hernlund centers a sensor over a horse’s pelvis. At right, Dr. Filipe Bragança puts on brushing boots containing pockets for sensors that will measure movements of the cannon bones.

in relation to lameness. Horses have been studied on the straight and on circles, on hard and soft footing, with and without riders, at sitting trot and at posting trot. No person or horse is completely symmetrical on both sides, and one of the researchers’ tasks has been to establish reference values to delineate the inherent asymmetries that might be present in a sound horse from those associated with a mild lameness. In reality, though, there is not a sharp dividing line between horses that have a strong natural “sidedness” preference and those that are mildly lame.

But many unanswered questions remain, especially in the area of sporthorse performance. There is huge potential for inertial-sensor systems to be used to evaluate dressage horses’ gaits, movement, and asymmetries.

Doing so will require research to determine the most relevant performance parameters, followed by the development of software that will automatically crunch the numbers so that the relevant information is available right away. This is our current goal. The information will facilitate comparison of horses with different strengths and weaknesses, evaluation of a young horse’s potential, assessment of the results of training, or detection of a deterioration in performance due to a developing but as-yet invisible problem.

Phase 2: Florida 2020 The next step in the progression of our dressage project requires the establishment of a database of locomotor information from high-quality dressage horses that are trained to a medium or advanced level, preferably ones that are also actively competing in the sport. In January

The eFFects of circling are enough to make a sound horse appear bilaterally lame. of this year, an international team of top researchers (see “Meet the Researchers” on page 35) gathered in Wellington, Florida to collect data.

Researcher Filipe Bragança has been involved in developing a sensor system called EquiMoves, which uses the latest technology combined with custom software. The EquiMoves system has already been programmed extensively for equinelameness detection and analysis.

EquiMoves captures information

from up to 36 synchronized inertial sensors that can be attached to the body and limbs of horse and rider to measure movements and rotations (Figure 1). The system collects data continuously for several minutes as the horse moves freely over a large area. Because the information is three-dimensional, it can be applied to evaluate turns and lateral movements as well as locomotion in straight lines.

In order to get similar data from all horse-rider combinations, we wrote a test pattern that included all gaits on straight lines and on circles of different sizes on both reins. The pattern also included shoulder-in, travers, and shallow and steep half-passes in trot and canter; flying changes singly and in sequence; and pirouettes, piaffe, and passage. We collected data from 21 horses, 13 of which were capable of all the Grand Prix-level movements. The others performed as many of the movements as the rider was comfortable with.

We placed sensors on each horse’s poll, withers, lumbar spine, croup, hips, all four cannons, and all four hooves (Figure 2) to produce a complete picture of the important movement characteristics. We also placed sensors on each rider’s pelvis and trunk to record synchrony between horse and rider and to elucidate how experienced riders move

USDF CONNECTION | September/October 2020

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Sport Horse

FIGURE 2. Sensors attached to all four limbs. Sensors on the cannon bones are securely attached in brushing boots. Hoof sensors are taped directly onto the hooves, then covered with tape for extra protection.

in relation to the horse. Each horse was walked and trotted in hand as in a lameness examination, both before and after the ridden test. This phase of the evaluation was recorded on video and observed by the researchers, and any visible abnormalities were noted (Figure 3).

The rider mounted, and all the equipment was checked (Figure 4).

After warming up, each horse performed the test pattern while recording data from the EquiMoves sensors and three synchronized video cameras placed around the arena (Figure 5). The videos will be evaluated to assess the quality of the gaits and movements and to identify problems or mistakes in the performance. Our goal is eventually to develop a complete picture of the biomechanics of an excellent performance as well as of the mechanical problems associ-

ated with specific errors in technique, such as “toe tapping” in passage.

Using lameness-analysis software developed for use with the EquiMoves system, we were able to discuss with each rider any asymmetries in the horse’s movement pattern during the trot-up in hand.

For example, we could tell whether one hind limb was pushing more than the other, or if one forelimb was less effective in supporting the withers. We also evaluated whether movement asymmetries improved or deteriorated during or after the ride.

What We Will Learn When I think about the range of data we collected and start to envision what could be done with it, I feel like the proverbial kid in a candy store.

The need to evaluate results and develop software in a logical order

32 September/October 2020 | USDF CONNECTION

will dictate, to some extent, which aspects of performance will be studied first. Here are some of the topics that are on the agenda.

Purity of the gaits. One of the issues that needs clarification in the era of the modern sport horse is how purity of the gaits should be defined. The traditional method involves evaluating the time intervals between successive footfalls: The pure walk is described as having a regular four-beat rhythm, the pure trot as having a two-beat rhythm (implying synchronous contacts of the diagonal limb pairs), and the pure canter as having a three-beat rhythm. However, slow-motion video has revealed that horses often do not have synchronous diagonal footfalls in trot or canter. In trot, horses that move in self-carriage in an “uphill” frame are more likely to

COURTESY OF HILARY CLAYTON

FIGURE 3. Sensor data and synchronized video being recorded at the start and end of the study as horses walked and trotted in hand in straight lines as in a lameness examination. Researchers compared minor gait asymmetries at the start and end of the study to identify any improvement or deterioration.

COURTESY OF HILARY CLAYTON

FIGURE 4. It takes a village! Final preparations for the ridden test included checking that all sensors on horse and rider were attached securely, and transmitting data to the laptop.

have hind-first diagonal dissociation (with the hind leg landing a fraction of a second before the corresponding diagonal foreleg), whereas those that are on the forehand more often have fore-first dissociation. This is simply a consequence of whether or not the horse is in an uphill balance.

Perhaps of more fundamental importance to gait purity is the way that the movements (protraction and retraction) of the fore and hind limbs are coordinated, as this is a more basic determinant of limb movements and synchronization. The inertial sensors on the cannons and hooves will clearly indicate when the hooves contact and leave the ground as well as the transitions between limb protraction (forward swing) and retraction (backward swing). Coordination between the swing phases of the hind limb and forelimb may be a good indicator of gait purity.

Left- and right-sided horses.

Postural and gait asymmetry (crookedness) are currently hot topics among locomotion researchers. As part of our study, the riders com-

pleted a questionnaire about their horses’ sidedness patterns, and the inertial sensors will provide information about left/right movement asymmetries.

Vertical-movement asymmetries of the poll, withers, and croup have already been studied in detail in

Horses often do not have synchronous diagonal footfalls in trot or canter. relation to lameness, and threshold values for detecting lameness have been established for the trot.

Smaller asymmetries may indicate a horse’s sidedness pattern. In some preliminary studies, we have detected other signs of sidedness that will

be measured precisely by the inertial sensors and cross-checked with the riders’ opinions. These include: • Failure to track straight (the hind limbs do not follow the tracks of the forelimbs) • One forelimb supports the withers in a higher position than the other • One hind limb remains on the ground longer, moves forward more slowly, and/or takes a shorter step than the other hind limb • Inequality of minimal height of the croup, withers, or pelvis (thought to represent differences in loading of the left and right limbs); and differences in maximal height (thought to represent differences in push-off forces in the left and right limbs) • Unequal left and right steps in passage and piaffe.

Ultimately, this part of the project aims to define the characteristics of a left-sided horse and a right-sided horse in biomechanical terms, then to associate the biomechanical findings with what the rider feels. We then will be able to design training exercises to improve locomotor symmetry and straightness based on an individual horse’s entire set of asymmetries. This will be a step toward reducing the frequency and severity of having long steps alternate with short steps in piaffe and passage.

How does the horse achieve uphill self-carriage? The dressage rules are clear that collection and self-carriage require the horse to lower and engage its hindquarters for the benefit of the lightness and mobility of its forehand. But if the hind hooves are placed too far forward, it shortens the base of support excessively and impedes the horse’s balance. Data from our study will provide information from a range of horses of various breeds, conformations, and skill levels that will help us to identify optimal hind-limb placement and whether it differs according to conformation.

The role of the forelimbs in elevating the withers to achieve uphill

USDF CONNECTION | September/October 2020

33

Sport Horse

FIGURE 5: The ridden pattern was recorded videographically from three vantage points.

tors, abdominals, and back muscles) to negotiate the turn. After strengthening these muscles, the horse can make tighter turns while maintaining the correct alignment. Our inertial sensors will provide information about the verticality of the limbs, the

We will be able to design training exercises to improve straightness based on an individual horse’s asymmetries. haunches, and the forehand, thus providing a picture of the position and alignment of all parts of the body.

The horse’s verticality and longitudinal straightness are fundamental to successful dressage perfor-

34 September/October 2020 | USDF CONNECTION

mance. Through developing a better understanding of how individual horses achieve this and recognition of the common deviation patterns, it will be easier to prescribe specific gymnastic exercises to straighten the horse.

Rider technique. The best riders synchronize their movements precisely with their horses’ movements, whereas less-experienced riders are a little out of sync with the horse. The data we gather using the inertial sensors will clarify how the rider’s pelvis moves in relation to the horse’s back in each gait. Movements of the rider’s trunk relative to the pelvis also provide useful information about whether the rider is leaning to the side or collapsing a hip, both of which transmit asymmetrical forces to the horse’s back.

Support Our Research It is very difficult to raise money for studies of healthy sport horses. To date, the research I’ve described in this article has been funded personally by the researchers. For information about making a donation toward these studies, please contact me at claytonh@msu.edu.

COURTESY OF HILARY CLAYTON

balance has received less attention than the role of the haunches, but the forelimbs are equally important.

Research in the McPhail Center has shown that withers height does indeed change with collection, and that the action of the forelimbs is a crucial part of the horse’s ability to balance in the highly collected movements. Our findings will help us to understand the relationship between the positioning and timing of the fore and hind limbs in achieving collection.

Previous studies have shown that the collecting effects may not be identical in the left and right diagonals, and this makes it difficult for the horse to maintain balance consistently. We will investigate how this relates to the general sidedness pattern of the horse and which exercises can be used to improve balance and symmetry, especially in piaffe and passage.

Turns and lateral movements.

We know that body and limb alignments are important in turning.

Horses naturally turn by leaning inward, which facilitates the development of turning forces. A dressage horse must learn to keep its trunk and limbs vertical while bending its spine in the direction of the turn—fundamental skills that require the use of different muscles (abductors, adduc-

Meet the Researchers Hilary Clayton, BVMS, PhD, Dipl ACVSMR, FRCVS, is professor and McPhail Dressage Chair Emerita at Michigan State University. She has been studying the performance of dressage horses and riders for over 30 years. A longtime contributing editor to USDF publications, she has been sharing her research findings with the USDF membership since the late 1990s.

Sarah Jane Hobbs, BEng, PhD, is a reader in equine and human biomechanics at the University of Central Lancashire in Great Britain. She has been collaborating with Hilary Clayton for over 10 years on studies of balance and self-carriage in dressage horses. She is the lead investigator for the Research and Consultancy in Equine Surfaces (RACES) team that evaluates equestrian surfaces. She was one of the scientists who ensured a safe arena surface for the 2012 London Olympics, and she subsequently spearheaded the writing of the FEI Equine Surfaces White Paper.

Filipe Serra Bragança, DVM, graduated from the Veterinary University of Lisbon in Portugal. His research involves the development and clinical implementation of techniques for objective equine gait analysis and lameness assessment. One aspect of this work is the development of the sensor-based EquiMoves system.

BECOME A PATRON Support the US Dressage Finals by making a tax deductible gift.

Marie Rhodin, DVM, PhD, Dipl ACVSMR, is a lameness clinician at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Her main research focus is the use of objective gait-analysis techniques to study horse-rider interaction, orthopedics, and interpretations of motion asymmetries in horses.

Elin Hernlund, DVM, PhD, is an equine clinician, researcher, and teacher at the University Animal Hospital and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. One of her main research goals is to increase the complexity and specificity of objective lameness techniques and to introduce artificial intelligence in equine orthopedic diagnostic procedures.

Rosalie Bos, a former medal-winning dressage junior and young rider, is a final-year veterinary student at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. She intends to focus on the biomechanics, diagnostics, therapeutics, and rehabilitation techniques of sport horses.

Also involved in the study but not present for the data collection are Professor Mick Peterson of the University of Kentucky, and Professor Agneta Egenvall and Dr. Anna Byström of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.

Patron gifts will be recognized in the event program, the yearbook issue of USDF Connection, and receive a commemorative gift of appreciation.

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USDF CONNECTION | September/October 2020

35

I Want to Be a Dressage Professional.

Do I Need College?

Some think higher ed is a smart move; others, an unnecessary detour.

Longtime pros and current students share their stories and perspectives.

FORK IN THE ROAD: More school, or straight into the arena? Many aspiring young dressage professionals wrestle with the choice.

36 September/October 2020 | USDF CONNECTION

JODY LYNNE WERNER FOR USDF CONNECTION

BY NATALIE DEFEE MENDIK

T

here’s one thing dressage enthusiasts can agree on: It’s all about the journey.

And for riders in their teen and youngadult years, that journey may include deciding where horses and dressage fit in with their educational plans and career goals. In this article, riders from all walks share the paths they’ve chosen and the insights they’ve gained along the way.

CASSANDRA HUMMERT

Opening Doors Rising through the ranks of the USDF’s youth programs, including winning Young Rider team bronze medals at the 2000 and 2001 FEI North American Young Riders Championships (now Youth Championships), Reese KofflerStanfield always knew that she wanted horses and dressage to be a major part of her life. Her parents supported her dreams, with one condition: She had to attend college.

In order to keep riding, Koffler-Stanfield opted to stay close to her family’s farm in Lexington, Kentucky.

She earned a BS in agricultural economics and later an MA in international commerce from the University of Kentucky, all while managing to find the time to join a sorority and to train and compete at the FEI levels.

“You can make school work with horses,” KofflerStanfield affirms. “You may have to get creative, but you can do it.”

Between high school and college, Koffler-Stanfield spent a “gap year” training with German dressage master Conrad Schumacher. She returned to Germany after her sophomore year at UK, keeping her education going via online courses. Then came a semester at Palm Beach (Florida) Community College while she prepped for the 2003 Pan American Games selection trials. (KofflerStanfield didn’t make that team but says the quest was a great experience.)

A USDF bronze, silver, and gold medalist; a holder of all three USDF freestyle bars; and a USDF FEI B certified instructor/trainer, today Koffler-Stanfield operates a full-service dressage business out of her Maplecrest Farm in Georgetown, Kentucky. She says she “didn’t do anything” with her master’s degree for a while because her coaching, training, and sales operation was already thriving, but as time went on the academic credential “actually opened many doors for me.” For one, it helped her snag an adjunct professorship at UK, where she teaches equine science and management students about the global sport-horse industry. She also calls on her well-rounded background as co-host of the USDF official podcast, The Dressage Radio Show.

EDUCATED DRESSAGE PRO: Reese Koffler-Stanfield and friend

Other of Koffler-Stanfield’s gigs are proof that you never know when your education will come in handy.

Her high-school German classes proved invaluable at Schumacher’s, and she came home with increased mastery of the language—which she now draws on when she accompanies UK international-equine-business students on immersion trips to Germany, or when she helped chaperone The Dressage Foundation’s Young Rider International Dream Program participants at the CHIO Aachen and elsewhere in Germany last year. Her proficiency in German even turned out to be crucial in her entrance application for her master’s degree program—although, she says with a laugh, “I did have to brush up on more than barn words.”

Her academic education, Koffler-Stanfield says, has provided her with security: “I don’t have to ride every horse that comes along. When I was 20, I thought I wanted to. Now, if I get hurt, I have something to fall back on.”

What’s more, “College taught me how to run a business and how to work with clients, vendors, and sponsors,” she says. “So if you don’t know what you want to do in school, it will never hurt to take business classes.”

Life has taught Koffler-Stanfield that education, even for the young person who’s intent on a dressage career, is never wasted.

“As you get older, you think, ‘Oh, that was that piece to the puzzle.’ I tell young people to learn as much as they can and do as much as they can; you don’t know how life will fit together.” [ USDF CONNECTION | September/October 2020

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One Step Led to Another Koffler-Stanfield’s path to a dressage career was fairly straightforward, but other pros found their way into the sport via circuitous routes, some with first (or second or third) jobs that had nothing to do with horses.

Take Janet Foy, for example. Although the Colorado native rode as a child, she went to college to become a foreign-language teacher, then changed her mind and pursued a career in journalism and public relations. Today she’s an FEI 5* dressage judge (who’s slated to officiate next year at the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics), a sought-after clinician, and a successful author (Dressage for

the Not-So-Perfect Horse).

Whoa! How did that happen?

Not by design, that’s for sure. “I certainly never thought I would be a horse trainer or a judge,” Foy says.

When Foy headed off to college (without horses, due to budget constraints), she thought she wanted to become a French and German language teacher—but then “I spent one summer running a children’s program and decided I didn’t like that many children in the same room at the same time.”

She switched her major to marketing with a minor in public relations and journalism. Horseless for some time after college, she enjoyed stints living in Hawaii, where she edited a local tour guide in Maui; and

38 September/October 2020 | USDF CONNECTION

AKDRAGOOPHOTO.COM

DRESSAGE, DIVERSIFIED: Janet Foy is not only a dressage instructor/trainer; she’s also an FEI 5* judge and a successful author

rubbing shoulders with the likes of Liberace in her publicity role for the luxurious Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

When Foy’s then husband was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship, she accompanied him to Oxford University in England. Lacking a work visa, she filled her time taking group lessons at the Oxford Riding Club and having tea with a friend, where they pondered what their instructor meant by terms like shoulder-in.

“It was more traffic direction than teaching,” Foy recalls. “I got a book and became more and more interested in dressage. I ended up doing my British Horse Society assistant-instructor exam.”

When the couple returned home to Colorado, Foy got a PR job with a film-production company. She decided to get back into horses and purchased a Thoroughbred mare for $500. Evidently impressed with her equestrian skills (although Foy claims that “I had no idea what I was doing”), others at her barn began asking her to ride their horses.

Encouraged by her husband, Foy decided to pursue a career training horses, and along the way she earned her USDF bronze, silver, and gold medals. “It was never planned; it just sort of happened,” she says of the decision, “but once I decided to become a horse trainer, I wanted to be a good one. I ended up networking and having good people come give clinics: Robert Dover, Kay Meredith, Carol Lavell, Uwe and Betsy Steiner, Jo Hinnemann. I got a very, very good education.”

Dressage judging also fell into Foy’s lap. “I also never planned on becoming a judge, but there was a program that needed one more person, and my friend asked me to do it—and I passed the exam.”

Advice from Janet Foy: You Have to Earn Your Way to the Top

Y

ou’re a talented young dressage rider. Perhaps you’ve enjoyed competitive success. You’re itching to get out there and show the world what you can do. All you need is the right horse.

Not so fast, says the FEI 5* dressage judge and author/clinician Janet Foy. “A lot of young people I see today feel they should be given all these fabulous horses to ride. I have to say that’s disappointing,” Foy says.

“Unfortunately there’s a mentality that breeders should give a young person a top horse and, not only that, pay the expenses and training. It’s very difficult for the breeders in the US; we really need to get the top horses to the top riders. You don’t get to the top until you’ve paid your dues.”

And as with her decision to become a trainer, “once I was a judge, I wanted to be a good one.”

Foy calls becoming a judge “the smartest thing I did,” explaining: “You have to multitask and do more than one thing in the horse business. I can judge shows and give riding clinics. Your body doesn’t last forever: Thinking you are going to be a top rider into your sixties and seventies is not realistic.” She calls judging “a fabulous opportunity” that has enabled her to “work with wonderful people” and to “see parts of the world I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to.”

Another reason to diversify one’s dressage skill set: “There are a whole lot of top riders that never get to the Olympics—not because they aren’t capable, but because that special horse doesn’t come along. There are also a lot of top riders who have that special horse only once in their lives. Not everyone can be [German superstar] Isabell Werth and have horse after horse coming through their program.”

MICHELLE MORGENSTERN

Delayed Gratification You can’t always get what you want, as the song goes—and sometimes you later realize that what seemed like a tough break at the time was actually a stroke of luck in disguise.

That’s what happened to Robin Birk, whose teenage dream of becoming an equine professional got

put on hold when her father insisted that she attend college.

“When I was a horse-crazy young lady, like most of us are,” Birk says, “horses are what I wanted to do. That was my passion. As many tears as I cried, my dad had enough wisdom to push me to go to school and learn a skill I could support myself with.”

After college, Birk began working in the steel industry. She went on to earn an MBA from Duquesne University and an MS in industrial hygiene from the University of Michigan, all funded by her employer. She is now in her 29th year as a steel-industry safety manager in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and thanks to her lucrative career she was able to build her training, breeding, and boarding facility, Timber Ridge Equestrian Center in Ruffs Dale, Pennsylvania, from the ground up. She’s also earned her USDF bronze and silver medals and her US Equestrian “r” dressage judge’s license.

“I wouldn’t be able to have the farm and the horses now if I had gone into horses straight away,” Birk says. “I am thankful for my career.

It has allowed me to do what I love.

It’s hard to see that kind of truth and clarity at that young age.”

Although Birk admits she “never dreamed about being an industrial hygienist,” she’s found that “having two careers has provided balance and helped me stay energized. There

IT’S A WRAP: Robin Birk got the final Prix St. Georges score needed for her USEF “R” judge’s license in her final test aboard Willie B Irish, her 2002 Hanoverian gelding (by Wallstreet Kid)

is a hybrid group of people who ride professionally, but also have professional jobs [outside the horse industry]. It is a balancing act, you have to be a multitasker, and you have to stay so focused.” She predicts that the equestrian-slash-“real job” dual career will become increasingly common “as it becomes more expensive to have farms and care for horses. Even something like going through the judge’s certification is an expensive process.”

Like Foy, Birk cautions the young and indestructible against assuming that they’ll be able to ride happily into their sunset years.

“Go to school and study a trade

USDF CONNECTION | September/October 2020

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of some sort,” she urges. “If you get hurt and can’t ride any more, what are you going to do?” And then there’s the normal aging process. “A rider is an athlete. Just like any athlete, your body’s abilities take a bellshaped curve: You learn, increase your strength and technical ability; then physically you start to slope off.

You can’t ride an unlimited number of horses every day as you age. You need to have some other technical expertise to fall back on. You can still teach [when you’re older], but often people tend to gravitate to the ‘next best thing.’”

These considerations aside, it’s a great time to be a young dressage enthusiast, Birk says.

“I wish I could have started my riding career in today’s age,” she says. “It’s an exciting time for young riders. There are so many programs out there and so much information available.”

Testing the Waters Jackson Gillespie, 21, of Denver, Colorado, rose through the junior/ young rider ranks and now studies political science and marketing at the University of Miami in Florida.

His first time at the FEI North American Youth Championships (NAYC) was aboard his own horse that he competed on starting at Training Level. Then he was fortunate to have the chance to ride and show Olympian and US Equestrian national dressage development coach Charlotte Bredahl’s horse Westpoint CB, with whom he captured the Junior Freestyle bronze medal at the 2016 NAYC. Later, with a horse leased from Anna Westfeldt, Gillespie competed at NAYC in the Young Rider division.

Now that Gillespie is in college, saddle time occurs mostly in the

40 September/October 2020 | USDF CONNECTION

When You Love What You Do, It Doesn’t Feel Like Work Having grown up in the Pony Club system in California, Leslie Morse and her mom loaded up truck, trailer, and horse for Morse’s start at the University of Kentucky, where she planned to study psychiatry.

Working at an eventing barn while going to school, Morse found that her priorities soon changed.

“I took one horse and ended up with two, which is a dream for most kids,” she recalls, “but I didn’t do

COURTESY OF JACKSON GILLESPIE

LEG UP: Olympian Charlotte Bredahl (standing) gave Region 5’s Jackson Gillespie the ride on her Westpoint CB (Windfall CB x Rampal). Together the pair won the Junior Freestyle bronze medal at the 2016 FEI North American Junior and Young Rider Championships.

summers and during school breaks.

His current mount, a Hanoverian that his family purchased as an eight-year-old, is in training at home in Colorado. Gillespie hopes to bring him to Wellington this the winter to compete in the Developing Prix St. Georges, then to keep him near the university.

“I’d really love to make a go as a [professional] rider,” Gillespie says.

“We got really lucky finding this horse, and we’ll see how far he can go. I’m considering going to law school, but I’m thinking of taking a few years first to see if I can make it as a trainer.”

Gillespie says that college has always been a priority, even though it’s been frustrating to put his riding career on hold.

“A lot of trainers I’ve talked to have told me that even if you do ride professionally, the education and experience you get in college are important, as well as giving you a backup plan if the riding doesn’t work out,” he says. In the meantime, “in college, there are still so many opportunities out there to ride and work with horses, even if you don’t have your own horse.”

TERRI MILLER

very well in school; I paid most of my attention to horses.” She ended up heading back to California without graduating.

In Morse’s case, the lack of a college degree didn’t hold her back.

A couple of decades after she abandoned higher education, she was representing the US in international dressage competition, including at four FEI World Cup Dressage Finals, three FEI Dressage Nations Cups (each netting a team bronze medal), and a team bronze at the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany.

Getting to that point was the result of dogged determination, according to Morse.

Back home in California, “I started to knock on all the doors around Los Angeles. I went to an event stable that didn’t have a dressage program and offered to be their dressage trainer.” When they declined her offer, Morse offered to work free of charge in order to prove herself. “I worked my way up, starting with the riding-school program and ending up at the point I was taking thirty kids to local dressage shows. I would school horses in the morning; then at lunch I would race to [Olympian] Robert Dover’s to take lessons, and would race back to teach the kids after school, working many days until nine at night.”

During this time, every type of horse came across Morse’s path.

“The horses are our educators,” she says. “The more horses you get to ride and learn from, the better of a horseman you are going to be.

Every horse is different. We have to keep our eyes open and learn from our horses. You need to ride as many horses as you can and accept what every horse can teach you.”

Eventually Morse began training

out of the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank—with a total of one client, enticed by Morse’s offer of 60 days of free training. Over the next decade, Morse’s business at LAEC expanded to more than 50 horses in training and a large client base of adult amateurs and youth, before she left to become a partner in Paragon Farms in Malibu, California.

“I didn’t ride my first Grand Prix until I was forty,” Morse says. “I did it backwards from my peers who put their riding careers first: I put business first, and that allowed me the freedom to concentrate on learning my craft in a different way.”

“I’ve enjoyed every minute of [my dressage career] and wouldn’t do anything any different,” Morse says. “To ensure that you love what you do, you have to be a student.

I’m a student of dressage. I study dressage all the time…. I pay attention, ask questions, and take lessons nonstop. Being that person gives me great joy. If that gives someone great joy, then they should pursue a career in dressage. The people who are masters are also students. They are constantly learning.

“It’s really important that young people stay diligent and persevere,” Morse continues. “If this is where your heart is set, it doesn’t matter what roadblocks come your way; just keep going. Roadblocks will always be in your path in any field you choose, so you might as well stick with your passion. Find your own way. Be adventurous. It doesn’t matter what people think. Do what you love.”

Which Path to Choose?

Hint: the One That’s Right for You) As you can see, there’s no right or wrong answer to this question. Even

ON TOP: Leslie Morse’s international success record includes a team bronze medal at the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games and appearances at the 2006 and 2007 FEI World Cup Dressage Finals with her late Swedish Warmblood stallion Tip Top 962 (Master x Chagall)

though they each have taken different routes, our sources agree that it’s always a good idea to develop varied skills, to create your own safety net, and to go forward with your eyes wide open.

After all, as Foy says, dressage is “a tough business.” But through a combination of hard work and realistic expectations, many dressage enthusiasts have found the intersection between their passion and their livelihoods.

Natalie DeFee Mendik, MA, is an award-winning journalist specializing in equine media. Visit her online at MendikMedia.com.

USDF CONNECTION | September/October 2020

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Pandemic Perseverance Olympic, Paralympic, and World Cup Final dreams were put on hold this year.

Here’s how top contenders are coping and regrouping for 2021.

BY SUE WEAKLEY R YOU OR SE A F T O NEC N — L N O O C S ’T ES N CAN DEO L TUR VI

TIME OUT LOSE A TURN SAFE A HOME T MOVE — TW SPACES O

COV GO SHUTD ID-19 BAC OW K T NS! OS TAR T

HORSE NEEDS A BREAK — GO TO TIM OUT

WORLD CUP CANCELLED — GO BACK 2 SPACES

42 September/October 2020 | USDF CONNECTION

A TR G EX ININ A — TR IME 100 T D S AD OINT P

I

A — ME

C LINI C END AGAIN T T A OLL R

SHUTTERSTOCK IMAGES; PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY EMILY KOENIG

magine that your dream of competing for your country is this close to reality. You and your horse are fit, fine, and at the top of your game; you’re nearing the final stretch in the quest to ride in the 2020 Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, or FEI World Cup Finals.

Then a global pandemic disrupts not only your dream, but also the lives of nearly everyone on the planet.

The COVID-19 coronavirus derailed sporting competition around the world. In this country, US Equestrian (USEF) suspended licensed shows, selection trials, and training camps and disallowed the accumulation of points, scores, qualifications, or rankings toward any of its awards programs, events, or team selections. On March 13, the 2020 FEI World Cup Dressage and Jumping Finals in Las Vegas were cancelled; less than two weeks later, the International Olympic Committee and the 2020 Tokyo Organizing Committee postponed the Games of the XXXII Olympiad until July 2021.

Top horses and riders whose carefully orchestrated preparations had them on track to peak for these championships found their dreams and plans suddenly put on hold. They’ve been forced to come up with plan B—what to do during the unplanned 12-month extension so that they can try to peak again when the team-selection process resumes in 2021. We asked some of the USA’s top dressage and para-dressage riders and their team coaches how they’ve been coping with the disappointment, changing course, and rewriting their plans in the hopes of finally realizing their dreams a year from now.

We’re Number 1 (and We Hope We Stay There) At the time of the shutdowns, the US para-dressage team was sitting at the top of the FEI dressage paralympic team rankings, with Grade I athlete Roxanne “Roxie” Trunnell and Karin Flint’s 2012 Hanoverian gelding, Dolton (Danone I x Londonderry), ranked number 1 in the world.

The news of the Paralympic Games’ postponement was a psychological blow to the athletes, says Michel Assouline, US Equestrian’s head of para-equestrian coach development and high-performance consultant. The riders have rallied around the new goal, with communication being “the major obstacle for us,” he says.

A strong online presence, along with a remotecoaching camera system, have been key in keeping things moving forward, Assouline says: “In terms of competition, we have an online video system where we can have riders send their video tests to the USEF, and we forward them to judges abroad. Between that and USDF CONNECTION | September/October 2020

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WORLD’S BEST: Before the COVID-19 shutdowns, US para-dressage rider Roxanne Trunnell on Dolton was #1 in the FEI’s individual world rankings. In the background is Trunnell’s coach, Andrea Woodard.

remote coaching, it’s enabled us to maintain the momentum.”

US Paralympic hopefuls and their supporters hope that a CPEDI (FEI-recognized para-dressage competition) tentatively scheduled for October in Tryon, North Carolina, followed by a CPEDI3* in Wellington, Florida, in January 2021 will come off as planned. “Then, in March, we’d have another show in Wellington—a national show, but we hired international judges,” Assouline says. “Then, following that show, we move up to June in Tryon, and that will be the final observation before Tokyo for the team selection.”

Assouline believes that the selection criteria established for the 2020 Paralympics will not change, but he’s philosophical about plans remaining fluid.

“Nothing is going to be proven until the very end. There won’t be any riders selected until June 2021.

The riders have to maintain the momentum, the consistency, and the continuity. They are so passionate, so motivated. It’s incredible how such a long way we’ve come.”

EYES ON THE PRIZE: Wearing a souvenir shirt from a past Olympic Games, Steffen Peters (with 2020/2021 hopeful Suppenkasper at a horse inspection at the 2020 Adequan® Global Dressage Festival) wants to make his fifth Olympic team

44 September/October 2020 | USDF CONNECTION

The Texas-based Trunnell, 35, Team USA’s top-ranked para-dressage athlete, admits to being somewhat relieved when she learned of the postponement. Not only is she concerned for Dolton’s owner and for her parents, who are in the at-risk age bracket for COVID-19; she is also nervous about her own well-being.

“The last outbreak of H1N1 is the reason I became a para, so who knows what would have happened if I contracted the [corona]virus while I was over there [in Tokyo],” says Trunnell, who was an aspiring dressage professional and a USDF bronze medalist

SUSANJSTICKLE.COM

The Virus Threat: Better Safe Than Sorry

when viral-induced swelling in her brain in 2009 caused physical disability. “It’s better to be safe than sorry, and the postponement was only for a year, so I think it is allowing teams all over the world to get stronger. We very well may be looking at a closer race to the podiums, with everyone getting extra training time!”

Trunnell is using the unplanned pause to continue her training with coach Andrea Woodard in Wellington, Florida. Dolton is happiest when he is working, according to Trunnell, who rides him four times a week.

Woodard gets on one day, and on another Dolton goes on the lunge line.

Like Trunnell, the San Diegobased four-time dressage Olympian Steffen Peters, 55, is using the extra time to get his current Olympic hopeful and 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) team silver-medal partner, Suppenkasper, in top form. “‘Mopsie’ is a very young horse and needs the extra time to simply relax a little bit more,” Peters says of the 2008 KWPN gelding (Spielberg x Krack C) owned by Four Winds Farm. “He’s getting stronger; he’s getting better every month. Since Florida [the truncated 2020 winter competition season], he’s made some nice improvements, and I can’t help the thought that he’s going to be better next year. I’m hoping that the virus allows us to go back to Florida in December and start the trials again.”

SUSANJSTICKLE.COM

A Fold of the Cards in Las Vegas Peters was particularly disappointed about not getting to show at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas for the 2020 FEI World Cup Dressage Final. Scheduled for April, the 2020 Finals were among the first international equestrian championships to be canceled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

COLLEGE BOUND: David Botana (aboard Lord Locksley, with coach Carmen Franco) is a freshman this fall

“Any time you get to ride in front of American dressage fans, it just doesn’t get any better,” Peters says. “[The late] Mr. [Parry] Thomas was a very good friend of mine. It always meant so much to me to ride in an arena that was named after Mr. Thomas.”

Debbie McDonald, the USEF national dressage technical advisor, was also crushed at the World Cup Finals’ cancellation. The Thomas & Mack Center holds a special place in her heart, as well, as the site of her famous “Respect” freestyle performance aboard Parry and Peggy Thomas’s legendary Hanoverian mare, Brentina, at the 2005 World Cup Dressage Final. It was also the venue for Brentina’s retirement ceremony in 2009. In a further blow, McDonald’s student Laura Graves was scheduled to retire her own celebrated mount, Verdades, at the 2020 World Cup Finals—another plan that fell victim to the pandemic.

Back to School Grade I para-dressage athlete David Botana, of Portland, Maine, was

another who’d hoped to take on the world this year. He was ranked sixteenth in the world aboard Lord Locksley, a 2001 Trakehner stallion (Unkenruf x Enrico Caruso) owned

by Margaret “Meg” Stevens. But in the meantime Botana, 18, was accepted to Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where he plans to matriculate this fall and pursue a major in biomedical engineering.

Northwestern has been supportive of his dreams of competing at the Tokyo Paralympics, says Botana, who plans to take some time off from school to return to Wellington at the beginning of the 2021 show season. For now, he counts himself lucky to be able to make the hour-and-a-half drive each way from Portland to South Montville, Maine, several days a week to ride “Locksley” with his trainer, Susanne Hamilton.

“That’s a smart young man,” Hamilton says of Botana, “and we’re so proud of him. I was very quick in encouraging him to attend school, and we’re all on the same page on that.

This is about the rest of his life, and he

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will do great things. David and Locksley are a well-oiled team and can always pick up where they left off.”

Florida-based trainer Carmen Franco, who also coached Botana while Hamilton was busy with classes and final testing for her USEF “S” dressage judge’s license, says that she is “very proud…to be able to continue what Susanne did. I worked with David for the plans for his tests so he could visualize where he needed to be in the arena. It was very important for him to be able to imagine a ten-meter circle and an eight-meter circle and the rest of the test before he got on.”

Hamilton, who has competed Locksley through the Grand Prix level in able-bodied dressage, has found that the horse needs to be in a program or else he gets bored.

“He’s one hundred percent sound, happy and fit, muscled, and in full work with my young rider,” she says.

“I keep a very close eye on him for signs of tiring quicker, and so far

he’s showing none.”

Hamilton calls the 19-year-old Locksley “my best bud” and says that she is “his biggest advocate.

If he shows signs of aging or being overtaxed, I will be the first one to pull him from the sport, and Meg Stevens trusts me on that.” For now, though, “the big guy is in prime shape.” But Hamilton remains pragmatic: “God only knows what’s to come in 2021; I just don’t have a crystal ball.”

Botana, however, is upbeat about the future.

“I’ll be back in Florida in January,” he vows. “I’ve worked with Locksley for so long—for four years.

I know my test. He knows his job.”

Planning and Replanning The Arizona-based Paralympian Kate Shoemaker, 33, who with Solitaer 40 won the Grade IV Freestyle bronze medal at the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Tryon, knows that keeping to a schedule is

46 September/October 2020 | USDF CONNECTION

key to planning for a major competition.

“We’ve really scaled back our day-to-day training to change our peak point to later,” Shoemaker says, “because obviously you cannot keep an athlete going—whether it’s a horse or it’s a person—at peak all the time. You have to choose your dates, work up to them, and change the work, while thinking more along the lines of cross-training.”

“In some ways, this break has been really good for us,” Shoemaker says of the 2007 Hanoverian stallion (Sandro Hit x De Niro) that she co-owns with Craig and Deena Shoemaker, “because ‘Soli’ was at a point where we were starting to see this magical trot, but it’s not quite show-ready. I spoke with Michel [Assouline] and with my new coach I’m working with in Wellington, Lehua Custer, and we’ve taken out all of the preconceived ideas about what I can’t do and what my horse can’t do, and we’re just saying, ‘This

JOANNA JODKO PHOTOGRAPHY

POLISHING THE DIAMOND: Para-equestrian Kate Shoemaker is using the COVID pause to up her game with Solitaer 40

SUSANJSTICKLE.COM

HARMONIOUS: US Olympic and WEG veteran Adrienne Lyle aboard 2020 Olympic dressage contender Harmony’s Duval

is where we need to be, and we need to get there.’”

Dressage Olympian and 2018 WEG team silver medalist Adrienne Lyle, 35, of Ketchum, Idaho, has likewise eased up the work with her Grand Prix mounts Salvino, Betsy Juliano’s 2007 Hanoverian stallion (Sandro Hit x Donnerhall); and Harmony’s Duval, Duval Partners’ 2008 KWPN gelding (Rousseau x Riverman).

Lyle takes twice-weekly video lessons with Debbie McDonald, her longtime coach and mentor, but explains that “I can’t keep the horses at that level of work all year and expect to have them healthy and happy.”

For now, “I do a couple of days of just really basic flatwork: walk, trot, canter, stretching stuff. We hack about once a week; they go on the Aquatread [equine water treadmill]; they do some fitness work and ground poles; and I am just trying to keep them fit. They both know their job.”

The training and competition schedule of an international Grand Prix horse is developed so meticulously that Lyle’s entire plan has to be redone.

“Everything was built around Tokyo going backwards,” she says.

“We’ve just got to sit down with a new calendar and decide when we start really building them up.”

A major part of that calendar, of course, is US Equestrian’s list of qualifying and selection criteria and the associated competition dates—which at press time had not yet been issued for the rescheduled Tokyo Games. Therefore, says Lyle, “I think we have to wait and see what the qualifying criteria says.

We don’t know if it’s the same [as for the originally scheduled 2020 Games], but I’m willing to wait until it’s published, and then we decide what we want to do.”

Horses being notoriously unpredictable partners, “riders are people who are used to things not going as

planned,” Lyle says pragmatically.

“Everyone is already setting their sights on new goals; then we’ll have new dreams and new challenges.”

“I think there will be” changes to the qualifying criteria for Tokyo 2021 (which has elected to retain the “Tokyo 2020” moniker), McDonald says. “I think we’re going to have to make the criteria a little bit more friendly so people can finish qualifying in case we have a little bit of a [pandemic-related] hiccup.

Then we play it by ear. We all have to assume and be prepared that it will happen. I need these people one hundred percent on board to be ready to rock and roll.”

Equine journalist Sue Weakley is a frequent contributor to USDF Connection. She most recently wrote the feature “Safe Sport: What You Need to Know” for the July/August issue.

USDF CONNECTION | September/October 2020

47

Meet the Candidates

uring the 2020 Adequan®/USDF National Convention this December, the USDF Board of Governors will elect the USDF Executive Board’s three at-large directors (ALDs). The ALDs represent the USDF Activities Council, Administrative Council, and Technical Council.

Candidates are nominated by the committees that constitute each council. The Activities Council comprises the following committees: • Adult Programs • Awards • FEI Junior/Young Rider • Regional Championships • Sport Horse • Youth Programs.

The Administrative Council comprises these committees: • Bylaws • Group Member Organizations • Historical Recognition • Membership • Nominating.

The Technical Council consists of these committees: • Competition Management • Freestyle • Instructor/Trainer • Judges • L Program • Technical Delegates.

The current Activities Council ALD, Susan Mandas, is running for reelection, as is the incumbent Technical Council ALD, Susan McKeown. Current Administrative Council ALD Kevin Bradbury is stepping down at the end of this year, and the USDF is grateful for his many years of service. Nominated to fill that seat is Barbara Cadwell.

The USDF Executive Board functions as a cohesive team and strives to further the organization’s mission and goals. For the 2020 election cycle,

the USDF Nominating Committee asked each candidate to submit a brief biography and to answer the following questions: 1. Why do you wish to run for the position of at-large director?

2. If elected, what do you wish to accomplish?

3. With so many diverse committees within your council, how will you support and represent each committee chairperson on the USDF Executive Board?

4. How has your involvement in local, regional, and national USDF activities promoted and enhanced dressage, both regionally and nationally?

The candidates’ responses follow.

Activities Council Incumbent: Susan Mandas Sue has been involved in the sport of dressage as competitor, trainer, breeder, and instructor for over 40 years.

She is a USEF “S” dressage judge, an “R” sport-horse breed judge, and a member of the USDF sport-horse faculty. A longtime member of the USDF Sport Horse Committee, she currently also serves as the Activities Council at-large director on the USDF Executive Board.

Involved with breeding warmblood sport horses for many years, Sue’s first Grand Prix horse was one she bred, raised, and trained herself, with instruction through clinics. Sue is a USDF bronze, silver, and gold medalist who has also earned the USDF silver and gold freestyle bars.

She has trained many horses to the FEI levels, winning regional-champion or reserve-champion titles at every level from Second through

48 September/October 2020 | USDF CONNECTION

Grand Prix, and several times she has made the US Equestrian Team long list. She lives in Centerville, Ohio, where she rides a young red mare, trains, and teaches.

Responses to questions: 1. I am running for Activities Council at-large director because I feel I can bring a voice to the Executive Board that represents the committees on this council.

2. I see my position as being a conduit who is informed about the activities and intent of the committees, and can represent and communicate these intentions to the Executive Board.

3. I feel I can represent each committee chair because of my involvement and experience working with them for the past seven years.

4. I have been involved with the USDF and worn many hats: longtime competitor, trainer, instructor and coach through Grand Prix, dressage and sport-horse judge, sport-horse faculty member, breeder, and member since the organization’s creation.

I have witnessed the tremendous impact USDF has had on the growth and development of dressage in this country, and I am happy and proud to be a part of its governance!

Administrative Council

Nominee: Barbara Cadwell I attended my first dressage show as a spectator in 1963.

Bodo Hangen had just come to this country, and Kay Meredith was riding Blue Jay. My mother, Anne L. Barlow Ramsay, and I decided that this was something we could do together. Little did we know!

We started taking lessons together,

COURTESY OF SUSAN MANDAS; COURTESY OF BARBARA CADWELL

D

Get to know who’s nominated for USDF Executive Board office this year

and eventually my mother bought a horse, Luke. We took him to some shows, and we did not do very well, but we weren’t very good riders. We kept at it, though, and my mother bought another horse, Czardaska, whose USDF number was 39. We were active with the Illinois Dressage and Combined Training Association.

My mother moved to Flourtown, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia, where she got to know Ellin Dixon Miller. I moved to Milwaukee and became active in the Wisconsin Dressage and Combined Training Association.

I attended my first USDF annual meeting while Ellin was the USDF secretary. I think that I have attended almost every meeting since then.

While Mother lived in Flourtown, we routinely volunteered as scribes at Dressage at Devon. One year a friend brought her niece, Patti Becker. The rest is history. Patti became a working student at Tempel Farms in Illinois, and she rode several horses that we either bred or bought for her. She is currently riding Freedom at Grand Prix and Huey at Third Level.

In the meantime, Patti found Fridjoff for me. At that point, Fridjoff was 16 and it was clear that he was not going to be competitive at Grand Prix.

He was, however, perfect for me. He was incredibly safe, a lot of fun, taught me a lot, and carted me around for my USDF bronze and silver medals.

In 1988 I moved to northern Wisconsin, purchased 280 acres from the Farmer’s Home Administration, and started breeding horses at Annie B Farm, along with my mother. I stayed there until 2013, when I moved to Fernandina Beach, Florida. My breeding and young stock are in Ocala, and the performance horses are in Wisconsin at Fireside Farm in the summer and Wellington, Florida, in the winter.

During all this time, I was active with the USDF. I have served on the Group Member Organizations Committee, the Bylaws Committee, and the Nominating Committee. I have served

in leadership positions in GMOs and as participating-member delegate for Regions 2 and 3. My mother was on the Historical Recognition Committee, and I worked with her on that. I have been active in debates. Thus, I have been actively involved with most of the committees that I will be working with as at-large director.

I believe that the USDF’s new relationship with US Equestrian (USEF) must be reinforced and supported. The USEF is increasingly delegating its supervisory responsibilities to the USDF. The USEF is no longer revising tests over which a bunch of really smart and knowledgeable people have sweat blood. The USDF is now responsible for training and testing our national dressage judges. The USEF has recognized the USDF as the dressage authority. The USDF (i.e., the Board of Governors, or BOG) must accept that responsibility. I believe this is an opportunity to revitalize the USDF. We are going to have increased input into and authority over our sport. We must accept that authority by becoming actively involved in the BOG, the committees, our GMOs, and the USDF.

Technical Council Incumbent: Susan McKeown I have been involved with dressage for over 40 years, first as a competitor and then as a competition secretary and manager.

I earned my bronze, silver, and gold medals on my two Swedish Warmbloods, and I truly enjoyed all aspects of training and showing as an adult amateur. I have been a secretary and/or manager for more than 100 shows in the New England area, as well as manager of the 2019 Great American Insurance Group/USDF Region 8 Dressage Championships and assistant show secretary for the US Dressage Finals.

I got involved with USDF first as a participating-member delegate and then as a member and later chair of the Competition Management Committee. I am a member of the USEF Competitions Working Group of the US Equestrian Dressage Sport Committee. I have served one three-year term as the USDF Technical Council at-large director. I truly enjoy the dressage community, and you have given me such wonderful support, in both my personal and riding life!

Responses to questions: 1. I want to help and to be part of the future direction of dressage in the United States. I think the way to do that is to represent the committees that are part of the Technical Council on the Executive Board, but also to bring my varied expertise in management and strategic planning to the board.

2. I would like to continue to see more shows across the US be well run and managed, and bring the ideas and practices of one area to the visibility of other areas. This would include focusing on meeting the needs of competitors, officials, show management, and the USDF and USEF. With the challenges of COVID-19, this is even more important today.

3. Listening to each committee and understanding their issues would be key. I would attend as many of their conference calls and meetings as possible, and discuss with the chairperson any specific concerns they would want taken to the other councils and to the Executive Board.

4. I have managed and been secretary for more than 100 recognized dressage shows in the New England area and in Virginia. As chair of the USDF Competition Management Committee, I have organized and helped to teach training sessions at USDF conventions. And I have volunteered at many schooling shows in our region to encourage growth in dressage, starting from the lowest levels.

USDF CONNECTION | September/October 2020

49

Tack Shop New Products: Pandemic Edition From riding-friendly masks to help for your dry, dry hands, we’ve got you covered

Mask up, Your Way By now you surely own at least one face mask, and you may be seeking alternatives. Here are two models from the well-known equine-products manufacturer Equifit.

Or if you prefer a gaiter-style neck wrap that can be pulled up over your nose and mouth, there’s the Equifit AgSilver Face Wrap (not pictured), made of two layers of moisture-wicking woven mesh with antimicrobial silver and UPF 50+ sun protection, a foam nose piece with double wire for a secure fit, and a hook-and-loop neck closure.

Learn more: Equifit.net.

Italian Saddle Design Italy is known for beautiful design and fabulous leather goods.

Now Italy’s Erreplus Saddlery has launched its dressage and jumping saddles in the US.

A Solution That Sticks

The Essential 3-Ply Face Mask with AgSilver (above) features an inner layer of Equifit’s antimicrobial AgSilver. Made of hand-washable dual-layer cotton, it has customizable tie closures, a pocket that accommodates a filter, and a padded nose piece with wire for a secure fit.

For those who want a more breathable, riding-helmet-friendly mask, Equifit created the AgSilver SportMask (below), which has a hook-and-loop back-of-the-neck closure. It’s made from a blend of cotton woven with antimicrobial silver, recycled fabric, and air mesh for lighter weight and breathability.

The 1996 US Olympic eventing team silver medalist Jill Henneberg designed Correct Connect, a rein-andglove system that eliminates the common problem of the reins slipping through the rider’s fingers, along with the rider’s arms and elbows becoming stiff as a result of gripping.

The Correct Connect gloves have hook-and-loop fastener on the lower fingers and upper palms, and the leather Correct Connect reins (in brown, black, or rainbow) are covered with black hook-and-loop fastener. Put on the gloves, grasp the reins at the desired length, and ride.

Eventually you’ll learn how to hold the reins securely without tensing your arms, but until then Correct Connect is there to help you get the right feel.

Learn more: RideCorrectConnect.com.

50 September/October 2020 | USDF CONNECTION

Designer Roberto Rasia’s saddles feature thermo-adjustable trees for optimal fit maintenance, and the tree fronts are opened outward to increase comfort for the modern sport horse and are designed to fit horses with regular to prominent shoulders. Narrowed twists, additional seat padding, and strategically placed seat-bone depressions enhance rider comfort and position.

Erreplus offers four jumping models and five dressage models, each available in three seat sizes and nine adjustable tree sizes.

The saddles were created in collaboration with professional riders, amateurs, and veterinarians from around the world. Pictured is the Vittoria monoflap saddle, which can be ordered with a deep or open seat and with a standard panel or an SL (short) panel for greater freedom for the most muscular and pronounced shoulders.

Learn more: Erreplus.com.

NextGen Whole-Foods Supplements Whole-foods supplement innovator BioStar US has updated its flagship Optimum EQ line of multivitamin and mineral supplements for horses.

According to BioStar founder and formulator Tigger Montague, an equine nutritionist and longtime dressage rider, today’s feeds and forage are more deficient than when the original Optimum EQ supplements were introduced in 2007. With ingredients including spirulina, sprouted seeds, vegetables, nuts, yeast, and fruit, Optimum EQ 2.0 (pictured) and Optimum EQ 2.0 Senior Formula provide vitamins and minerals to adult and senior

horses from a healthy pasture or hay grown in healthy soil. The Senior formula adds herbs and probiotics to help older horses manage stress, maintain weight, and digest fiber for less “hay belly.”

Learn more: BioStarUS.com.

Complete Protection for Hard-Working Hands You’re washing your hands and using sanitizers like crazy—necessary moves in this pandemic era, but ones that also make your skin feel like sandpaper, not to mention stripping away any sunscreen you may have applied. So why aren’t there any hand lotions with SPF built right in, so you can boost sun protection while you moisturize?

Now there is. Not just a cosmetic moisturizer, Gloves in a Bottle SPF 15 is a shielding lotion that bonds with the outer layer of skin cells to help skin retain natural oils and moisture while protecting against

harsh soaps and other irritants.

Gloves in a Bottle SPF 15’s natural botanical formula is hypoallergenic, nongreasy, fastabsorbing, and free of parabens and other chemicals.

Learn more: GlovesInABottle. com.

“Tack Shop” contains notices of new products judged to be of potential interest to USDF members. Information and images are supplied by manufacturers.

Inclusion of an item does not constitute an endorsement or a product review.

USDF Cap – $19.95 USDF Dressage Definition T-Shirt – $19.95 AVAILABLE UNISEX S-XXL

order online at

www.usdf.org/store USDF CONNECTION | September/October 2020

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54 September/October 2020 | USDF CONNECTION

Dressage

Brings

2018 A DEQUAN ®/USDF C ONVENTION P REV

USDF CONNECTION U S D F. O R G

Sneak Peek: New USDF Freestyle Tests

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USDF CONNECTION ECT CSPECIAL TIO IO ON N Sport-Horse Issue U S D F. O R G

Official Publication of the United States Dressage Federation

Does That Foal Have FEI Potential? (p. 24)

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YOUTH ISSUE

Sport-Horse Conditioning Tips from Dr. Hilary Clayton (p. 12)

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USD F CON NECCT CTTIO IO IO WW

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55

My Dressage Horse Showing in a COVID-19 World A dressage technical delegate shares her experience

By Michelle King

SMILING EYES: The writer, happy to be back at work as a dressage technical delegate after the coronavirus competition suspensions

During the coronavirus shutdowns, I participated in the USEF webinars on how to return to competition, and I delved into USEF’s online COVID-19 resources. I was well aware that that putting on a horse show in today’s world was going to be harder and more time-consuming than in the past. But I was still a bit surprised at just how much more complicated things have become.

The show manager and I had several phone conversations to review the procedures for implementing the requirements mandated by the USEF COVID-19 Action Plan. Had show

management completed the World Health Organization’s Risk Assessment Tool, and what was the result? What did their state and county say about holding an event of this type and size?

How had the stabling plan been modified to encourage social distancing?

What were the plans for obtaining waivers and temperature checks? How would judges and scribes interact?

How would results be posted?

In addition to the required accident and isolation plans, shows now also need to prepare COVID-19 emergency plans and to train staffers, licensed officials, and volunteers on those plans. Cleaning and sanitizing supplies must be procured, literally by the gallon. And on and on.

When show day finally arrived, the first and most obvious change was that we were all wearing masks.

Was it comfortable? No. But the wearing of masks is a price people are willing to pay to attend a show.

Food was limited. There was no paper score board; results were published electronically. We asked each group to designate one person to pick up everyone’s tests.

The show was a success, and I left with three takeaways: Be flexible, show appreciation, and be kind.

Flexibility is critical because each competition is unique in terms of size, space, and venue. While the USEF Action Plan sets minimum requirements, and the USEF and USDF (as well as many states) have developed best-practice guides, the way that each show implements these requirements will vary greatly.

What works for a one-ring show may be inappropriate or impractical if there are three or four rings. A boarding facility that hosts a show will have a different set of rules than

56 September/October 2020 | USDF CONNECTION

a stand-alone show grounds. The amount of available stabling will affect which modifications to normal stabling plans are feasible.

The outpouring of appreciation from the competitors made all the time and energy we expended well worth it. Never before have I been thanked so profusely for doing my job at a show. The competitors were clearly aware of how much effort and planning it took to hold the show, and they were grateful to all involved for making it happen.

Kindness—can we ever have enough of it in these crazy times? We need to be there for one another and to support the sport we all feel so passionate about. If you’re ready to compete, great; show management will be thrilled to get your entry. If you’re not competing right now but feel comfortable getting out there, please volunteer.

Now, more than ever, volunteers are critical if our shows are to succeed.

What if you’re not ready to get out yet?

That’s OK, too, but why not contact your GMO and see what you can do to support them from behind the scenes, working from home? It really will take everyone stepping up to do their part, whatever that may look like, to keep dressage flourishing in the challenging times ahead.

Michelle King, of Purcellville, Virginia, is a US Equestrian “r” dressage technical delegate. She is the Region 1 representative to the USDF Technical Delegates Committee, vice-chair of the USDF Rules Advisory Working Group, and a member of the USEF Dressage Sport Committee’s Rules Working Group. She is also the vice president of the Virginia Dressage Association.

COURTESY OF MICHELLE KING

M

any people have asked what horse shows will look like in our pandemiccreated “new normal.” I worked as a dressage technical delegate at a US Equestrian-licensed/USDFrecognized competition the first weekend in June—one of the first licensed dressage shows in the country to take place after the USEF/ USDF coronavirus suspension expired. Here are my thoughts and observations based on that experience.

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