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| Day 1 of clinic |
The clinic and show had lots of great lectures. On the first day
of the clinic we had a lunch lecture with Vanessa Gesierich-Voltman on horse shopping in
Europe. One of the most important things I learned from the clinic is to find
someone you know well and trust, and a person that knows the area of
Europe you are shopping in. I hope to use this new found knowledge one day
horse shopping in Europe. I also got to learn interesting new things about the
shipment and quarantine processes. On the second day of the clinic we had a
lunch lecture with Dr. Jeff Bunn on hooves. I gained more knowledge on how the
hooves work, and on some unfortunate hoof problems such a laminitis and
founder. I felt this lecture was very helpful to help me understand more what
goes on in the hoof, especially because Absolute has problems in his front
hooves. On the last day of the clinic we had a dinner lecture with Ken Braddock
of Dressage-News.com. This was one of my favorites; it was a cool look into the
world of high performance dressage. I loved hearing the experiences of being a
journalist for all the top dressage events. I also enjoyed
his opinion on youth dressage in America.
The Youth Dressage Festival didn't go quite as
well as the clinic but Iworked through the bumps. Despite the down falls in the
canter work I was very impressed with the progression absolute has
made in the trot work and the scores showed. We placed 6th overall in our
division with a 5th in equitation, and 4th in the written test. I am also
honored to have been awarded the Sportsmanship Award. Plus I tied for first in
the Turn out division. I was happy that my friend Nicole Gallant got
the upper end of the tie and won the Turnout Award. Also
new friend Katelyn Mosle was Overall grand champion,
and friend Madelyn Guthrie was Reserve overall champion.
Congrats to everyone who was successful at the show!
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| Group picture after the awards ceremony |
Finally I would like to thank all the people who made the EDAP Clinic
and Youth Dressage Festival possible. Thank you to Kim Boyer for donating
your gorgeous facility. Also, thank you to Fred Boyer for
the wonderful healthy and delicious food. A big thank you
to the organizers Marilyn Fahringer, Lyn Kendall, Joan Mack, Mary Herbst, and
Jodey. Thank you to the judges, speakers, and commentators Marilyn Griffin,
Bernadette Radke, Rhianna Pankhurst, Ken Braddock, Vanessa Gesierich-Voltman,
Andrea Landis, Dr. Bunn, and Rosalind Kinstler. Finally, a big thank to Lendon
Gray and Dressage4kids. Dressasge4kids, run by Lendon Gray, has many amazing
programs like the EDAP Clinics and Youth Dressage Festivals. I strongly
encourage you to visit their website and participate in their multiple youth
programs. Another huge thank you for everyone who supported this year’s
EDAP Clinic and Youth Dressage Festival, it is by far one of my favorite
experiences of the year.
