Dressage in the Rockies Profile
Shannon Dahmer Knows How to Have Fun - page 2
By Diana Hunt for HorsesDaily.com

Dahmer has worn a fluffy pink prom dress as Christine while she and her horse danced to music from Phantom of the Opera; she has been Elvis, wore a poodle skirt to the music from Grease, did a pas de deux with another rider as two Surfer Girls and two Biker Babes in leather jackets. As a result, other riders in the area started to think and act outside of the “dressage box” as well.

“Competition freestyle can be fun, too, she said. “I did one to Grease and the judges loved it because the music was familiar. I figure if we want our sport to have more spectators, you’ve got to play to the crowd a little bit.”

But Dahmer is a serious rider and student of dressage. She trailers her horses from her home on the Western Slope of Colorado each spring to work with Hilda Gurney in California for six weeks. She clinics with Kathleen Raine when she comes to the area, as well as with Jessica Ransehousen and others when she gets the chance. She studied with Ransehousen. in 1999 for eight weeks, but found it too far to haul back east on a regular basis. Locally she works with Janet Hannon when she can get over the mountain pass to Denver.

Her current Prix St.Georges ride is a dark bay Holsteiner named Congo.

HorsesDaily Coverage of 2003 Dressage in the Rockies