Some people believe in testing the dressage show waters at smaller venues before hitting a big show like The Palm Beach Dressage Derby, but not adult amateur Karen Williams. She jumped right in – and won. It was only her second dressage show ever. Williams and her partner Pikturesk earned scores in the 70s in Training Level – 72.50 percent in Training Level Test 2 and 70.90 percent in Training Level Test 3.

After spending 10 years in the eventing world, the 42-year-old St. Petersburg, Florida resident decided to give dressage a try. “I was at the point where eventing was just too much for my body. I was getting a little older and I thought it’d be nice just to do dressage,” Williams said. As her interest and skill increased, she realized that while her Thoroughbred event horse was talented enough in dressage for an event horse, he wouldn’t do so well in dressage. Hence, Williams sold him and went looking for a new partner. She found it in Pikturesk, a Hanoverian by USDF Horse of the Year Pik L, who was bred, born and raised by Horses Unlimited in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Williams trains with Melissa Jackson and she asked Jackson to help her find a new mount. They found Pikturesk at Cesar Parra’s barn last year when the horse was four. He had only been under saddle with Parra for a few months. This weekend’s Derby show was actually a bit of an anniversary for Williams and Pikturesk. “I picked him up exactly a year ago during last year’s Dressage Derby,” Williams said.

The pair’s first dressage show was last month in Venice, Florida where they won their Training Level classes with scores in the 70s and they continued earning such high scores at the Derby. “He’s been great. He’s got the best disposition. He’s got a really good brain. He’s just such fun,” Williams said. “But I’m surprised how well he did here. I figured that obviously being the Derby, competition is up a few notches and I didn’t know how it would go.”

Williams is a business analyst by day, and one serious dressage rider at night. Since she could only ride at night and her trained didn’t have lights in her ring, Williams rigged up a lamp in a tree to give herself enough light to school Pikturesk when she rode after work this winter. “When I first started riding him at night, he would jump the shadows. He didn’t know what it was. I guess he’d never been ridden at night before,” Williams said.

Fortunately for her, her husband, Danny Ditommaso, has his own business and his own interests that keep him busy several nights a week and on weekends. Hence, Williams said he doesn’t mind all the time she spends at the barn.

She’s been told that Pikturesk has the talent to make it FEI so who knows what the future holds for this pair. “I’d like to get my USDF medals, for sure the bronze. I’d like to get the silver and maybe the gold. Obviously, I’d like to try Grand Prix, but we’ll have to see what happens.”