The Tales Behind the Tails

Getting to Know the Dressage Riders & Their Horses

Our very own Guenter Seidel riding Aragon was pleased with his round saying “He got better and better as he went. Overall I thought it was a good test. He had problems in the piaffe which Guenter explained that Aragon reacted to the wind and got tight in his back. Those of us watching noticed his tail swishing and Guenter explained that when he gets tight in the back he starts swishing his tail. He finished 14th in the standings (70.270%).

U.S. Teammate Robert Dover and Kennedy were spectacular and Dover explained that “everyday I learn from my horse how much I have in him.” He went on to say that in the Grand Prix he’d done two days earlier he overschooled his horse not knowing what to expect and then realized he didn’t have as much horse as he wanted in the ring. So this time he just walked around a bit. And it paid off when he finished 6th overall (72.833%).

Finally our third team member went in and showed that our dressage team is consistently strong. Debbie McDonald rode Brentina to a wonderful ride and stood 4th overall (74.067%). Debbie explained that she had a couple of bobbles in the transitions but not bad. She further added, “She’s not as big a mover as some of the other horses but we try to show what we can do. Debbie added that she’s got one more day and “I’m not going down without a fight.

So, there you have it. The scores I included above are the combined total score after completing the first two Dressage Tests: The Individual Grand Prix First Qualifier and the Grand Prix Special. There’s other reports on this site that will give you the complete report.

In the meantime, feel free to email me with your questions or comments. Put the words Horsesdaily in the subject line and email dderosa1@optonline.net.