2002 Northeast Junior/Young Rider Dressage Championships

Marissa Toomey, Double-Gold Medalist Wins Trip To Germany

One rider who made several trips to the podium was 15-year-old Marissa Toomey of Riverside, Connecticut, riding her eight-year-old Dutch warmblood, Mandela. Marissa won the Gold Medal in the Custom Saddlery Second Level Division Championship and was awarded a Custom saddle. She also won the Bates Saddlery Third Level Division Championship and received a Bates Saddle. In addition, as the Overall High Score at Second Level and Above, Marissa was awarded an all-expenses-paid trip to Germany to train for two weeks at The International Academy of Equestrian Studies in Warendorf.

"It's great," she said about winning the Gold Medals. "My horse really started coming along this year. I wasn't expecting this. I'm very happy. It's only been the past couple of months that we have really started to get together as a team."

Marissa has owned the 17-hand dark bay gelding for three years and has brought him from Training Level to Third Level. "He's very friendly around people. He's a little lazy and very patient with me."

Marissa has been riding since she was about seven years old. She trains with Lendon Gray and Brandi Hilbert, a trainer who works for Lendon at Gleneden Dressage. She has competed in the Championships all four years since the show's introduction. "I tried to follow through with this for many years. I want to do Fourth Level next year. That's my goal."

This successful young rider is a sophomore in high school and foresees a lifelong commitment to horses for her future. "I want to work with horse my whole life, but I don't know about a career." When asked if she felt she had natural talent or a gift for riding, she could only laugh, but did admit that certain parts of riding do come easy. "Some things yes, some things, no. I've been working on this for a long time."

Of her horse's performance at the show, Marissa said that Mandela did have a shining moment. "Today in Third Level he was the most collected I've ever had him. He was with me the whole time." She added that the test was also the hardest they'd ever done. "We've only recently begun to get all the movements."

She is looking forward to her upcoming trip to Germany. "It's very exciting. Again it was nothing that I'd expected. I'm absolutely thrilled to have this opportunity because I'm really interested in all that the Germans have done for dressage. Their training systems are so effective."