The NAYRC has been an incredible success for Canadian David Boots. As top rider of the Canadian team from Ontario, he placed sixth in the individual rankings at the 1998 North American Young Riders' Championships. For the last five years Ontario has been striving for a team medal, have come very close, with a fourth place finish. Yet, with a promising rider like David Boots, and talented teammates Rebecca Schoenhardt, Alison Holden and Melissa "you go girl" Dust, Canada can expect a bright future for their young riders. In September, David and Karim added the title of National Young Riders' Champion, proving this combination has lot to offer for the dressage world.

A.A: Congratulations David on your National title and for the 6th place finish at the NAYRC. How was 1998 for you?
Boots: 1998 has definitely been the best year for me so far. Karim has come a long way this year and I have developed as a rider. I certainly had not expected the success I had at the NAYRC. I know Karim, and I have a good partnership with him, but I wasn't sure how successful we would be. I have certainly progressed in my training with Karim. He seems to catch on to new skills very easily, through patient work over a short period of time he is able to do the movements very well. The canter pirouettes were his weakness. They were not solid until right after the NAYRC when he seemed to just catch on to the rhythm and his muscle tone were strong enough to carry him through the movement.

A.A: Tell us about your coach.
Boots: My coach is Ute Busse who owns Sonnenhof Stables in Breslau, Ontario - about 20 minutes drive from my home. Karim is boarded there. Ute is now a Canadian citizen but emigrated to Canada with her husband and children a number of years ago. Her daughter's Tina and Sarah are both fine riders who compete as well. Ute has been very successful showing her Holsteiner gelding LaDiamo at Advanced level. Ute is a great coach because she understands the training process, can identify problems and suggest ways to capitalize on a horse's strengths and work positively to develop horse and rider.

A.A: What was the Canadian Spirit like at the NAYRC?
Boots: The NAYRC was my first international event. It was a phenomenal
experience. It's so great to get to know kids my own age from different regions in the U.S. who all share a common interest. At the NAYRC the Canadians were the team to hang out with. We had fun and were enthusiastic. Since we went down early on our own for the first week we got a bit tired of sharing a room, and each other's constant company. The girls complain about waking me up in the morning - all very untrue, of course. We had a great bunch of riders, groom, parents and coaches who supported each other. I couldn't afford to bring my coach to Colorado, but I called her a lot. We all got nervous before a ride and tried to accommodate each other's way of preparing. I would get grouchy and our groom, Gillian Duke, knew how to keep me in line.

A.A: Did the Vesicular Stomatitis affect the plans of the Canadians in coming to the NAYRC?
Boots: The Canadian Ministry of Agriculture was very strict about preventing the spread of the disease across the border. At first, our team decided we couldn't participate in the NAYRC. Since this would be the final opportunity for two of our team members we got permission from owners, parents, etc. and consulted with vets. Plan's had to be changed and quickly re-organized. It was very stressful for us and our parents. The cost would have been astronomical. We were lucky and very grateful that the show organizers were careful in maintaining a V-S free zone around the show so we would not have to endure an additional 21 day quarantine in Colorado. Our quarantine was in New York State, near Buffalo. At least we were able to ride. All the horses remained healthy, thank goodness. The transport company did a fantastic job shipping the horses. I actually rode on the trailer on the way to Buffalo. The horses got a kick out of looking out the windows and behaved very well. Melissa Dust's parents let us use their motor home in Buffalo so someone could stay with the horses all the time.