Suzanne Dansby-Phelps

World Equestrian Games Team Experience

After their sixth place finish at the 2006 USEF Dressage Festival of Champions, Suzanne Dansby-Phelps and Cooper earned their spot as an alternate to the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games Dressage Team short list. It had been a tough year for Suzanne, with three deaths in her family, yet she managed to continue to excel with the enormous Holsteiner gelding noted for his huge passage.

Spending the summer in Germany as a prospective team member for the WEG, Suzanne lived a dream. She had to remind herself to remain realistic about the possible outcomes. “I had to prepare myself for disappointment so as not to react negatively if things didn’t turn out the way I wished.”

“Sure, I wanted to make the team as much as any one else! Instead of dwelling on my own defeat, I focused on supporting my fellow prospective team members and being there as a representative of our country…We were together practically 24 hours a day, with daily training sessions at the Balkenhol’s beautiful farm, and on the road at horse shows and in hotels. It was just like we were a family—a bunch of brothers and sisters, and at times, literally! There were some pretty tense moments, and lots of laughs, too.