2011 – What a Year

Now that it’s all over but the Christmas shopping, I thought I would wrap up 2011 with a big tip of the baseball cap to my many clients who enjoyed success this year. To be truthful, what really motivated me to post today was the receipt of the press release announcing the incredible results of the Canadian Para Dressage Team in Portugal. My three Canadian para-peeps won just about everything they could, including the Grade Ib, II and IV freestyles! They also won team gold, which moves them one giant step closer to London 2012.

And speaking of things that begin with ‘P’, the Pan Am Games were another exciting Applause moment in 2011. While not all my clients from seven (yes, seven!) countries made it into the freestyle, four of them made me a very proud spectator in the stands. Tom Dvorak was fourth, Crystal Kroetch sixth, Brazil’s Mauro Pereira ninth and Mexico’s Omar Zayrik was fourteenth. Thanks guys, it was a great time in Mexico because of  you!

Applause clients had some great results at NAJYRC this summer, highlighted by Sarah Loewen’s and Monica Houweling’s gold and silver Jr. freestyle medals. Thumbs up to all the young talents who took Applause freestyles to Lexington this summer – and for those who didn’t get to ride the freestyle, there is always next year!

Many Applause clients had success at provincial and regional championships and USDF year end awards – too many to list here. But kudos to all of you, from First Level to Grand Prix.

I met some wonderful people and horses, and visited several new communities (yes, I still want to move to Medford, OR) with my clinics, which continue to be a source of inspiration and gratification for me. It’s also exciting to see old friends who have moved up the levels and still include freestyles in their show plans. Working with riders and horses in person helps me keep it ‘real’, and that is one thing I think that sets me apart as a freestyle designer. My ‘anything is worth considering’ attitude toward music also keeps me constantly looking at new artists and genres for freestyles. I may not feel like writing articles some days (and I never feel like doing house work).  When I don’t want to do any kind of work at all, there is one thing I always enjoy doing as displacement activity – trolling itunes for new music ideas. See, Steve Jobs touched us all, didn’t he? His  impact even reaches our funny little corner in the world of dressage freestyles.

I’m very much looking forward to 2012, where I hope to see clients again represent Applause Dressage at the Olympics, NAJYRC, regional, provincial and national championships. Thanks for a great year everyone. You make me proud, and you make me love my job.

All the best of the season to you and my wishes for a new year full of music and dancing.

 

 

Warm in Michigan!

Normally I give a clinic in Michigan every fall around Halloween, on my way back home to the west coast from the Global Dressage Forum in Holland. This year I had to miss the GDF because I was at the Pan Am Games in Mexico, and MI isn’t exactly on the way. I was relieved to arrive roughly two weeks later than usual to find warm weather instead of the dreaded snow that I feared would have set in already. It was my seventh clinic in MI (thank you Gail Anderson, you are a crack clinic organizer – the efficiency of a military commander delivered with the sweetness of  a favourite auntie), and I was delighted to know my popularity there is not waning. The clinic was expanded to three days to make room for a few more riders, and there was still a waiting list. Michigan riders like to dance!

I saw some very nice horses and some really cut Morgans, but I have to say the most memorable new participant I met was a dog trainer named Brenda who kept me in stitches all weekend. There is nothing so refreshing as someone with a healthy sense of irony and a willingness to turn it on herself. I hope Brenda comes to every clinic in MI I ever give.

I’m off to Fresno this weekend – a new place and new faces for me, and the weather forecast is looking friendly, thank goodness. I know central CA can be a blowy cold place at this time of year so it’s nice to see those warm temperatures on the Weather Network forecast. I’m looking forward to seeing how the Fresno folks enjoy dancing with their horses.

In other news, I’ve been hearing all kinds of good news stories about clients doing well at Regionals. If you are my client and you have good results to share, please send me an email and a photo if you have one so that I can share the news on my website.

 

 

 

Hello freestyle world!

After writing a horsey blog on www.Horse-Canada.com for the past several years, I finally had a light bulb moment and realized I ought to be blogging about my work in the wonderful world of dressage freestyles. The switch was flipped at a clinic I gave in Medford, OR last weekend. I had not been there before and I met a group of really fun people and some very special horses. I was reminded that the human element is a major part of why I find my work so gratifying. I’ve decided it’s high time to share some of my experiences with my clients around the world, and with new people who go to my website out of curiosity or because they are shopping for a freestyle designer.

Next week I will be traveling to the Pan Am Games to do my journalist thing, but also to watch a sizeable group of clients from Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Honduras and Venezuela compete and (I hope) qualify for the individual final where they will show off their Applause Dressage freestyles. Watch this space for news!

Me with my wonderful wiener, Chorizo