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Dressage at Devon Perpetual Trophy

In addition to the trophies that are awarded annually by AHS through its comprehensive awards program, AHS is also associated with one of the most coveted trophies awarded each September at Dressage at Devon. Based at the show grounds in Devon , Pennsylvania , Dressage at Devon , or “DAD” as it is fondly known, has grown in stature each year since its inception in 1975. Incorporating four days of breed classes in conjunction with one of this nation’s premier dressage events, DAD is now the most prestigious event of its kind in North America and presents the largest breed show in the western hemisphere.

Each year during the last week of September, breeders large and small from all corners of North America descend upon Devon ’s show grounds for three days of exciting and intense breed competition. In 1990, Priscilla Hanford, then AHS vice president, generously commissioned a beautiful bronze of a Hanoverian mare accompanied by an equally exquisite foal to be presented as a perpetual trophy at Devon . This unique work of art created by artist Karin Natsch Leary is entitled “American Hanoverians” and was first awarded in 1992.

The Dressage at Devon American Hanoverian Society trophy is awarded to the highest placing eligible Hanoverian horse in the open breed classes. A word of explanation may be helpful here. An eligible Hanoverian is one that has been either registered by AHS or is a foreign Hanoverian that has been recorded by AHS. In addition the owner of the horse must be a current-year AHS member. The trophy is not necessarily awarded to the Hanoverian horse that attains the highest percentage score during the show, but rather it is awarded to the horse that advances furthest through the first two days of competition (the third day is devoted to Individual Breed Classes). The breed classes are initially divided by age and gender. The winners and reserves of the young horse classes then advance to either the Filly Championship or the Colt Championship which results in the naming of the Champion and Reserve Young Horse Champion of the show.

Concurrently the older horses compete for entry to either the Mare Championship or the Stallion Championship. In head to head competition a team of judges chooses the Champion and Reserve Mature Horse Champion who then compete directly against the two winners from the Young Horse Championship. In a culminating event these four horses (not necessarily Hanoverians) compete against each other for the undisputed title of Grand Champion at Dressage at Devon , the most prestigious honor of its kind.

As stated earlier, the American Hanoverian Society’s DAD trophy is awarded annually to the Hanoverian horse that places highest in the breed show. On a number of occasions a Hanoverian horse has won the ultimate title of Grand Champion, the most recent being Hilton Farm’s Elite Stallion Liberty Gold (Londonderry-Walida/Weltmeyer).

The trophy is lodged safely with Devon show management. The following list of annual winners includes some of the most prominent names in the modern American Hanoverian breed, including four, SPS Wintersong, EM Berlina, EM Capricia and Liberty Gold that were named Dressage at Devon Grand Champion.

Dressage at Devon Perpetual Trophy Recipients

2006 Selten HW 
 

©2006 Terri Miller

(Sandro Hit-SPS High Princess/ Hohenstein)
Owner/Breeder:
Irene Hoeflich-Wiederhold,
Fla.

Hi Irene,

thank you so much for importing my Ramina, such a lovely mare!  She did SO well at the Hanoverian inspections.  There were 4 mares in the performance test.  During the under saddle test, I kept looking around and wondering if everyone else saw what I did: Ramina COMPLETELY outclassed the other 3 mares.  At the end, she was indeed the champion, and outscored the others by a huge margin.  This is the second year in a row that one of your horses was the Florida AHS champion, so HUGE congratulations to you too.  

Her performance test score was 7.4, with two 6.5s on her jumping (the judges commented she was very game, and clearly tried her heart out in anything she was asked to do.  Not too bad for a mare with impeccable dressage bloodlines!).  Her ridability score was 8.5! Actually, Maya said the judges were a lot pickier than last year, but I totally can't complain about her wonderful scores.  

So now she is home, and her main job is to cope with ME.  I'm having a super, super time with her. And speaking of HUGE CONGRATULATIONS, well, the same to you on your stallion at Devon .  WOW-EEE -- an 85.6% in the 2 year old class, AND Colt Champion AND 2nd in the Grand Championship???!!!  Do you think he and Ramina would make nice babies???  What are your plans him? Irene, thank you again for bringing me such a lovely horse.  And DO let me know your plans for Selten HW!

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Best Jill

 
Phelps Equine World - News

Posted, February 1. 2007

Young Horse Training Symposium with Scott Hassler
by Gigha Steinman, River Oaks Farm

Jacksonville Equestrian Center Host to the AHS Young Horse Clinic

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The Jacksonville Equestrian Center was a very nice facility, and the symposium was well organized and enjoyable, in spite of the unusually cold Florida weather.

Because these things are not possible without organizers and sponsors, special thanks should be given to the American Hanoverian Society (www.hanoverian.org), and the sponsors: Euro-Horses USA, LLC; Farnam; HorsesDaily.com; Horses Unlimited; Immunall; Intervet; Leatherdale Farms; Lucchetti Ranch; Mary Phelps, Markel Insurance; Marydell Farm; Merial; Riverland Farm; Rolling Stone Farm; Barbara Schmidt, DVM / Bridlewood Farm; Stargate Sport Horses; StarQuarry Farm; Sullivan Farm Hanoverians, LLC; and Wrangler.

PhelpsPhoto: Ramina by Regazzoni out of Ratina x Ravallo owned by Jill Peterson, ridden by Maya Sniadecky

 

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After Faulkner was selected in 2006 to attend a young horse symposium in Wellington , another horse imported by HW Farm was selected for the 2007 young horse symposium in Jacksonville :-)

 To my horsie friends:  

I am so excited that my trainer Maya and my mare Ramina HW have been accepted to be in the young horse symposium with Scott Hassler at the American Hanoverian Society meeting. Scott is the USEF young horse coach, so it should be pretty spectacular. The symposium will be at the Jacksonville Equestrian center on January 27th from 9:00 to 5:00 pm, and will feature 3,4, 5 and 6 year old Hanoverians with 3 in each age  group.  Scott will coach each horse individually.  Since Ramina HW  is 5 years old in 2006, I assume she will go in the afternoon session. I think it will be really interesting, and I'm looking forward to a fun day of total horse immersion.Hope you can come keep me company!

Jill Peterson

 

DressageDaily.com - For people with a passion for Dressage.
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Monday, December 11, 2006

HW Farm, Cape Coral, Florida
Breeding and Brokering Top German Bloodlines

It’s a family affair for Irene Hoeflich-Wiederhold , who together with devoted husband of over 20 years, Roger, is a go-getter “Who functions as the never getting tired manure disposal expert, sexy horse hauler, and helper in all situations” and children, Vivienne and Dain managing their farm and breeding facility in Cape Coral Florida.

At Dressage at Devon her own Selten HW (Sandro Hit) who won the Reserve Grand Champion, the USDF Breeders Cup, The USDF Breeders Champion for Colts and Geldings, Champion Winner of two-year-old Colts and Geldings, Best Born in the USA and High Point Hanoverian. Also victorious was one of her sales horses, Amanda Bailey’s Faulkner, who won the FEI Four Year Old Class.

Irene Hoeflich-Wiederhold of Cape Coral, FL, does not let boundaries stop here. Her influence and connections extend far beyond the U.S. borders. Originally from Germany, she has created a successful business selecting warmbloods from all over the world and selling them on her web site, often before the potential new owners even lay eyes on the horse.

Read how Irene has parlayed a talent for finding the right horse, not only for her breeding operation, but her clients into a successful family business, our newest member of HorsesDaily’s Farm listings.

HW Farm, Cape Coral, Florida

 

 

HW Farm
1110 Del Prado Blvd. South Unit B
Cape Coral, FL 33990
(239) 772-7722
Mobile (239) 340-9911
Fax (888) 818-8706
Irene@HWFarm.com
http://www.hwfarm.com

Irene Hoeflich-Wiederhold of Cape Coral, FL, does not let boundaries stop here. Her influence and connections extend far beyond the U.S. borders. Originally from Germany, she has created a successful business selecting warmbloods from all over the world and selling them on her web site, often before the potential new owners even lay eyes on the horse. “I will continue to find only the best horses, by screening many video clips and pictures every day and working with a huge network of people in Germany, who support my eyes with hands-on experience to help me pick the right horses for the U.S. market.”

 

Strong German Background Brings Contacts to USA

Irene Hoeflich-WiederholdIrene Hoeflich-Wiederhold of HW Farm in Cape Coral has “the eye” that every true horse person yearns for. Her customers have told her numerous times that she has a gift for determining what a horse will be capable of. It becomes more apparent every day as Irene’s business continues to grow and flourish. “I can just see them and know how their front end or their hind end is engaged, how they carry themselves, conformation, ride ability and character as well as other attributes are evaluated, and I can pretty much tell you if this will be a future star or if the horse is just too ‘normal’ for me to have the right to be imported and to get sold to the American market.” Today, HW Farm breeds, imports and sells quality horses, both green mounts as well as trained schoolmasters.

Irene grew up with horses. It all started when her grandfather brought her to vaulting lessons at the age of four at the Reitinstitut von Neindorf in Germany. From there, she graduated to riding under the professional eye of Roland Janson in Bruchsal, Germany. Living in Forst, Germany she was able to see, be educated and work with the Marbach Stallions that were stalled up each year for breeding purposes in her home town. This helped her to understand bloodlines and evaluate horses while learning from the best. Irene personally knows many of the stallions that are still found in the modern pedigrees and learned each day from them and other horses. What opened her eyes even more was being at a barn where the trainer was hands-on every single day and helped to explain and correct things.

 

Sales and Breeding Comes Naturally

Irene Hoeflich-Wiederhold and Daugher VivienneIn 1997, Irene made the move to the United States. A friend sent her two imported horses in training to photograph and take professional video of, in order to sell them. They were both sold just days after their arrival, as the quality and the price were exactly what the buyers expected. She then imported more and more horses for clients and also her own horses—all carefully selected. She soon started marketing them on her own web site, where they all sold very quickly after being imported. Some of them even sold directly from Germany, just off the web site, before she even got a chance to bring them to Florida. Ninety percent of the horses on her web site sell without the buyers even trying out the horses. This started a domino affect, and before she knew it her skills and competence were circulating in the industry. Her good reputation traveled quickly, mostly by word-of-mouth.

She started personally breeding on her four acres in Cape Coral in 2001 with two pregnant high-scoring States Premium broodmares, which she imported herself. One of them produced EMC Donatella HW (Don Frederico/Weltmeyer), who won all her classes as the youngest horse on the American Hanoverian Inspection in Florida and was champion mare of the day. HW Farm bred ‘Donna’ for a 2007 foal to Samarant (Sandro Hit-Bolero) in hopes of keeping these phenomenal bloodlines. Additionally, Irene imported SPS High Princess (Hohenstein/Donnerhall), a mare entered with a score of nine in the Hanoverian mare book, just two weeks before the stallion His Highness (Hohenstein-Donnerhall) was purchased for 550,000 Euro at an auction. Her mare was in foal to Sandro Hit, which was at that time not a huge name, just an upcoming young stallion and look at him today!

Picking Future Stars - Success at Dressage at Devon

“It’s great to be able to pick and try to predict the future stars. We got rewarded with the huge success that Selten HW (out of SPS High Princess) as a two-year-old had in Devon this year.”

Under the caring hands of Hilltop Farms, Selten was shown and won Reserve Grand Champion of Dressage at Devon, The USDF Breeders Champion for Colts and Geldings, Champion Winner of two-year-old Colts and Geldings, and Best Born in the USA. As an added bonus he was High Point Hanoverian—all in a day’s work for an HW Farm baby.

Another success story, and one of Irene’s proudest accomplishments, is that of Hanoverian gelding Faulkner (Friendship x Wiesenbluete). Irene imported him for his owner, Amanda Bailey after evaluating him in four 20-second video clips.

The pair recently won the FEI four-year-old class at Devon, beating out the 2006 National four-year-old champion. At a recent clinic in Florida, which was by invitation/selection only, Scott Hassler told Faulkner’s owner that he just loved her horse. A few months ago Faulkner placed third after impressing a panel of discriminating judges at the USEF Markel Young Horse Championships. They qualified for the Young Horse Championships at their second show with an impressive 8.36.

 

It's A Family Affair - And the Horses Keep Coming!

It’s a family affair at HW Farm. Irene’s devoted husband of over 20 years, Roger, is a go-getter that helps with all aspects of the business. Children, Vivienne and Dain also invest lots of time in the farm and the horses. “In the end, HW Farm would not run as seamless and excellent without all their support.”

This spring, Irene imported a Reggazoni mare and 14-year-old Vivienne collected the ribbons with her. Ramina HW sold to a discriminating rider and breeder who brought her to the Florida American Hanoverian Society inspection this year where she won the mare performance test with phenomenal scores. This is the second year in a row that HW Farm presented the winner for the Florida AHS Inspection—an outstanding task.

“For being a new breeder and now professional broker and importer of horses, this was quite a success, not to forget many, many others who are not mentioned here by name, which I imported and are winning their titles and ribbons right now. I will continue to find only the best horses, by screening many video clips and pictures every day and working with a huge network of people in Germany, who support my eyes with hands-on experience to help me pick the right horses for the U.S. market. It is very hard to find outstanding quality, it always was and it’s not getting easier, but with more experience and each new horse, I am getting pickier and pickier, and only the best will be good enough to come here or to get bred at my barn.”

Happy Customers and Happy Horses

Sound confident? It should; Irene knows her stuff and has proven it time and time again. Multiple satisfied customers have purchased horses from Irene based solely on her professional opinion, without even laying their own eyes on them before they write the check. A great example of that total satisfaction and trust would be customer Anne Schmidt.

“I recently bought a horse (Cheenook HW) from Irene after seeing a clip of him on the Internet. He was such a special horse, there was a lot of competition to buy him, so I ended up purchasing him sight unseen—from the clip. I am impressed by him daily. Not only does he have outstanding gaits; he also has an incredible brain. I have yet to meet another horse with such a super mind paired with those gaits. Irene was honest about his training level and temperament. I couldn’t be happier.”

Irene recently invested in an additional 31-acre property and built a new barn and a covered riding arena. She currently has five horses on her property with another five or so out for training. With a brand new facility and expert resources in Germany, HW Farm has nowhere to go but up. “Give it another 1-2 years and there will be lots of horses out there competing from HW Farm.”

“I’d like to let people know, that they can trust my eyes and that I have many customers buying horses sight unseen from me and that they are thrilled with their horses.” Many customers have even told her the horses worked out even better than they had expected.

Check out the HW Farm testimonials and newsflash on their web site at HWfarm.com. Selected Top Quality Horses - always at a fair price – We believe in making dreams come true.

Ooops, they did it again! At the Fort Myers December show, EMC Donatella HW and Vivienne Wiederhold were again just wonderful to watch. A match made in heaven. A well behaved, super moving young mare and a competitive kid out showing: They scored a first and a second place at First Level. Now it’s time to get going a little slower for them, Donna will have her foal in 3 months and recently starts showing that she will be a mom soon.

 We can hardly wait to see this baby as it is used to compete in utero already?*lol

 - Congratulations to Vivienne and Donatella! -

 

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Vivienne Wiederhold and EMC Donatella HW

(in foal to SamarantSandro Hit x Bolero - for 2007) were very successful the first weekend of November 2006: They competed against adults and professionals in their classes. Vivienne was one of the youngest riders being only 15 years old and Donna was one of the youngest mares at the show grounds, being only 4 years old. Despite these facts, they both had the highest score of the day under judge Joan Humphrey and won the High Point Championship as well as both their First Level classes with soaring scores. Way to go girl, congratulations and a huge thank you to their trainer Bob Braren as well!

Hi Irene,
I thought that i would let you know that Annie and Raon were at a horse
show this weekend and were amazing!
They got champion, first, 3 seconds, a 3rd and a 4th.
 
They work so well together and everyone admires him so much!
Thank you for such a wonderful horse!
Janet, Annie, And Raon

“GOOD  BREEDING  ALWAYS  SHOWS”  

Written by Lisa Braren. printed in SWFDA Newsletter; October 13, 2006  

Buying young horses can be worrisome and stressful.  The old horseman’s saying is certainly true: “breed the best to the best and then hope for the best”.  Breeders spend a lot of time and effort to research, ascertain and establish dominant traits and characteristics that can be hopefully passed on to the offspring of carefully selected crosses.  This is a true science.  

When a person is looking to purchase an equine partner, it is imperative, especially in this day and age, to seek out the help and advice of professionals whom you can categorically trust.  These are people – breeders, trainers, brokers -  who have outstanding credentials with a proven track record to back up this faith.  Professionals who have just that “right eye” to be able to magically look into the future and diagnose a horse’s capabilities and potential, understand what you are looking for and your personal goals in order to make that perfect match, and who can see how these horses have been “started”, because after all, you can’t build a house on sand.  

Southwest Florida is indeed fortunate to have one of these rare individuals right in their midst.  Irene Hoeflich-Wiederhold of HW Farm in Cape Coral is certainly enjoying some well deserved accolades.  Mrs. Wiederhold imports and sells quality horses, both young and schooled, that will bring your equestrian dreams to fruition.  She also breeds her own outstanding home-bred horses and raises them for competition and sale.  The testimonials from contented clients on her website, hwfarm.com, speak for themselves, but her recent accomplishments have placed her tops at the national level.  

On Thursday, September 14, 2006,  Dressage Daily reported that Amanda Bailey and her 4 year old German bred Hannoverian gelding, Faulkner (Friendship x Wiesenbluete) placed third impressing a panel of discriminating judges at the USEF Markel Young Horse Championships.  Talk about trust – Mrs. Bailey purchased the horse from Mrs. Wiederhold as a 3 year old after viewing four twenty second video clips!  They qualified for the Young Horse Championships at their second show with an impressive 8.36!  

As if this spectacular outcome was not enough, Dressage at Devon , one of the most prestigious and admired shows in the country, began the week of September 27, 2006.  Mrs. Wiederhold received a call that her home bred 2 year old colt, Selten HW (SandroHit/Hohenstein), won the USDF Breeder’s Championship for Colts with an 85.2, the Colt and Gelding Championship, and the 2 year old Colts and Geldings class with an 85.6.  To this success was added the fabulous win and title of Reserve Grand Champion of the 2006 Devon Breed Show!  Selten HW was also dubbed “the best born in the US ” and “High Point Hannoverian”; quite a distinction to say the least.  

But still this winning streak continued.  In fact, Mrs. Wiederhold had “Double Devon success”.  Amanda Bailey and Faulkner were not scheduled to compete at Devon .  Mrs. Bailey tried to enter, but was placed on a wait list due to overbooking, which is frequently the case at these important showing events due to their popularity and prestige.  However, there were some withdrawals, so Mrs. Bailey and her horse made the twenty hour drive to Pennsylvania from Arkansas shortly after the Markel Young Horse Championships.  She and her horse, Faulkner, imported by Mrs. Wiederhold, won the USEF 4 year old test with a wopping 84.40 beating the 2006 National 4 year old Champion!  Dressage Daily reported that judges MacDonald and Froemming were pleased with the pair’s submission and scored it a 9.0, and Ms. MacDonald said that the canter work “had great uphill tendency and spring”.  The other scores were 8.8 for the canter and 8.6 for the overall impression.  

There is a bright future just over the horizon for Mrs. Wiederhold.  These successes are just from the first crop of horses that have come to age for competition.  There are many other up and coming stars on the way for 2007 and beyond!  

This is truly a story that dreams are made of.  “Cream always rises to the top” and “good breeding always shows”.  Mrs. Wiederhold deserves to be extremely proud of her accomplishments.  We are fortunate to have Mrs. Wiederhold  providing a venue for riders in the United States to find quality mounts that with proper sustained training will allow them to reach their full potential and exceed their equestrian goals…and…she’s right here in Southwest Florida !  Whether she is offering imported stock or horses born in the USA , Mrs. Wiederhold possesses that “eye”, that personal understanding and commitment to fulfilling expectations, and proven top rated quality.  

For further information, contact Mrs. Irene Hoeflich Wiederhold at www.HWfarm.com  

DressageDaily.com - For people with a passion for Dressage.
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Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Amanda Bailey's Journey to Dressage at Devon - In Her Own Words

DressageDaily is introducing a new feature this week, titled “In Their Own Words” the rest of the story behind events we cover, and the people in the news. While we are busy covering an event doing our best to bring reporting behind the scores, there is always much more to the story than the victory.

Amanda Bailey was featured in our coverage of the USEF/Markel Young Horse Championships, where she and her horse Faulkner (Hanoverian by Friendship x Wiesenbluete) placed third in the Four Year Old Division.Here she shares her journey to Dressage at Devon Pennsylvania from Jonesboro, Arkansas

After years of attending Dressage at Devon as a spectator, I was finally close to my dream of riding in the Dixon Oval. When I entered Devon months ago, it was the Four-Year-Old Test which was my goal. I decided to go ahead and enter Faulkner in the breed show classes he was eligible for (4 Year-Old Suitability and 4 and 5 yr old Materiale Colts and Geldings) as well as the Four-Year-Old Test, just because I was there and had a hard time justifying the trip for only one class. He is not eligible for the NA Breeder's Futurity class because he is an import. So, I signed up for the two breed show classes and the Four-Year-Old Test, even though the Four-Year-Old Test was really the only draw for me. I received entry confirmation of the breed show classes followed in a few days by the Four-Year-Old Test entry confirmation which said they needed a TIN (which is a SSN for prize money). So of course, I assumed everything is a go.

My husband Brian took a week off of work and bought plane tickets for him and our daughter Sophia to join us at Devon. My good friend Susan bought plane tickets, and my other really good friend Monica (from the Chicago area) made elaborate plans to join me at Devon as well. I planned on taking two days to make the trip, beginning last Saturday. On Friday afternoon, as I was running around like a maniac trying to get everything packed and ready for the trip, I happened to go through the mail. I had a letter from Devon. I opened it and to my absolute horror (that is really an understatement) it was notice that I was on the wait list for the Four-Year-Old Test. My heart sank!

I called the show secretary immediately and left a message. When she called me back, she informed me that I was second on the wait list because they were waiting for a second score. I had misread the prize list and only sent in one score. I could have, at anytime, given them any number of scores. I was not lacking in them. But because I was not notified of the error on the "entry confirmation" (which the show secretary informed me was just notification that they had received my entry form) I had no idea.

The show secretary was not very encouraging and went on to say there was no need to send another score now, because she was certain I wouldn't get in. There had been no scratches in that class thus far. My husband called her back and arranged to send a second score just in case. I was heartbroken. I cried, and cried and felt sorry for myself, and cried some more. I debated whether or not I should even make the trip for just the breed classes.

In the end, I got a grip on myself and decided that I would make the best out of the situation I was handed. I would still be riding in the Dixon Oval, a long time dream, and could hope that things would work out when I got there. So I started driving.


 
Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Amanda Bailey's Journey to Dressage at Devon - In Her Own Words

The Long and Rainy Road

I had made plans to overnight Saturday night in Ohio and Sunday night at Hilltop Farm in Maryland. It rained and rained and rained some more on Saturday. I felt like Charlie Brown with his little gray cloud following him around everywhere he went. What should have been an eight hour drive from home is Jonesboro, Arkansas, to my overnight destination, turned into over ten because of the unrelenting rain. I pulled into the farm at about 6 pm local time. As I pulled up I came upon what I thought was a booth where somebody was waiting to check health papers. Instead, it turned out to be a ticket stand for the music festival that was taking place there that whole weekend.

The guy at the ticket counter made the executive decision to put me in a stall that was as far away from the action as possible. I had to wait what seemed like forever for a stall assignment, and then they were surprised to hear that I might want shavings in the stall. After about 1/2 an hour sitting on the trailer, I finally unloaded Faulkner. I walked him around and let him eat grass for about another half hour before I was accosted by a group of obviously inebriated individuals who seemed innocent enough to begin with and wanted to "pet the horsey." In short order the petting turned into crude comments from them who had obviously never seen a male horse up close.

I immediately left the scene and put him in his stall, fed him and left. I felt horrible leaving him in such an unsettled environment. There was music blasting and people milling around. I did not sleep well that night and got up very early the next morning to get him on the road as early as possible. When I got there, he had obviously not rested well either. He trashed his stall pacing, had not eaten his dinner, and drank very little water. I left the farm before dawn.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Amanda Bailey's Journey to Dressage at Devon - In Her Own Words

Hilltop Heaven

The trip to Hilltop from Ohio should have taken about nine hours. Again, I was plagued by rain as well as one traffic back up from an accident. I pulled into Hilltop about 5:30 pm. I had never been to Hilltop Farm, and it was like driving into a dream. There were acres and acres of lush green hills dotted with horses. The main barn looks like something you would see in Europe. It was absolutely gorgeous. I was met by one of the barn workers who were friendly and helpful.

I was able to turn Faulkner out for a couple of hours in a huge pasture with a ton of grass. As I was getting the trailer cleaned out and scooping out his dinner, I looked up to check on him in the pasture. There he was, standing on the hillside underneath a beautiful rainbow. It was the first sign that things would work out. He got to strut around, stretch his legs, roll and eat grass before retiring for the night in a huge stall. I had made arrangements to stay on site at one of the guest houses where I had the pleasure of meeting Elizabeth Poulin and Melanie Pye the owner of Canaan Ranch in Texas. They were staying in the guest house as well. I ended up staying up much later than I should have, talking with the two of them.


Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Amanda Bailey's Journey to Dressage at Devon - In Her Own Words

Arriving at the Devon Show Grounds

The next day, I loaded up and made the short drive (1 1/2 hours) to Devon. When I arrived at the show grounds, located in the middle of an urban neighborhood, I discovered that there was a line of trailers which were waiting to enter and unload. Because of the cramped quarters, only a few trailers are allowed in at any given time. It was a full hour of sitting and waiting. Faulkner was going nuts in the trailer. Every minute felt like ten. I finally got to go in. Because of the "hurry up and unload so the next guy and get in" mentality, I went ahead and unloaded Faulkner into the bare 8x10 stall and threw all of my stuff into the tack stall, a much smaller space than I was expecting.

The trailers have to be parked off site at a turnpike lot about 5 miles away. When I finally got back to the show site to get shavings ordered. I got things organized and bedded Faulkner’s stall, then tacked up to ride. I was scheduled to be in the first class of the show the following day. It was the 4 Year-Old Suitability class, scheduled for 8 AM. Faulkner was excited for the first few minutes on the lunge, but then settled and I got on and had a good ride, but it was obvious that he was tired and somewhat stiff. I got him cooled out, cleaned him up and tucked him in for the night, then went to meet Brian and Sophia for dinner.

 

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Amanda Bailey's Journey to Dressage at Devon - In Her Own Words

Riding the Materiale Classes

Tuesday morning came very early. My girlfriend from Chicago, Monica, flew in the night before with her husband and 3-Year-Old daughter. She went with me to the barn at 5AM. Not only have I never ridden in a Suitability class, but I have never even seen one. I don't really know how they are conducted or what exactly it is the judge is looking for. So I felt a little like I was going to take a test I had not studied for. Luckily for me, Scott Hassler (the trainer at Hilltop and the USEF Young Horse Coach) asked if I would like some help warming up for my classes. I most enthusiastically took him up on it.

He gave me some pointers in the warm up ring and then we went in. Faulkner felt pretty good going into the ring. There were five other horses in the ring. The class took place in the Dixon Oval (which, if you haven't been there is huge). About half way through the class, it became abundantly clear to me that it was a marathon, not a sprint. I had no idea that we would be expected to stay in one gait so long. We cantered for what felt to me like ten minutes. (It was probably no more than five in reality)

We had to do sitting trot five times around the ring. After about the third round, my abs were screaming! I had not eaten well in days and rarely do more than just a few strides of sitting trot on Faulkner anyway. Here I was doing the biggest gaits I can get out of him, around and around and around. I thought I might faint. Eventually, it was all over. Faulkner was an angel, he could not have been better. He had one tiny spook at the end on one of the canters, but it was minor. Overall, he was very willing and obedient. The class was split into three groups because of the size.

We were in the first group, but we were informed that there would be a call back for the top six. I optimistically stayed in the area. After what felt like an eternity, they started calling back numbers. My number was 115. I heard what I thought was my number, but was told no, I was not in, that they were looking for 116. So, somewhat disappointed, but not crushed, I dismounted and headed back to the stall. I did not see my support group anywhere (Brian, Sophia, Monica, Tim (her husband) and Emily her daughter) I thought that was kind of strange, but then I saw Monica across the show grounds yelling and waving at me, telling me I was in. I jumped back on and rushed to the arena. There was another round of brutal marathon trot and canter sessions, and in the end, we placed sixth.

Again I checked to see if there were any scratches in the Four-Year-Old Test. There was one scratch so I had hopes that maybe just maybe, I would get in.

The next day I rode in the afternoon in the 4 and 5 yr old colt and gelding Materiale. It was an equally big class. I honestly did not expect to place just because the 5yr olds were involved, and I figured the chance of me placing against horses older than us were less. The class was conducted in much of the same manner, canter.....no keep cantering.......more.....more cantering.......are you sure we are supposed to keep cantering? In the end, we were sixth again and I was happy. Faulkner was really well behaved. Still there were no more scratches in the Four-Year-Old Test. I was the show secretary's office three times a day checking. It felt like torture and I was running out of hope.


Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Amanda Bailey's Journey to Dressage at Devon - In Her Own Words

Still Hoping For a Scratch

The next morning I got up bright and early and went to the barn with the hopes of finding a scratch. At eight o'clock the Show Secretary arrived and I was waiting for her. She shook her head no, and I left with tears in my eyes. Two and a half hours later, the announcer came on the loudspeaker and asked that I go to the show secretary's office. I rushed over and went in. She looked up and me and smiled and nodded. I predictably started to tear up. She looked at me and said "Gee, I didn't know it meant that much to you." I simply said, "I really does."

From that point on, I decided that I had nothing to lose. I was going to ride my guts out and go for it. I only gave Faulkner and myself twenty minutes of warm-up time. The rings were crowded and crazy. Scott Hassler helped to warm me up the last few minutes before my ride and I went in feeling completely relaxed and confident. Faulkner was a star. He was not in the least bit anxious or distracted. He was with me every step of the way. It felt effortless.

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Amanda Bailey's Journey to Dressage at Devon - In Her Own Words

The Pot of Gold at the End of the Rainbow

The judges liked him and scored him well. He ended up with an 8.44 and won the class. When people started coming up saying that they thought we had won, I kept saying "No, don't say that unless you know it is true." It was Mary Phelps who confirmed it for me. You could have knocked me off of my horse with a feather.

I was in complete and utter shock (and yes, of course I cried). Sweet Ellie Schobel (who won the Materiale class I was in) came up and hugged me while we were both on horseback. I went in and got our picture taken with all the stuff we won and the sponsors, and I still couldn't believe it.

Then I got to lead the victory lap. I trotted the first lap (have I mentioned before how the victory gallops scare me?) and then felt to the pressure of people from the sidelines asking us to gallop and I bravely cantered the second half. I don't think it really sunk in until the next morning when I woke up.

It has so long been a dream of mine to just be good enough to compete at Devon. Not in my wildest dreams, did I think that I would go in and actually win. It honestly, feels like the culmination of the past 7 years of hard work and the desire to be the best rider that I can be. I am so grateful to have Faulkner. He has taken me where I didn't dare to hope I could be.

 

 

Phelps Equine World - News

2006 Dressage at Devon

Amanda Bailey and Faulkner Win USEF 4-year old Test

September 29, 2006

baileyAmanda Bailey and her beautiful Hanoverian gelding Faulkner won the first class of 2006 Dressage at Devon, the USEF 4-year old test. Scoring 84.40 points for a very harmonious ride, Bailey topped the leader board and beat the 2006 National 4-year old young horse champion BW-Callista.

Judges MacDonald and Froemming were very pleased to see outstanding submission in their ride and scored it 9.0. The judges' duo especially liked the canter work. "It has great uphill tendency and spring," MacDonald said. With an 8.8 for canter and 8.6 for overall impression, Bailey and Faulkner won the class. Tami Glover and BW-Callista placed second with 83.200. The judges praised BW-Callista's light footed, elastic and well balanced trot.

For Amanda Bailey Dressage at Devon is a very special show that has been the key to her most recent successes as a dressage rider. At was at Devon that Bailey first saw her current trainer Tami Crawford ride and she was in awe by Crawford's riding skills. When she found out that Crawford was based only five hours from her home in Jonesboro, Arkansas, Bailey decided to get acquainted. It was the start of a very fruitful training partnership that eventually led Bailey to place third at the 2006 USEF/Markel National Young Horse Championships in Lexington, KY, earlier this month.

baileyThough Bailey had scheduled to compete at Dressage at Devon, she was put on the wait list due to "overbooking" of the event. Fortunately a few withdrawals gave Bailey the opportunity to make the 20-hour drive from Arkansas to Pennsylvania. Initially, Amanda came to Devon to ride in the Materiale classes with Faulkner, but on this special Devon occasion she entered the performance division as well.

On Wednesday, the combination placed sixth in the 4 and 5-year old Stallion & Gelding Materiale, which was part of the breed division, but they really rose to occasion in the performance division on Thursday in the USEF 4-year old Test. Bailey's Faulkner is a Hanoverian gelding by Friendship. She bought him from Irene Hoeflich-Wiederhold after having seen four short video clips on Hoeflich's website. It is striking to note thatwith Faulkner Hoeflich not only "produced" a winner in the young horse test, but she also presented her own bred Hanoverian Selten HW (by Sandro Hit) to win the Reserve Grand Champion's title at Devon. That is Double Devon Success for them.

 

 

Newsflash, September 26th, 2006 in Devon: Selten HW (a Sandro Hit son, bred and owned by HW Farm), just won his classes at Devon with a whopping 85.6%, this is what I am talking about. 

Dressage at Devon 2006, Selten HW was his first time at a show: He is the Reserve Grand Champion of Dressage at Devon !!! The American born Hanoverian colt is by Sandro Hit out of High Princess (by Hohenstein/Donnerhall) and was handled by Michael Bragdell. Irene Hoeflich-Wiederhold's Selten HW (www.HWfarm.com) is

Reserve Grand Champion of Dressage at Devon

The USDF Breeders Champion for Colts and Geldings

  Champion Winner of his class: 2 year old Colts and Geldings  

Best born in the USA and  

he is High Point Hanoverian!

Selten_Devon.jpg (22364 bytes)

 

 

On the 8th Sally went to Jacksonville Equestrian Center with a couple of pupils for a recognized show. Sally rode Mary Barbers horse, Fereska Figaro in Third and Fourth level tests. Having only ridden Figgy a few times she managed to pull off a 2nd place in Third 1 and a First place in Four 1. A week a so later a beautiful Champion ribbon arrived in the mail as Sally and Figgy were high score for the weekend at Fouth level. Good job Figgy! Congratulations to Sally and Mary!

Fig_jax.jpg (120277 bytes)

 

Hi guys, most of you already know this.  Faulkner and I placed third in the National Young Horse Championships this past weekend in Kentucky .  He got a phenomenal score of 8.6 and was a star.  

Here is a link to some pictures:

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AauWjFu2bNGb6  

  Amanda

Read below, what Dressage Daily had to say:

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Amanda Bailey and Faulkner Impress a Tough Judges' Panel at the USEF/Markel Young Horse Championships
By Kelly Gage for DressageDaily

Amanda Bailey, a wife and mother of a 20 month-old daughter from Jonesboro, Arkansas, proved to the nation at her first USEF/Markel Young Horse Championships 2006 that you can have your cake and eat it too. On her four year old German bred Hannoverian gelding, Faulkner (Friendship x Wiesenbluete) they took third place honors in a class of the top four-year-olds in the country.

With over 14 Grand Prix riders, and young horses coming from 21 states, the young professional not only held her own, but excelled under the critical eyes of the judging panel, consisting of Axel Steiner, Lelo Fore, and Janice Foy.

Amanda describes Faulkner as "the ride of my life", whom she purchased from HW Farm and Irene Hoeflich as a three year old after viewing just four, 20 second video clips. She had sold her 1/2 blind fourth level horse, Paladin (Graf Gottard) and was working with a limited budget. "It was a risky experience because I was operating off of complete trust." The first time she saw her new horse was when he stepped off the trailer at her four stall barn. Going from known to unknown wasn't without its challenges.

"Faulkner is a big horse for me, he can be a difficult ride due to the way he's built, but he has a fabulous mind." said Bailey. The pair persevered against odds and they qualified for the Young Horse Championships with an 8.36 in St. Louis, the pair's second show.

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Amanda Bailey and Faulkner Impress a Tough Judges' Panel at the USEF/Markel Young Horse Championships

It's a Family Affair

But behind every great horse rider combination is a team of dedicated support group. Bailey is from a state, Arkansas which is known more for Division I football than FEI dressage. In the Bailey camp it’s a family affair. The pillars of the team, her high school sweet heart and husband of ten years, (who gave the horse his moniker), her Mom, and coach and fellow mother of two, Tami Crawford. "Having a child changes everything, and competing at this level, you need a strong support from everyone, and I got that from my husband and Tami."

Growing up as a typical horse crazy kid, Bailey came to dressage late in her life while in college. Bailey originally had met Crawford after one of her yearly sojourns to Dressage at Devon, as a spectator. She saw Crawford ride and discovered that she was from Tennessee. "After I learned that she was nearby, I had to meet her, and so after Devon, I called and got to meet her." Crawford, who is located five hours from her Arkansas home, has been "simply inspirational" says Bailey, " She is the most positive happy, genuine person, sincerely cares about her students and has taught me that you can have a family and be successful as a dressage rider and competitor."

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Amanda Bailey and Faulkner Impress a Tough Judges' Panel at the USEF/Markel Young Horse Championships

The Young Horse Road to Devon

As judge Axel Steiner described each element of her presentation ticking off big scores; 8.6 for the trot, 8.5 for the walk, canter, and submission, and a whopping 9 for overall general impression, Crawford, who was part of the crowd cheering was quick to give Bailey much of the credit. “Amanda takes her job seriously and has a very focused and methodical way about her training. She is a total pleasure to work with. I am so proud of her today!”

Her biggest fan is her 20 month old daughter, has been bitten by the horse bug. "No pony yet, but we'll see." Bailey says with a smile. Turning to the future, Bailey and her team will be making the 20 hour trip to Dressage at Devon to compete in the Materiale classes.

No longer a spectator, Bailey will soon know the feeling of riding in the legendary arena of one of the United States largest and oldest and most reputable dressage shows at Dressage at Devon later this month. And of course she is aiming for a comeback for the 2007 USEF/Markel 5-year-Old Dressage National Championships to be held again next September at the Kentucky Horse Park, the future site of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

 

TheHanoverian.jpg (2028140 bytes)

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Donatella HW (Don Frederico/Weltmeyer), Top Horse of the Day, Champion mare and Elite candidate of the Inspection in Florida , October 2005

To see more pic's of this Inspection just click here

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Hi Irene ,

 Just wanted to update you on Dhalia. She's turning into a big star! Her first outing was her US    Hanoverian Inspection. She was extraordinarily well behaved and really showed herself off quite well, ending with a 7.33; receiving 8's for elasticity/impulsion and typiness / feminity!  Then, a week and a half later we went to her first show - a breed show. She was a good girl and scored a 77.5%!

 She is a wonderful mare and we completely adore her - even when she acts like a diva! :)  I know it was difficult for you to part with her, but I'm very glad you did! 

Kris

Hello Irene !

Just wanted to share what happened yesterday at the Hanoverian Inspections in Rhode Island . Dhalia was well-behaved when she had to be, and showed herself beautifully when it was time.

As part of the inspection process she was turned loose in the arena to be judged on her trot at liberty - she knew what she was there for and showed the best trot of the day - which was reflected in her scores. She got gait scores of 8 and 8 for impulsion/elasticity. Her conformation scores were all solid 7s with an 8 for Typiness/Feminity - only 1 other mare got better conformation scores, but only by .22 (I was counting!)

Her scores put her in the Main Studbook (highest in Hanoverian lingo) and she is now an Elite Eligible Mare - has to complete her Mare Performance Test which is under saddle and free jumping, and produce a foal to complete the requirements for Elite Mare. Next year we plan to tackle the performance test. The judges told me I would be hard pressed to improve on her pedigree but thought I could make some "interesting" matches.

Kris  

Hi Irene ,

  Im so glad you emailed me I was about to send you an email about Riccies big weekend. There was a huge labor day horse show in our area on Sunday and Monday so I decided to take Riccie HW Just for some show experience. This horse show is the biggest one of the year for our county and has a huge fair with all kinds of scary rides and many spectators.  They had over 500 entries just to give you an idea of the size.  

Well, Riccie cleaned up!   I am so excited.  On Sunday we did Adult Equitation and he was champion in that out of 11 horses.  And on Monday I did beginner hunter with him and even jumped in this division, just little fences around 2'3.  He ended up being 1st, in the first jumping class 6th, and 3rd out of 20 horses!! So he ended up being reserve champion in that division.  Then I rode him in Young Hunter Under Saddle which is for five year olds and under and he was fifth out of 16.  And finally to complete the weekend I received grand champion adult rider for the weekend thanks to

Riccie!!!  

You would not believe how well behaved he was at such a huge horse show.  He was sooo good.  And he is jumping great. I will have to send you the video I have as soon as I get a copy.  I absolutely love him to death. Sorry that was so long but I just wanted to let you know how good he was doing.  I hope you and your family are doing well. Talk to you soon.

Joelle

Annie and I(Taylor) just had a show over this past weekend(Nov.1st-Nov.2) at Pebble Beach and she did great. On Saturday we had two classes, A flat eq, where they judge the rider and we won that. Then second we had the jumpers where they judge the speed and we got 4th. On sunday we had ....hmmm maybe 6 or 7 classes, we had a lot of over fenses classes: we got a 1st in the equitation over fenses, a 2nd, 3rd, and a 5th in the hunters 2'. then we had to classes on the flat. In the flat equitation we got a 2nd, and in the flat under saddle we got a 4th. Well I just wanted to say I love Annie, and I think she is enjoying the colder weather. At the show it was in the 50 -60 degrees. And the normal days right now it gets up to maybe 70 at the most and it will probably start getting colder. She is really responsive . Well thank for giving us a chance to buy Annie I am so glad we did! We should be getting some pictures from the show photographer that I will try to make copies of and send to you if you want.
      - Taylor
            P.S.- My Mom says hi

DRESSAGE AT LAMPLIGHT JULY

Jul 21 2006 - Jul 22 2006

Second Level Dressage

61: USEF Second Level Test 3

1st  Place

Legacy

Maki-clark, Gina

Second Level Dressage

62: USEF Second Level Test 4

2nd Place

Legacy

Maki-clark, Gina

   

A lot of fun at the very exciting, cold and windy Ocala Dressage show, January 2006:

  Vivienne Wiederhold in the ribbons in all her classes. She won one of her Training Level classes with

EMC Donatella HW and they were second in the other class at a huge recognized show.

This was the first time for them to be far away from home for a weekend ( without mom), just a 3,5 year old mare and a 14 year old girl……competing like pros J Wow!

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