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Palm Beach Derby: Day 3
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| (Sunday, 07 March 2010) Written by heather |
| I'm back home now after spending three days attending the Palm Beach Derby. As a total newbie to the Florida dressage scene, I didn't really know what to expect or what I would get out of it. I knew I'd enjoy watching the horses but wasn't entirely convinced the trip would be worth the hit on my very tight budget. My third day attending the PBD flew by - I spent most of the day either watching the Grand Prix warm-up or watching Grand Prix rides. As with my first two days, it was hard to soak up everything. There really was a lot to watch and there were "big name" trainers and riders everywhere I turned. I zipped back and forth between the warm-ups and the show arenas so frequently that I didn't get to spend too much time shopping.... Maybe next year J As I mentioned in my first blog post about attending the event, the weekend started off on a very sad note with Courtney King-Dye's accident. I had the good fortune to see her ride in Las Vegas at the World Cup and she had been one of the riders I was most looking forward to watching over the weekend. Her accident is beyond sad and I don't know what to write about it or how to process it except to hope that she recovers. Her accident has sparked a dialogue about wearing helmets in dressage. Many of the Canadian riders, Olympic riders no less!, rode and showed in their helmets. Ashley Holzer showed a PSG horse on Day 2 in her shadbelly and helmet. Jacqueline Brooks rode two beautiful GP tests in the CDI on Day Three in her helmet. And, it didn't really look unusual (see picture). The crowd was small (smaller than I expected) but they gave her a warm round of applause when she had completed the test and rode by, expressing appreciation for her decision to wear a helmet at that level of competition. I thoroughly appreciated and admired the leadership shown by these two very well-known riders to wear their helmets in competition at this event. Their actions will encourage more riders of all levels to wear helmets. It would have been much easier for them to continue to wear the traditional tophat, but their example will make a difference. In terms of personal learning this weekend, I realized that attending this show was worth the effort and time. Being able to watch so many excellent riders all day long was enlightening in a way attending a clinic or watching one or two rides at a show is not. Watching Olympic and international- and national-level riders ride and warm-up all day long was simply great learning. I'm not sure my own riding will necessarily improve by leaps and bounds just because of this weekend, but I'll continue to carry with me the visuals of horses who really moved forward, really worked over their backs, and riders who sat well and solidly and rode with precision. As an adult amateur rider who rides late in the evening after a full 8-hour workday, I have not had the opportunity to be immersed in the dressage culture in this way before. Thinking of immersing oneself in the "dressage culture" reminds me of foreign language students who begin language study in a classroom and, eventually, need to travel abroad to really learn the nuances of the new language. As much study and practice as one can do independently or with guided help, being there is an essential step in learning. So it was for me and I can't wait to return! Ciao for now! et, ą la prochaine ;-) |
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Palm Beach Derby: Day 2
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| (Saturday, 06 March 2010) Written by heather |
| Today is the second day of my first ever Palm Beach Derby. As I wrote yesterday, the weekend started off with the tragic injury of Courtney King-Dye and has everyone at the show sending her and her family positive thoughts and prayers for a full recovery. I came to the show to see some great riding, do some serious shopping, and have fun. I’ve done all of those things but this show and Courtney’s terrible accident has also brought up the issue of wearing helmets. As an adult amateur I always wear a helmet when I ride. I ride at lower levels and, like many adult amateurs aspiring to higher levels, have always thought it would be a great achievement to wear a top hat in competition one day. This show has me rethinking that quasi-goal. I have ridden my entire life and used to ride hunt-seat and jumped from the age of 7 or so and did some lower-level eventing in my teens. I’ve had my fair share of falls, a few trips to the emergency room, but all in all, I’ve been very lucky. Anyone over the age of 30 who rode as a kid probably had one of those hardhats with no lining and only a thin elastic chin strap. I rode in one of those (when I actually wore a helmet) until the age of 15 when I got a helmet with a better strap but still no padding or lining. Thursday and Friday at the Palm Beach Derby I saw upper-level riders, including Ashley Holzer, Canadian Olympian, riding and showing in a helmet. I loved it! These riders are showing great leadership because they can make a real statement and set an example for kids, adults, and other professionals too. At one point in one of the warm-ups yesterday, there were four riders in shadbellies and three helmets. Having well known and respected professionals set an example is powerful. Here’s a photo from way back that shows me in one of the old-fashioned helmets. They’ve come a long way... |
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Palm Beach Derby: Day 1
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| (Friday, 05 March 2010) Written by heather |
| I had been so excited to attend this horse show-- I've never travelled to Florida to attend a horse show, hadn't been heresince I was 16 years old or so with family, and was also looking forward towarmer weather. I was looking forward to miles and miles of vendors, lotsof wonderful riders, and maybe even a dip in the pool. Alas! When we touched down at the airport I checkedFacebook and saw the extremely sad news that Courtney King-Dye had been in aterrible accident and was in ICU. I had the good fortune to see her rideat the World Cup in Las Vegas, and, like everyone in the dressage world, lookedforward to watching her grow professionally for a long, long time. I amkeeping her and her family in my thoughts and prayers and hoping for a fullrecovery. The last I heard she is still in ICU. I am sure it willbe a long road. When my husband and I arrived at the show groundsyesterday, it was readily apparent that there would be no toe-dipping in thepool later. The winds were very strong and we had on numerous layers. The vendors were still getting set up. The chairs were plastic likeyou'd find in any backyard -- bear with me, I had visions that the show groundswould be gilded and champagne and hors d'oeuvres would be carted around forattendees ;-) So, it's a normal horse show. Well,sort of. The grounds are like any horse show: there are warm-up arenasand the show arenas and regular volunteers and what not. But then, thereare also the big name riders and trainers who do not appear in such numbers atthe shows I usually attend. I pointed out to my non-horsie husband: Look! there's Lisa Wilcox, Look! there's Ashley Holzer, Look! There'sAnne Gribbons, And there - look! there goes Chris Hickey, etc. etc. So,even though the horse show is, on first view, like any other horse show, theriding is what I came to watch and it has been impressive. We spent a lot of time at the warm-upyesterday and also viewed the FEI jog. I'd never seen an FEI inspectionand it was fun to watch. Not sure I'd want to hand jog a 17h horse in thehigh winds but I enjoyed watching. Today I'll be watching fourth level rides and, ofcourse, the Grand Prix. I'm aiming to show at fourth level this year andlook forward to seeing some good examples in person of what I should bevisualizing. |
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