THE PRAISES OF THE NEJ/YR DRESSAGE CHAMPIONSHIPS!

By Becca Ripley

This August I attended the North East Junior Young Rider Dressage Championships. The Championships were held in Darien, Connecticut at the Ox Ridge Hunt Club. I was a member of one of the ENYDCTA /Young Rider teams. My teammates were Dana Stanton, Cailin Sanford and Meredith Lutz.

The other ENYDCTA team consisted of Stephanie Casper, Jessyka Naile, and Audrey Langlois.

First off, should thank ENYDCTA for sending us all down there! It was a spectacular show, at an amazing farm. This is the third year that the championships have been held there. The show was created by Lendon Gray as an opportunity for juniors to compete at a fancy show and have a good time. Ox Ridge Hunt Club is a beautiful farm located in the middle of the suburbs almost! There were houses on the edges of the fields where we rode, and it felt like riding in somebody's back yard!

Being able to compete there was a really great experience for me. Earlier in the year, my horse Blondie, was diagnosed with Lyme disease. I basically had to give her most of the spring and summer off. It was extremely discouraging for me to have to go though this, because I had big plans. Starting to event and taking my C-3 rating were at the top of my list. So, I started to ride my mom's horse, Zak. Dana and Leslie Stanton wee so generous in lending me their mare Dolly, so I could take my rating. The summer was looking Brighter. I decided to do the Young Riders Program through ENYDCTA with Zak. Jeff Lindberg was our coach and a couple of times a month we would have a schooling sessions. All of the kids participating would go to his farm and ride a few tests in a group setting. He helped us all out a lot by critiquing and encouraging our rides, while at the same time having us critique each other's rides.

The C-3 rating was a few days before the championships, which would have made most people choose one or the other. But not me! I left for my rating, which was in Keeseville, NY, on Tuesday, came home Thursday, and left Friday morning with Zak for Connecticut. Sure, I was more tired than I'd probably ever been, but I passed my testing and was running on sheer happiness. Dana Stanton and I always compare and laugh at the ridiculously small amounts of sleep we get before shows, ratings and rallies, because as you all probably have experienced, its impossible to get a good nights sleep before a full day of competition!

We arrived on the grounds Friday night to do a practice ride and get settled. Upon arrival, each competitor received a goodie basket which included several magazines, leather cleaner, conditioner, and lip balm! We were a given a polo shirt with the Championships logo embroidered. As a tribute to Lendon, every competitor signed a book for her and wrote a little message of thanks. She is awesome.

The show started Saturday morning with our written tests. Yes, you read correctly written test. For my age group, I was to study the German Principles of Riding, and also Feet and Shoes written by Toni Webber. I read as much as possible from these books, while studying hard for my C-3 at the same time! The written test wasn't overly difficult though, and I was feeling pretty good when that was over.

Next came my dressage test. My judge was none other than Robert Dover! My warm-up was one of the best rides I've ever had on any horse. Zak was better than usual. Barb Stanford and I were so excited about the test. Barb was schooling us, and really helped me settle him down, and get him going well in the warm-up. Saturday night was a dinner for the competitors, the judges and organizers were also in attendance. Robert Dover and Trip Harting both said a few words. They spoke about their experiences as juniors, being part of pony club, and the journey they had taken to get where they are today. It was inspiring to listen to them. It reminded me that even the top riders can have less-than-perfect rides and tricky horses. Lendon Gray also said a few words on the show and how pleased she was to see the young riders presenting themselves so well!!

The show also had an equitation round. In this round you were judged on how well you rode and how your horse responded to you. I don't think any of us had heard of dressage equitation before, so we didn't know what to expect. Jeff helped us here by doing a mock equitation round. It made it easier for us when we got there having practiced with each other.

Some of the girls on our teams did extremely well at the show. Cailin Sanford got first place in her equitation class and eight in her division. Jessyka Naile was fifth in her division and Meredith Lutz was sixth. Congratulations again for your achievements! Even though I had known most of the girls that had gone, we really got to know each other better. We were all stabled in the same aisle, so we saw a lot of each other! We acted like one big team. We were always helping each other out and cheering each other on. I really felt like there was a ton of support from my teammates and the other teams as well. It was great to have everyone right there in the case that some of us needed some cheering up after our rides, and also to celebrate the good rides!

Another thing that made this show awesome was that parents could help too!! It wasn't Pony Club after all. At first, when I read the description it sounded just like that -- written tests, tack and turn-out, teams. But it definitely wasn't! It was very similar though and many of the principles of the show were based on Pony Club, as Lendon was a Pony Clubber when she was a kid.

Just about everyone on our teams were or had been in Pony Club at one time or another, so we were all well prepared for the competition, although you could find us cramming for our written test together in the hotel the night before. The show even had demonstration riders showing off the various upper-level movements. We all watched in awe of Courtney King and her horse Jester, as they floated around the ring. It was inspirational to watch them.

Thank you again to ENYDCTA for sending us all down to compete there. It's a great show to compete in! I had so much fun. We all worked very hard to get there and had a great time doing it! It was a remarkable experience, one I will never forget.