News from Wellington and Spain, February 2014

The Wellington show season is in full swing. Lendon Gray and her Winter Intensive Training students (WITees as they are now known) are hard at work in the HGF arenas or around the barns. Working students Rachel Chowanec and Kerrigan Gluch divide their time between the barn chores for HGF horses, WIT lectures and teaching, training with Maria Lithander, giving lessons, helping out at the USPRE exhibition, competing at Global and, not least, school work!

Here is a quick update on what’s been happening so far:

USPRE Week: A great success again this year, bringing out more than 600 people for the USPRE Party and exhibition, and hosting a number of events for members and friends. Special performances by Medieval Times and El Portal Andaluz made the evening shine!

USEF/USDF Pipeline Clinic: Rachel Chowanec and Embrujado (owned by Lendon Gray) were invited to participate in the first ever USEF/USDF Pipeline Clinic—the brainchild of Robert Dover to bring together the top developing riders at each level to work with the USEF training staff. Rachel is currently schooling Embrujado for the U25, and found the two days of working with Robert Dover, Scott Hassler and Jeremy Steinberg very helpful. She hopes to begin to show at the new level later this season.

Florida International Youth Dressage Championhips: This new Championship, started in 2013, brought out 17 riders this year in four divisions with very respectable results. WITee Katrina Sadis (who trains also with HGF blogger Andrea Landis) won the Pony Division on Poldy, a D4K horse. HGF –sponsored Kerrigan Gluch took 3^rd place in the Junior Division with Lentisco XVIII. The Championship was held in the CDI classes and all tests were ridden in the International Arena at Global Dressage.

Grandioso Update: Grandioso and Dani are preparing for the spring shows, with hopes to attain a place on the Spanish Team for Normandy. This month, a health emergency in Dani’s family prevented them from going to Vidauban as planned, and so they will look to do a local national show in March as warm-up before beginning to compete outside of Spain in April. We will keep you posted on their schedule. Dani reports that all the HGF horses in his care are progressing well in their training.

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