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HGF keeps bringing excellence at the WEC during the CDI3*
May1st. A phenomenal week of International equestrian competition concluded on Sunday, April 16th at WEC. Emotions had run high last weekend for HGF TEAM , we are still on a cloud nine. Justine and Campanero HGF started the week closing the podium on CDI Juniors Team Test with a personal best of 66.313. On Sunday , she collected the title of Freestyle Winner with an overall score of 73.067%. She chose her signature Moana’s music with an exciting choreography to make her freestyle stand out. We are over the moon with these results. In a space of three/four months, Justine and Campanero have climbed and in their five international outings, three of them have been victories. Last but not least, Kerrigan and Mejorano HGF have been unstoppable this winter season. The Kick-Off of the CDI3* Ocala was excellent with third place of Kerrigan Gluch and Mejorano HGF on THE GP Qual. for GPFS (67.913%). The icing on the cake came on Friday Under The Lights during the Freestyles. This duo danced to the Spanish melodies of “La Mancha” and after the first extended trot, the shouts and ovations sprung from the bleachers. “We did that on purpose for the Freestyle to start strong, and I think it helped us,” revealed Gluch. “In a way, [the crowd support] takes the stress away a little bit. Not that you want to be distracted, but the crowd likes this, so I get to enjoy it even more than I already am. It makes me relax a bit. I like the feedback.”“I really wanted to go show him off,” said Kerrigan of the 12-year-old PRE gelding by Grandioso x Galan XVI owned by Hampton Green Farm. “I always put a little pressure on myself to do the best I can, but I try not to put that on him. I think I was able to do that tonight, which led to a good score and good test. I think I rode well, and he performed really well.” As the crowd favorite of the night, Kerrigan Gluch Mejorano HGF closed the podium with a personal best score of 74.755% HGF keeps bringing excellence in Dressage. Special thank you to all the team, but most of all to Maria Lithander for being our backbone and outstanding trainer.
Week 3 in Wellington means USPRE WEEK
The Hampton Green Farm Horses continue to represent the PRE breed with excellence. On Thursday's 4* Grand Prix, Kerrigan scored a respectable 67.152 in a class where the majority of the class were scored within 1.8% points. On Friday Under the Lights, she took the stage with Grandioso’s former Kur “La Mancha” melodies echoed in the Grand Arena and Kerrigan delighted the spectators, who roared into applause at the conclusion. The pair was all smiles after scoring a personal best of 74.570%, ending up with the 6th position overall. One of the judges awarded over 77%....with improvements always to be made, the future looks very bright. Justine Boyer made her comeback in Wellington at the international Junior level. Along with Campanero HGF they came home with two blue ribbons and a new Personal Best too. We are so excited for this young pair! This truly could not have happened without such an incredible team. A huge thank you to Maria Lithander for always guiding our riders to the right direction, and special thanks to Sophia for her exhibition ride for USPRE to kick-off the Grand Prix on Thursday One of the big Highlights of Last Week is that Sophia Schults received the Horse And Rider of the Year Award from USPRE. Dr. Jane Bistline, president of USPRE handed the trophy to Sophia. This award is a big recognition for her results last summer with Conocido HGF: Gold and Silver medals at the North American Youth Championships 2022
Wellington Season 2019
Highlights of Wellington 2019: Maria Lithander debuts Barbara HGF at Grand Prix in the national classes, with scores to over 70%. Kerrigan Gluch and Bolero are selected for the United States U25 Nations Cup Team, and finish Second in the Freestyle during Friday Night Lights. Kerrigan Gluch and HGF Brio win the FEI Grand Prix 16-25 and FEI Grand Prix Freestyle 16-25 with career high scores for the pair. Kerrian Gluch and Vaquero HGF top the USEF U25 rankings with national Grand Prix scores. Justine Boyer wins the FEI Childrens Division ofthe Floria International Youth Dressage Championships, albeit uncontested. Sophia Schults completes a successful season with Conocido HGF at Third Level. Nina Boyer and Quinn Hunter both achieve multiple first placings in Hunter/Jumper at WEF. Our thanks to our trainers: Maria Lithander, Charlotte Bredahl, Robert Dover, Daniel Martin Dockx, Two Goals Farms, George Williams
Idolo Americano 2003-2019
We regret to announce the passing of a member of the HGF family, Idolo Americano. The 16 year old PRE gelding was bred and born in Fruitport Michigan, by Idilio II out of Escapada. Idolo was an impressive young stallion with promise. In 2007 he was the recipient of the Born in America award for top placing US-born stallion at the Devon Breed Show, typically dominated by warmbloods. He went on to be trained by Maria Lithander, who took him to a Region II Reserve Championship at Second Level, then on to Courtney King Dye and Jose Daniel Martin Dockx in Spain. He returned to the United States as a gelding and proceeded to take a number of HGF working students to their first CDIs, USDF training conferences, Palm Beach Derby high point awards and more. His riders over the years included Rachel Chowanec and Katja Creswick. But it was in the hands of Sophia Schults that Idolo found his best partner. They progressed through the international Junior levels to the Young Rider levels, competing regularly at Global Dressage, and in 2018 participating in a NAJYRC and Festival of Champions. Known for an amazing piaffe and passage, Idolo was a generous teacher to all his riders. He passed away last night suddenly after a brief struggle with colic. He was in the hands of the veterinarians and did not suffer. We are all feeling his loss.
Global Dressage Season in Wellington Kicks Off with Busy January
2018 started the year with numerous events at or involving Hampton Green Farm. During the first week of the year, the Robert Dover Horsemastership clinic took over the farm for one day utilizing all three arenas. Meanwhile, Lendon Gray and her WITees completed their move-in week and began the intensive training for which the program is named. Vanessa Voltman and Albert Gesierich's horses and clients started their winter season, having just arrived from Michigan. The final few horses arrived to the main barn, with every stall occupied on the property. Dani Martin and Charlotte Bredahl were on hand in January to work with all of the HGF pairs and prepare them for their warm-up classes in the national levels. Maria Lithander rode several Inter I classes with Barbara, and will now focus on the short Grand Prix with the assistance of Charlotte. Kerrigan Gluch showed all her horses at the national levels in the respective levels, Brio and Bolero at the U25 Grand Prix, and Vaquero at Inter I, followed by his first time at Inter A. Sarah Roda introduced Quintanillo to Fourth Level, in preparation for Young Riders. All pairs scored in the mid to upper 60s, and all horses demonstrated that they were prepared for new levels. Lily Forado, our marketing intern, arrived just in time to start the promotion for USPRE Week. This year's USPRE Party was the biggest ever in terms of turn-out. Over 1000 people came to a standing-room-only event filling both of the VIP tents of the Global Pavilion. One of the highlights of a very animated program was when four HGF geldings did a quadrille in costume with youth riders Kerrigan Gluch, Sarah Roda, Sophia Schults and Elena Schiefe--a performance which will be repeated at the Challenge of the Americas in March. Many VIPs from Spain and around the country attended USPRE week, and more than 30 PREs performed at the USPRE Party, from exhibitions to FEI freestyles. Later that week, Kerrigan rode Bolero in a master class with Andreas Helgstrand during the Friday night CDIW Freestyles, and later on Spanish Young Horse Champion Guillermo Ayala rode Diego (Didacus) in a seminar with Spanish team osteopath Antonio Valenzuela. The week concluded with a round table discussion featuring ANCCE officials and an FEI 4* judge discussing the PRE role in the upcoming World Championship of Young Horses. January closed with a quiet few days, for some well-needed rest before February's clinics and shows.
Lendon Youth Dressage Festival Midwest 2018 Highlights Our Graduates
The 2018 version of Hampton Green Farm's annual Lendon Youth Dressage Festival was another wonderful experience for riders, parents and professionals. Our festival has produced an extraordinary number of US Youth Team participants and WITtees who have gone on to successful careers as young professionals. This year's festival featured our superstar graduates! The three day festival began with a full TEAM clinic, led by Lendon Gray and assisted by Maria Lithander. 10 riders were provided with two days of individual training with Lendon, and attended seminars by Dr. Jeff Bunn, Nick Hanson and Kimberly Van Kampen on topics as diverse as colic, horse trailers, and sponsorship! The featured speaker at our Exhibitor's Dinner was Wellington's First Lady of Dressage, Janne Rumbough, who held the room mesmerized with her memories and lessons learned from the life of an amatuer horsewoman. Janne, who is still a top Grand Prix competitor, described the rich experiences she has gleaned in competition and horse management. She shared the three most important things that horses have taught her about life, to the appreciation and admiration of everyone who attended. Sunday's show featured riders from walk/trot through PSG and several freestyles this year. Judge Merriyn Griffin presided over the dressage tests, with post-test comments from two of our graduates, Rosie Simoes and Ayden Uhlir, who also spoke later in the day to the participants about their own career paths following their years with Lendon. Betty Horst from Michigan was our Equitation Judge and we were happy to have her expert eye and teaching skills this year at the Festival. Andrea Landis judged Turn Out and provided us with many of our photographs of the show. Our Overall Champion this year again was Sophia Schults on Idolo Americano. Sophia is a long-time Midwest Festival participant and a graduate of WIT. She and Idolo have just been named to the Region 3 Team for NAJYRC and are currently ranked sixth in the USA for Young Riders. As the trainer of the Overall Champion, Chloe Fullar of Saint Joseph, Michigan, will receive the training scholarship from Robert Dover. All scores can be found at this link:https://youthdressagefestival.presencehost.net/news-results/midwest-ydf-2018.html Our Special Award winners were: High Point FEI Sophia Schults Turnout Award Sophia Schults High Point Pony [&] Rider Maya Ilada Most Valuable Volunteer Nicole Gallant Youngest Rider Award Viviana Selner Young Horse Started by Rider Maya Ilada High Scoring PRE Sophia Schults Sportsmanship Award Ryleigh Koch Oldest Horse Lauren Alexander Newbie Award Ever Robak Champion Trainer Award Sophia Schults/Chloe Fullar Our thanks to all of our parents and trainers, and to our faithful volunteers who come out every year to support our future champions! Jim and Maria Guthrie Tina and Brent Gluch Joli Burrell Joan Mack Lyn and Claire Kendall Mariyn Fahringer Laura Roda Ron Schults Pam Stille Nicole Gallant Rosie Simoes Ayden Uhlir Nicholas Hansen Maria Lithander .............And our Sponsors: Robert Dover Dressage4Kids USPRE Tractor Supply of Fruitport Millbrook Tack Equine Medical Sycamore Lane Farrier Lyn Kendall
HGF Riders Move Horses to New Levels with Success in Winter 2018 Season
The Wellington Season with its 8 CDIs and 13 national shows provided lots of opportunities for Hampton Green Farm to introduce young horses to new levels, from first-time shows at Training Level to the U25 Grand Prix. And for the confirmed horses, Wellington 2018 was another season of international competition and great results. Maria Lithander began the year with some final scores at the Small Tour with her 9 year old HGF-bred mare, Barbara, and then introduced her to the Inter II, with the help of Charlotte Bredahl, with consistent scores in the high 60s. Maria also took our young prospects, five year old Diego and Ebanisto to their first shows at Training and First Levels, winning the PRE High Point Award at the Palm Beach Derby with Ebanisto with a high score of 73.8. Daniel Martin Dockx traveled to Wellington multiple times this fall and winter to work with Kerrigan Gluch and her horses and the effort paid off. Kerrigan and HGF Brio returned to the international show ring at the U25 Grand Prix following some time off last year. The pair took two 2ndplaces in the CDI at the Palm Beach Derby and received their qualifying scores for the Festival of Champions over the course of the season. With the help of Dani, Kerrigan has discovered a new and exciting partner in Bolero for the future. After a big Freestyle win in Week 7, Bolero and Kerrigan were selected for the US Team at the CDIO Nations Cup and finished the weekend with a spectacular 2ndplace finish in the freestyle, breaking the 70% mark for the first time. Following the end of the circuit, USEF announced that Kerrian and Bolero would travel with the US team to compete in Europe this summer, starting in Rotterdam in June. Additionally, Vaquero HGF did his first Inter II and U25 Grand Prix tests in the national levels, making the leap this year to the big tour with promising results for the eleven year old stallion. 17 year old Working Student Sophia Schults has patiently moved Idolo Americano up from Juniors to Young Riders this year, making their debut in the international arena at a test which is a strong suit for both of them. With continually improving scores, Sophia and Idolo have gone on to top several qualifying classes in the Midwest and hope to represent Region 2 at the North American Championships and the Festival of Champions later this summer. She also rode her young gelding Conocido HGF in his first classes this winter. Last but not least, 19 year old Working Student Sarah Roda introdued her Quintanillo JJ to the Fourth Level in preparation for Young Riders next year. Trained by Maria Lithander, the pair posted scores in the mid 60s and continued to show their ability to manage the new challenges that will be met in the bigger ring next season. Our team of Working Students, with the addition of Elena Schiefele, were also busy forming the HGF Quadrille, which featured all HGF owned or bred horses, and which performed at several charity events, including the warm-up act for the Challenge of the Americas! In other news, HGF is getting ready to host the Lendon Youth Dressage Festival Midwest this year with brand new arenas and a new special Trainer’s incentive—a sponsorship of a week of lessons with National Team Trainer Robert Dover to the trainer of the Grand Championship for the show! This year’s program will feature Janne Rumbough as our speaker and dressage commentator—one of the founders of the Florida circuit and easiy the most famous Adult Amateur Grand Prix rider in the world! More details to come….! Photos by Lily Forado
HGF Horses at Adequan Global Dressage Festival 2017
Hampton Green Farm competed five horses over the course of the 12 weeks of the 2017 Adequan Global Dressage Festival, in both the national and international levels. Our riders this season were Head Trainer Maria Lithander, and working students Kerrigan Gluch, Nicole Pelfresne and Sophia Schults. Our MVP of the season was clearly Maria Lithander with Barbara HGF (Bolero x Huelvana), who debuted at the Developing Horse Prix St. George level with scores reaching 74%. Barbara HGF is a powerful, talented 8-year-old gray mare owned by Maria, who first competed her at the PSG last summer. This season, they will secure their place in the USEF ranking with hopes of participating in the Young Horse Finals at the Festival of Champions this summer, a first for a PRE mare. HGF-sponsored young rider Kerrigan Gluch presented HGF Brio in several national classes at Inter II and U25 last fall, receiving scores above 70%, prior to entering the international ring in January. Following the 5*, a small injury sidelined the pair for the majority of the season, but they were ready when called to represent the United States in the first-ever U25 Nations Cup held during Week 11. As part of the three-member team for the US, Kerrigan and Brio completed their 2017 winter season with a Gold Medal. Throughout the winter, Kerrigan and Vaquero continued to work with Wellington-based trainer Oded Shimoni, as they prepare the horse for the U25 Grand Prix next year. At the end of the season, Kerrigan showed Vaquero at Inter I, placing well both days in large Open classes with scores in the mid-60s. Junior rider Sophia Schults presented Idolo Americano HGF at the Junior level with accuracy and consistency throughout the season. The pair won several national Third Level classes prior to showing the FEI Junior test. They did two CDIs (which includes all three Junior tests—Team, Individual and Freestyle) with success, averaging 65% and placing as high as Third in the final outing. This is the first time Idolo has competed in the international arena and we are very proud of how well Sophia presented him. Sophia trained Idolo with Anne Gribbons this winter. Wellington first-timer Nicole Pelfresne brought her own Diva HGF to the big rings this winter with the assistance of Maria Lithander. Nicole’s parents purchased Diva as a two-year old at the HGF Top Ten auction in 2010, and seventeen-year-old Nicole has trained her from the start. She joined the HGF team last summer as a working student, and both Nicole and her nine year old mare by Cuatrero (out of Luz/Idilio) have flourished in the program. Diva, who has outstanding gaits, has been known to be a strong ride, but became much more seasoned in the show ring this winter, eventually scoring close to 67% at First Level. We are very proud of Nicole and excited to see what she and Diva will do in the future. Additionally, former working student and HGF family member Sarah Roda and Quintanillo JJ (purchased from HGF) had a successful first season together at Third Level--so successful, in fact, that the pair were the High Scoring PRE of the Palm Beach Derby and second highest scoring pair overall for the whole show with 75.641%! Sarah is trained by Maria Lithander. All the horses will return to Michigan some time this spring. Maria and Kerrigan’s upcoming plans are to work with Daniel Martin Dockx, who will come to HGF for extended clinics several times over the summer. Special thanks to Marketing Intern Lily Forado for the beautiful photo coverage of our season.
Largest EDAP Clinic to Date at LYDF Midwest 2016
The last weekend in June is the annual Lendon Youth Dressage Festival at Hampton Green in Michigan. The show started six years ago and from the first year, it included a two-day Emerging Dressage Athlete clinic. These clinics--sponsored by Dressage4Kids, a 501C3 non-profit organization, have grown exponentially around the country as the most successful youth dressage program in the United States--over 200 riders will participate in one or more EDAP clinics in 2016. Hampton Green Farm's Michigan clinic was one of the first, and from it some prominent national riders have emerged including NAJYRC medalists and USEF National Champions. At this year's EDAP clinic, there were 15 riders whose applications were accepted for participation. Selection is based on criteria stated on the Dressage4Kids website and includes a video, test submission and a written application. The clinic stretched over three days and Lendon Gray was assisted by HGF resident trainer Maria Lithander to accommodate all the riders. Trainer Andrea Landis spoke to the group about fitness and cross-training, and Dr. Jane Bistline spoke about risk management to avoid the kinds of injuries that she treats most often in riders. All EDAP riders then competed in the Youth Festival--a three part competition consisting of a written exam, a dressage test and an equitation test. This year's Judge, Marilyn Griffin, judged all levels from Walk/Trot to Prix St. George, along with Stephanie Beamer who presided over a demanding Equitation Division. Saturday evening's special speaker was international Grand Prix rider Devon Kane, an inspiring and impressive young professional who described her journey from youth rider to US Nations Cup Team member. Her experiences from the early years of grooming and being a student, to competing with the top riders of the world, were eye-opening and instructional to all who attended. Devon is a funny, approachable, accomplished young woman who easily drew the admiration of the younger aspiring riders. Young Rider Kerrigan Gluch spoke on Sunday afternoon, telling her recent experiences while training and competing in Europe on the USEF Euro Tour. The weekend concluded with an awards ceremony, with top placings for those who excelled in the highy competitive environment. Results show that the youth riders who have consistently been a part of LYDF Midwest are improving and competing now with scores that wiill rank them with the best in the country. Our thanks to all the volunteers and parents who assisted this weekend, for the generous spirit of our sponsors and for our fantastic youth riders, from the littlest (6) all the way up to the seasoned FEI competitors. Full results available on the LYDF Midwest page on Facebook.
Congrats to HGF's "TEAM 70" for 2015
The following riders and HGF-bred horses have achieved over 70% at their various levels in rated Dressage competitions in 2014. Many of these pairs are returning team members and we want to recognize their consistent progress. Congratulations to our Team 70 for their accomplishments--we look forward to their successes in 2015! TEAM 70 2015 Andrea Landis and Brioso HGF--70.86, First Level, Test 3 Betsy Bougie and Botero HGF--70.70, Training Level, Test 2 Maria Lithander and Cocota HGF--70.2, Training Level, Test 3 Heather Bender and Irisada HGF--72.8, Training Level Test 3 Cindy Ramirez-Smith and Decoroso HGF--72.875, Fourth Level Test 3 Nicholas Fyffe and Fiero HGF--73.2, FEI 6 Year Old Test Finale Daniel Martin Dockx and Vaquero HGF--71.00, Intermediate I
Fall News 2013
Winter is not far away in Michigan, and the staff is busy closing up the farm for the cold weather. In 2013, our mares gave birth to nine healthy foals by sires Camaron IX and Cuatrero IV—five colts and four fillies. All foals are now weaned and have been moved to their new pastures, and the mares are enjoying a year of rest. We will rebreed again in 2014. Meanwhile, in Wellington we are getting ready for our busiest time of year. Working Students Kerrigan Gluch and Rachel Chowanec each have two horses in training. Kerrigan is preparing Lentisco for international competition at Junior level, and has already competed him this fall with scores in the high 60s. She is also riding Infanta HGF this winter for the D4K program. Rachel is preparing Idolo Americano for the Small Tour, and continuing to school the Grand Prix movements with Embrujado. Both girls were invited to ride for Anne Gribbons this past week, thanks to a scholarship from Renee Isler. They rode their tests for Anne, who then provided valuable suggestions for improvements and exercises helpful for horses with baroque conformation. Rachel and Kerrigan are in training this fall with Maria Lithander, a long-time friend of HGF and a rider who achieved excellent results on Idilio at the Small Tour and others of our young horses. Jim and Luis have the rental barns ready for our winter boarders. Canadian Olympian Jacquie Brooks is returning with her clients, as is Lendon Gray with her Dressage4Kids WIT Program, which is bigger than last year. Now that the issues with the Village have been resolved favorably for the Global Dressage Festival, there is much excitement for the upcoming season of 7 CDI competitions and twice as many national shows, all in one location, and all a short hack from Hampton Green. SICAB, the annual international PRE horse fair in Sevilla, Spain, is just a few weeks away. USPRE, the national PRE Horse association, will be there and will host the International Breeders Reception on Thursday evening. Vaquero HGF will defend his national ranking at the Copa ANCCE against the other 6 Year Old PREs vying for the Copa title. Many HGF friends and clients are planning to attend this year. Finally, we want to congratulate the Schiefele family on their recent purchase of Baroco HGF. This outstanding four year old shows great promise and, paired with their Junior Level daughter, should be a top prospect for all levels as grow together. Elena is an EDAP rider who trains regularly with Maria Lithander, and will be part of the WIT program this winter with Lendon Gray. Upcoming Events for Winter 2014: Daniel Martin Dockx Clinic, January in Wellington, TBA USPRE Week, January 20-26 USPRE Party, Wednesday, January 22, at Global Dressage The Great Charity Challenge, PBIEC , Saturday, February 1 Florida Youth Dressage Championships, February 18-23 The Nations Cup at Global Dressage, February 18-23
HGF Year in Review 2010
HGF Year in Review 2010 It’s been a year of unexpected changes at Hampton Green Farm since our last Year-in-Review. At the beginning of 2010 we were very pleased with the course we were on, and could not have imagined the events that would take place throughout the year to alter the direction of the farm and business. And yet, looking back over what has been a challenging year, we can see new doors open to us, new relationships and new roads to explore. Hampton Green Farm will continue to breed and campaign top-quality PRE horses for Dressage, while we welcome the new challenges that come with change. On a number of levels, 2010 was a year of loss for HGF. We lost two beloved horses to colic—Cantora, mother of Encanto and Ibiza; and Mejorano, a promising small tour horse for HGF prior to an irreparable suspensory ligament tear in 2007. However, the event that shook our world, as well as the entire Dressage world, was the injury to US Olympian Courtney King-Dye, who sustained head trauma in early March in a fall on a client’s young horse. Courtney had been training HGF’s Grandioso III for the past two years, hoping to qualify him in 2010 for the Team Selection Trials for the World Equestrian Games. She was preparing him for his first Grand Prix at the Palm Beach Derby the weekend of her accident. Courtney remained unconscious for close to a month and then, beating all expectations, awoke with full mental capacities. Within a few months, she was able to help the US Team as they prepared for the WEG in Kentucky and to teach her assistant rider Jen Marchand and HGF’s Maria Lithander on their horses. Her physical healing, however, has taken more time and she is hoping to begin to ride competitive horses by the end of next year. Grandioso remained in condition and light work at HGF while we waited and hoped for Courtney’s full recovery. Now that 2011 is approaching, Grandioso will need to go to a rider who will campaign him with sites on the London Olympic Games. Courtney is involved in the decision of who should ride Grandioso for the next 18 months, and HGF expects to announce his new rider in early 2011. Another circumstance that shaped the direction of HGF this year was the continued recession and its impact on horse sales, particularly sales of horses younger than 4 years old. Continued economic uncertainty prompted our decision to hold a “Top Ten” Herd Reduction Sale in August, where 10 of our best young horses under 3--with excellent bloodlines, movement, temperament and radiographs--were sold at auction for bargain prices. The sale brought in buyers from all sectors of the horse community—from young riders and amateurs to professionals—and we ended up selling 14 horses during the month of August. What appeared to be a bust for the bottom line actually turned into a highly successful marketing event for HGF. Since the sale, our phones have been ringing regularly for young horses, we ended the year with over 20 sales and we’ve been able to return to prices of former years. Additionally, Olympian Robert Dover’s purchase of HGF Fiero has resulted in a new level of interest in our young horses from professional riders (the performance of Spain’s Fuego before an American audience also played a part…), and we are excited to hear of Robert’s progress with Fiero on his doversworld.com blog. (See also www.hamptongreenauctions.com.) We’ve also made changes to our riding staff, and this has widened our horizons now to Spain and eventually Europe, we hope. The young horses, who had been competed by Maria Lithander at the lower levels with notable success in Wellington and Michigan, have now begun their FEI training in Spain with Daniel Martin Dockx. The original plan was for Courtney and her team to take over the training of these horses once they were ready for the work of the Prix St. George. With all factors considered, we chose Daniel to train them for the upper levels, which also will allow these horses to begin their international careers in Spain. HGF’s name in Spain is well recognized, thanks to Dani’s work with HGF’s Encanto, which has brought him national titles and top accolades, and we felt that the environment there would be more conducive to train and compete Idolo Americano and Adelante. Additionally, this past fall we welcomed Mica Mabragana to our riding staff. Mica is a talented young trainer and long-time student of Lendon Gray who rides for Argentina. She will be stabled with her clients at HGF in Wellington this winter and campaigning Idilio II for qualification for the Pan Am Games next October. She also will be continuing Cuatrero’s training for the time being. Looking forward, we will continue our monthly clinic series with Lendon Gray, who will be based at Hampton Green Farm all winter, as we also maintain our close relationship with Courtney during her rehabilitation. We will be reporting on our horses who are showing at the upper levels this year with hopes of international championship competition, and we will continue to bring along the best PREs in the United States for Dressage—both at home and in Europe. 2010 Highlights and Awards: Wellington Season: First Level through Intermediare II— 11 First Places, 4 Second Places FEI in 2010: 6 First Places, 2 Second Places Region Two Championships: Reserve Champion, Second Level, Idolo Americano Fifth Place, First Level, Bolero CXLVIII Fifth Place, Prix St. George, Idilio II Sixth Place, Intermediare I, Idilio II USDF All Breeds Awards: Champion, Prix St. George, Open--Idilio II, median score 67.105 Champion, First Level, Open--Bolero CXLVIII, median score 70.00 United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Leading Dressage Owners for 2010: National Ranking #34 (out of 7677) Many thanks to all of our staff and riders who helped make these successes possible for us, and best wishes to all for a safe and happy 2011!
November News and Pan American Update:
November is a transition month at HGF. For the Michigan farm, the stallions have left for Florida and it's time to wean the foals. Sandy Talbot and her team prepare the facility for the long winter. In Florida, the horses have settled in and the first of the seasonal renters are arriving. Maria Lithander has started all the horses while we wait for Mica Mabragana to arrive later in the month with her clients and horses from New York. Some important dates for this month: November 22-26 SICAB, Sevilla Spain November 30-December 4 CDI 4* Salzburg (Grandioso) *Don't forget Tuesday evenings, 6-8 pm, with Robert Dover atwww.DoversWorld.com . Pan American Update: We've had a number of people inquire as to Idilio's participation in the Pan Americans. Following the invitation from the Argentine Equestrian Federation, we decided not to send Idilio to Guadalajara. It was our opinion that the stress of the trip on an older stallion was prohibitive and as we were responsible for our own travel and importation process, we were concerned about other risks to the horse. Idilio is 100% sound and in work at HGF Wellington at this time.
Season of Change
Hampton Green Farm would like to thank Maria Lithander for over two years of training and competing for Hampton Green. When Maria came on in 2008, she took on the responsibility of starting three young stallions and also the job of reworking parts of Idilio's training to make him competitive again at the FEI levels. All of this Maria accomplished beautifully, bringing Adelante, Idolo Americano and Bolero up to third level with consistent scores above 70% in Wellington, a Region II Reserve Championship (Idolo), several USDF All Breeds awards, and scores up to 72% for Idilio in the Small Tour. Last March, she agreed to take on Olympian Courtney Dye's mount Grandioso III while Courtney recovered from a head injury in a fall, a task she approached with great care. Last month Courtney visited Grandioso for the first time and was thrilled with his condition, attitude and the freshness of his work, all thanks to Maria's careful schooling over the past six months. Now the young horses are moving on to the next phase in their training. Spanish rider Daniel Martin will take over the reins of Idolo Americano and Adelante beginning in November, and long-time Lendon Gray student Mica Mabragana will begin to work with the others once they are settled in Wellington for the winter. Our thanks to Maria for everything and we continue to consider Maria part of the HGF family for her outstanding work with PRE horses.
Courtney Dye Visits HGF and Grandioso
We were thrilled to have a visit from Courtney and her husband Jason last weekend at the Michigan farm. Courtney had spent the morning with the US Team as they made final preparations for WEG, and then flew into Grand Rapids on Friday evening. She had not been to the farm for a year, and more importantly she had not seen Grandioso since her riding accident in March. Her visit was intended to be low-key and more of a show-and-tell than a formal clinic, but Courtney asked for the microphone during the first ride of one of our young horses and began to teach just as she has done so many times before at HGF. Maria Lithander rode four horses for her on Saturday, and three rides on Sunday. Additionally we worked several of the colts and fillies whose progress Courtney has followed since they were weanlings. Courtney's first priority was to see Grandioso and his work with Maria, who has been keeping him tuned since the horse came back to us from Courtney's barn in mid-March. She coached Maria through all of the Grand Prix work, and she was very happy to see that the horse had not lost anything in the time she has been off of him, and that he was relaxed and happy in all his work under the interim rider. Grandioso also appeared extremely pleased to see Courtney again--in a stallion kind of way--and we had to make sure that he didn't knock her off her feet with affection!Courtney has informed us of her plans to go to Wellington this winter, to assist Jen Marchand with the training of all of the horses in Courtney's program and also with the hopes of starting to ride again at some point over the winter. She also will be overseeing the training of Grandioso until the point that she can take the reins again herself. But her main occupation will remain her road to recovery, and she is fortunate to have Jason to keep her on-track and focused with all the distraction of her enthusiasm for getting back around the horses!On another note, it's WEG week and we are there! If you are unable to attend, find the Hampton Green Forum on Facebook and follow along with us as we post our experiences and impressions. And as much as we love and support our US Team, we are also fans of the wonderful Spanish horses who are coming--Fuego, Norte and Gnidium--and we'll be watching them and wishing them all good luck in the games!
Traverse City Success Stories!
HGF took 5 stallions up to Traverse City with an agenda for each. Excellent showing conditions and top-quality judges who are Wellington regulars are only two reasons to attend this fantastic show. We are please to report the following success stories: Idilio II--Back in the FEI ring after almost 10 months, having sustained two slight back-to-back injuries. Maria LIthander was looking to retain his high scores from Wellington 2009 at the PSG with hopes to qualify for Regionals at the Small Tour. This they accomplished easily, with a high score of 70% on the second day and the FEI Reserve High Point Award (second to George Williams). Idolo Americano and Bolero CXLVIII--Last year's TC show was Idolo's first time in the ring. This year, he and his stable mate Bolero dominated the Second Level Four classes, taking first and second each of the three days and securing their Regional scores. Adelante rode in his first ever 3rd level tests, taking Second Place both days with scores up to 67%. We are especially pleased with this young horse, who has made such progress since his Training Level debut in 2009. He received scores of 7s from Judge William Solyntjes on his lead changes and showed his usual confidence in the ring. Decorosito HGF--Son of Molly Reynold's Decoroso and HGF's Quintera, this 4 year old amazed us all with his performance in his first ever dressage show. Scores in the mid to high sixties and placings of Fourth and Third in large classes. The beautiful liver chestnut was a superstar! Congratulations, Maria, Molly, and staff for a great week!
New Training Blog by Maria Lithander
Follow Maria Lithander's training notes on the Lendon Gray Group onbarnbynotes.com . This is a new venue for riders to blog about their experiences with leading trainers. Join the Lendon Gray group and follow Maria's thoughts and progress as she works her various horses of all levels with Lendon. Below is an excerpt from Maria's first post: "...As the clinic progressed, it became very clear that my flaws follow me at all levels. One that stood out was being what Lendon calls a "preparation queen". Yes, my horses are obedient, but it just takes too long from the moment that I decide to do something to when it actually happens. My feeling is that I avoid confontation and make it comfortable for myself by trying to make everything perfect before I attempt the exercise. A good example of that is taking half a diagonal before doing a change..."
Summer Training Package Available
HGF is offering board and training packages for two stalls this summer at Hampton Green Farm in Michigan. Enjoy the ideal Michigan climate and train with the HGF staff at our beautiful summer facilities, take advantage of the HGF clinic and show schedule, including training with Lendon Gray and competing at Dressage by the Bay in Traverse CIty. Head Trainer Maria Lithander will offer two full-training packages this summer for a horse only, or horse and rider. For more information, please contact Maria directly at 561-644-4661.
Wellington Show Report
Maria Lithander has been quite busy with her young horses recently. She dominated the First Level at the Palm Beach Derby with all three of the younger horses--Bolero, Idolo Americano, and Adelante. Each of the horses showed that they were ready to move up, with all three horses scoring over 70 per cent. Now if we could just not have them all in the same class! We were especially proud of Idolo for his 3 scores over 72% at only his second dressage show--and of Bolero for winning the USPRE Open National Level High Point Award, and missing the High Point Award for the entire Palm Beach Derby by only .2 points! Palm Beach Dressage Derby Results First Level Test One Idolo 72.00 First Bolero 66.67 Second First Level Test Two (Judge Lilo Fore) Idolo 74.722 First Adelante 70.667 Second First Level Test Three Bolero 69.714 Second Adelante 64.00 Fourth First Level Test Four Bolero 75.5 First Idolo 75.2 Second We also want to congratulate Maria and Adelante for their win at Adelante's first ever 2nd level test, at the Wellington Classic Dressage Challenge II with a 66.3. At the FEI Level, we are following Daniel Martin's progress with HGF's Encanto XI in Vejer, Spain, at the 2010 Sunshine Tour. This is Dani and Encanto's first international competition and first time to compete at Inter I together, and for a 7 1/2 year old horse, Encanto has shown exceptional promise. His results so far in this highly competitive CDI, with one weekend of the Tour left to go, are: Week One PSG 68.5 4th out of 34 Inter I 64.8 10th out of 29 Week Two PSG 65.4 10th out of 38 Inter I 66.5 7th out of 32 For real time results and information about the Sunshine Tour, go tohttp://www.sunshinetour.net/index_sp.html . Courtney continues to make small signs of progress and we remain hopeful for her full recovery. For current updates, please seewww.courtneykingdressage.com .
Winter 2010 Horses for Sale
HGF is pleased to offer two exceptional PREs for sale this winter in Wellington. Both horses present clean x-rays and winning show records. Currently in training with Maria Lithander, both are exciting prospects for future FEI competition. To schedule an appointment, please contact the HGF office at hamptongreenfarm@aol.com, or 231-865-6000.