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News Articles
Back on Top! HGF-sponsored Rachel Chowanec and Embrujado XI are USEF Reserve National Champions for the Young Rider Division
It seems like only yesterday that a very shy 14 year-old arrived in Michigan from Connecticut to try out one of our horses. The little girl was Rachel Chowanec, a Lendon Gray student since she was 5 years old. The horse was Embrujado XI, an atypical PRE with behavioral issues that Lendon Gray couldn’t resist and had to own. All along, Gray had Rachel in mind for the imported gray gelding, and once again, she made the right call. Rachel took Embrujado (whom she quickly renamed “Mouse”) home with her to Connecticut, and the PRE with too much spook and too much bull-fighting instinct suddenly had pink wraps and ribbons in his long mane. It was the start of a transformation that has now taken this pair from nowhere to the National spotlight…twice! They first appeared in Gladstone in 2011 at the Junior Level, surprising many with their focused and technically accurate tests. That year they were Reserve National Champions for Junior Division. Rachel had clearly made a fundamental difference in Mouse’s life, but now we know they were only getting started. In the beginning of this year, Rachel and Mouse started along a rough road, with several small niggling injuries keeping them out of consistent competition. Their show record was sporadic, and fell short of a score to qualify for NAJYRCs. Over the summer, they attended Lendon Gray’s EDAP clinic in Maryland, as well as rode in her clinic at HGF in June. Rachel also schooled with Andrea Landis and Nicholas Fyffe over the summer with a number of her PRE projects. But their inability to show consistently this year kept them out of the top 12 for the USEF National Championships, although they were named as an alternate. Yet luck was on their side, and with only two weeks to go till the competition, Rachel received the official invitation to compete. They traveled to Kentucky not really feeling 100% prepared but very happy to be included. Again this year as in 2011, the harmony of their partnership along with the technical accuracy of their tests brought them straight up to the top of the ranking. They were up against the 2013 NAJYRC Gold Medalist and yet by the second day, the gap was closing. Scoring 65.474 in the Team Test, and 67.237 in the Individual, Rachel and Mouse took the USEF Reserve National Championships again as Young Riders. Rachel’s achievements with Embrujado represent the highest national recognition that a PRE has reached in the United States to date, and she says they have more in store. We can’t wait to see where it goes from here!
Another Outstanding Clinic with Nicholas Fyffe
(submitted by Betsy Bougie) Australian native and rising international dressage star, Nicholas Fyffe, returned to Hampton Green Farm this weekend to educate and inspire us. The clinic, hosted by Andrea Landis, was a great success, filling two days with riders from youth through professional. In addition to being a top professional, Nicholas is a generous, positive and thorough clinician. The riders and auditors often you heard the encouraging words: “You can do this”, “be really patient”, “I have 100% faith that you can do this” and even “I make mistakes”. Nicholas inspired us with his faith in us as riders and the horses we train. Hands-on approach makes a big impact. Nicholas rode many of the horses at the clinic so that he could understand what the rider was feeling and to inform his teaching. On many occasions he reassuringly said to the horse “you can do this”, as he worked through each area of resistance or tension calmly and with positive energy. Nicholas’ training philosophy is finding the easiest way to have the horse understand what he wants them to do. “I always want to think about how I can make my riding simpler. When a horse doesn’t understand me then I look at it from their perspective and think “how can I do something with this horse that they DO understand?” and it’s usually getting it done in a very simple way. For me, the less aids the better. The single aid is the simplest aid and it’s the easiest too for the horse to understand.” This positive and straight forward approach was well received by the attendees. Even when the ride “isn’t so pretty” the effect of Nicholas’ confident approach and keen eye gave riders of every level tools for an incredibly rewarding experience. I myself, count down the days between clinics with Nicholas. Having participated in two Fyffe clinics now, I’m much more confident in my ability to train my 4 y/o PRE Botero HGF. The clinic was filled with positive comments from riders and auditors. “He doesn’t make you feel like it’s not in your power to get better”, said professional rider and trainer, Val Noblet, who rode her 16 y/o Hanoverian “Wunderboy” on Saturday. She added, “He also very respectful and is really good at listening to the rider and likes to know how you feel about things covered in your ride. He gives you homework that you can feel positive about and instills in you a feeling that if you put in the work, you’re capable of getting something out of it.” Rider Bernadette Radke, who brought in her horse Set To Jet shared, “He gives you a REAL lesson as opposed to ignoring you, belittling you or just telling you what you’d like to hear; like “oh your horse is wonderful and you two make a lovely pair” which is what a lot of dressage riders unfortunately DO like to hear.” What did we learn? or relearn? Two fundamentals of dressage are relaxation and submission. Nicholas helped each rider find more of both. For some of the top riders the lesson was very technical. For one horse and rider he worked on getting more reactivity in the hind legs for the start of piaffe, which resulted in good activity in the half pass. For my younger horse it was about adjusting his neck position and providing firmer consequences for resistance to my left rein. For others it was about generating more energy and responsiveness to the leg aids. Nicholas stated, “My training is about the easiest way to have the horse understand what I want them to do...It’s not just about using these aids at these times, it’s about reading the horse and the situation every time and acting appropriately.” By the end of the clinic, each of us was sharper with our aids and corrections. Nicholas was extremely meticulous and challenged me to get out of my comfort zone. He was tough and respectful. He generously shared his ability to train different horses and different riders across all the levels while he delivered 100% focus and enthusiasm from the first ride to the last. That’s what you get with Nicholas Fyffe: incredible talent, patience and wisdom, plus positivity, presence and heart. Val summed it up best: “When you have someone come in with that much positive energy that positive energy gets passed through you and who can’t be inspired by that?” Thanks for inspiring us once again Nicholas and thank you to Andrea Landis for hosting and coordinating another wonderful clinic at Hampton Green Farm.
Summer Highlights
Summer is in full swing at HGF, with no sign of slowing down. The foals are growing and the barn is busy with riding and training. The Nicholas Fyffe clinic was a great success, filling three days with riders from youth level through professional. The riders found Nicholas to be a generous and highly effective clinician, and a follow-up clinic is now scheduled for September 7-8.We have a number of charity functions scheduled for the next two months. For information about attending one of these events, please contact one of the organizing charities below:August 17 Father Jack FoundationAugust 24 Faith in ActionAugust 28 READ MuskegonSeptember 7 Women's Division of the Muskegon Chamber of CommerceSeptember 12 AgeWell, Meals on WheelsSeptember 28 LOVE,Inc.Upcoming horse shows for HGF in August and September are:FEI European Championships, Herning, Denmark, August 20-25Dressage at Waterloo Summer Finale, August 22-25Feria del Caballo Espanol, City of Industry, CA, September 19-22
Nicholas Fyffe Clinic at HGF Fruitport, July 26-28
Nicholas Fyffe returns to HGF for a 3-day clinic, organized by Andrea Landis, and featuring:5 EDAP riders8 Professionals and Adult Amateurs6 HGF-bred Horses9 Iberian horses6 Warmbloodsand 1 Pony2 open spots, $250/rideContact Andrea Landis at andreadressage1@hotmail.comAuditors Welcome: $20.00 per day, Lunch ProvidedPhoto Credits: Betsy Bougie and Frieze Frame, Inc.
Nicholas Fyffe and Lorraine Stubbs to Headline at the Lendon Youth Dressage Festival Midwest
The final plans for the 2013 Lendon Youth Dressage Festival Midwest have been finalized, and this year's speakers bring the world of High Performance Dressage to the youth riders attending the show. The Saturday evening dinner for the riders and their families will kick-off the weekend with speaker Nicholas Fyffe. Nicholas was born in Australia to a family of racehorse trainers. From his youth he excelled at both riding and gymnastics. As a young adult, he decided to dedicate his life to the pursuit of the ideals of Dressage. Nicholas has lived and trained in Germany under top international riders including Martina Hannover Sternberg, Ulla Salzgeber, Hubertus Schmidt, and Catherine Haddad. He was a member of the Australian Dressage Team, winner ofthe 2007 Tri-Nations Cup in South Africa, and long-listed for the Olympic Games in Beijing. Nicholas has qualified multiple horses for the World Young Horse Championships and during his years as manager of Suntori Park in Sydney, Australia, Nicholas won multiple Australian Championships up through the FEI levels. In 2010, Nicholas relocated to Wellington, Florida, to be an assistant trainer for Oded Shimoni. Now in partnership with Canadian Olympian David Marcus, Nicholas continues to ride and train at Stillpoint Farm in Wellington, and in Campbellville, Ontario. Nicholas is a rising star, having competed successfully in the Wellington circuit in the past few years at both national and international levels, and is the current trainer of Robert Dover's Fiero HGF, a 4 year old PRE stallion by Grandioso III. Nicholas is busy giving clinics around the country and in Canada, and we are grateful he is taking time to help out at LYDFM. Nicholas will also be the Dressage Commentator on Sunday morning during the Dressage Test component of the show. He will be sitting with our judge, Lorraine Stubbs, and providing each rider with a short review of their ride. Lorraine Stubbs, Canadian Olympian, 4* Judge and author, will provide a lecture to the riders at the conclusion of the Equitation classes, and just prior to the awards ceremony. For more about Lorraine, see http://www.hamptongreenfarm.com/PRE-horses-lendon-youth-dressage-festival-update-2013-judging-panel-led-by-lorraine-stubbs-of-canada-en-289.html. LYDFM 2013 is shaping up to be an exciting and highly educational experience for all of our riders! Registration is now open. See the Prize List and Entry Form provided above on our Home Page.
June News
We have nine new foals at HGF, all healthy, strong and full of character. Our 2013 breedings include 2 colts by Camaron, 3 colts by Cuatrero, and 4 fillies by various sires. Additionally, we have a number of young horses available to age 4. Interested buyers should contact the HGF office for a complete sales list. The HGF Team had a successful show weekend: --Young Rider Rachel Chowanec and Embrujado scored over 68% in both the Team and Individual Tests at Waterloo Dressage in Grass Lake, Michigan. --Kerrigan Gluch maintained her average with scores of 63 and 64% with Cuatrero in the Junior Division. --Andrea Landis showed her own Brioso HGF (Bolero x Quintera) in the USEF Four Year Old Division and scored 71%. She now joins the ranks of HGF's TEAM70. --Daniel Martin Dockx competed Vaquero HGF in the CDN*** at Dos Lunas for a high score of 77% in the FEI Six Year Old Final Test and for the fourth time in four outings, won the Copa ANCCE Award (top scoring PRE for the show). And this week is our Youth Week at HGF featuring the Emerging Dressage Athlete Clinic and the Lendon Youth Dressage Fesitval Midwest. Dressage4Kids announced the riders of the EDAP clinic: Kylie Heitman Rachel Chowanec Kerrigan Gluch Katrina Sadis Anna Logan Kailey Gehl Nicole Gallant Ella Angelo Claire Kendall Katja Creswick Katherine Esterline (Auditing is allowed, free of charge, no lunch provided.) The LYDFM is bringing out riders of all ages to 21 years old, from Western Michigan and several other states. Join us this Saturday evening. Dressage4Kids Annual Dinner at HGF is Open to the Public When: Saturday Evening, June 22 Where: Hampton Green Farm, 5440 E Farr Road, Fruitport, MI What: Dinner with Special Guest Speaker Nicholas Fyffe and Lendon Gray. Cost: $20.00 per person donation to D4K Contact: 231-865-6000
HGF News December 2011
As the holidays approach, Wellington is busy with preparations for a huge show season in 2012 in all the equestrian sports. The new Global Dressage Festival prizelists are now posted atwww.globaldressagefestival.com and the showgrounds is beginning to take shape amidst the trucks, work crews, ditches, pipes and mountains of dirt and footing. The permanent stabling is almost completely up now and the covered arena has been delivered, to be erected in the next two weeks. The week following Christmas will see the first Dover Horsemanship Week for the Emerging Dressage Athletes, held this year at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. 10 riders and 8 auditors, all under 21, were selected from a series of clinics throughout the country given by Lendon Gray and hosted by her Dressage4Kids Foundation. There were 5 riders/auditors selected from the HGF EDAP clinic held last July, as well as HGF-sponsored Junior Rider and Reserve National Champion Rachel Chowanec. From December 26-31, riders will be taught by seven top US trainers including Anne Gribbons, Kathy Connelly and Katherine Bateson Chandler, in addition to Robert, Lendon and Courtney. HGF will host the exhibitor's dinner on Friday night.... more to come! Also seehttp://www.eurodressage.com/equestrian/2011/12/16/us-emerging-dressage-athlete-program-plans-final-2012-clinic And speaking of Robert, Fiero HGF made his show debut in a 3 year old Materiale class two weekends ago. They scored 70.6, and rider Nicholas Fyffe now joins the good company of our TEAM 70! You can see more photos and meet Nick at the Hampton Green Forum on Facebook. Finally, our winter boarders are starting to arrive and we look forward to having Canadian Olympian Jackie Brooks and her clients, as well as a number of other Canadians this year. Good luck to all this winter!