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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.
Chloe Fullar: 2018 Robert Dover Scholarship Recipient for LYDF Midwest
Chloe Fullar of Saint Joseph, Michigan, is the trainer of Sophia Schults, the 2018 LYDF Midwest Grand Champion, and as such, is the recipient of the Robert Dover Scholarhip for one week of training at his Wellington base. Robert offered this scholarship to reward the trainer of the top youth rider in this competition which required a written exam, a dressage test and an equitation class, as a continued effort on his part to support the development of youth dressage. Chloe Fullar is a USDF Bronze, Silver, and Gold medalist and a Gold Freestyle Bar recipient. In recent years, two of Chloe’s students made the 2016, 2017, as well as the 2018 NAYC (formerly known as North American Junior and Young Rider Championships), a competition equivalent to the Olympics for youth. Out of four spots on the team, Chloe’s students took half. One of her students has also qualified for USDF Nationals as a Young Rider, competing against adults in the open division and placing in the top ten. Chloe has qualified multiple horses for Regional Championships over the years, including qualifying two different horses in their respective FEI divisions in their first year of FEI competition in 2017. She has also had students win multiple awards at Regionals, including the 2017 Champion Young Rider Division, 2017 Reserve Champion Young Rider Prix St George, 2017 Dressage Seat Medal Semi-Final Winner, and the 2016 Reserve Champion 3rd Level Freestyle. Chloe has trained with numerous world renown trainers, clinicians and judges for over twenty-five years. She started her own training business over ten years ago and has brought a number of horses and riders up through the Grand Prix level. With a deep understanding of the fundamentals of dressage, her years of dedication have given her an innate ability to read each horse and rider to bring out their potential. Chloe excels in discovering the strength of each horse through a kind way of handling and training, which has not gone unnoticed. She trains horses and disciplined riders of all levels who are looking to increase their abilities and knowledge of dressage. Through her knowledge and experience, she develops her horses physically and mentally so they are equipped to perform to the best of their ability. For 2018, Chloe Fullar Dressage has a full show season planned, with shows throughout Region 2 and Region 3, along with several top clinicians including Dolly Hannon, Lendon Gray, and Anne Gribbons coming to her home base in Southwest Michigan. Chloe would also like to thank her current sponsors for a successful 2017 for their continued support into 2018 including Patrick Saddlery and Stanbridge Master Saddlers, Nate Beyler with Bemer Veterinary, along with Tribute Feeds.
Lendon Youth Festival Midwest 2018 Features Janne Rumbough and Robert Dover Sponsorship
05.07.2018 Registration is now open for the 2018 LYDF Midwest, bringing top international dressage athletes and personalities to the youth riders of the Midwest and this year a new sponsorship from Robert Dover to the Trainer of the Grand Champion! This all-youth horse show is open to any rider under 21, and consists of 3 divisions: Written Test, Dressage Test, and Equitation Test. Modeled after the highly successful LYDF held every summer in New York, the Midwest version is a one-day event, preceded by a TEAM (formerly Emerging Dressage Athlete) clinic with Lendon Gray and a Saturday night Exhibitor's Dinner featuring world-class competitors. Dates are: Friday and Saturday, June 22-23: TEAM Clinic with Lendon Gray and others. Saturday night, June 23: Exhibitors Party—Friends and Parents Invited featuring Janne Rumbough, USDF Member of Distinction and the “First Lady” of Wellington Dressage Sunday, June 24: Lendon Youth Dressage Festival Midwest, 3-Part Competition Where: Hampton Green Farm, Fruitport, MI www.hamptongreenfarm.com The following speakers and commentators will be involved with this year’s event: Lendon Gray, Founder and President of Dressage4Kids: Two-time Olympian Lendon Gray believes dressage is for every horse and rider. Generous, outspoken, and pragmatic, Lendon has devoted her energies to the improvement of all riders (not just the privileged ones) and all horses (even the littlest ones). With the goal that all youths might learn how to become not just better riders, but all-around horsemen, Lendon established Lendon’s Youth Dressage Festival (formerly known as the Northeast Junior/Young Rider Championships) in 1999. Lendon will be training and lecturing to the riders throughout the weekend, as well as overseeing all of the Divisions. Saturday Night: Janne Rumbough Janne is an Adult Amateur rider who has been a role model to amateurs, professionals, and juniors, in many capacities. She was a founding creator of the Palm Beach Derby 30 years ago, which is the longest standing CDI in Florida and one of the longest running CDIs in the United States, earning her the nickname “Wellington’s First Lady of Dressage”. As a competitor, Janne is a USDF Bronze, Silver, and Gold medalist, as well as a USDF Silver and Gold Freestyle Bar recipient. She was won the Master’s Challenge Award at all levels of competition, and has won ten USDF/Dover Saddlery Adult Amateur Medals. In 2014, she won the Grand Prix Freestyle Amateur Championship at the US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan®, with her crowd pleasing Mary Poppins Freestyle. Janne has competed in a just over thirteen-hundred tests spanning twenty horses, at all levels, and over twenty five years of competition. In addition to her riding career, Janne owns several top level horses competed by other dressage professionals, at both national and international levels. Personally, she has competed two PRE horses to international Grand Prix success in the last five years. Dressage Commentator: Janne Rumbough Saturday PM Round Table: Lendon Youth Festival All Star Graduates, including Sophia Schults, Ayden Uhlir, and Rosie Simoes Dressage Judge:Merrilyn Griffin, USEF “r” Dressage Judge Equitation Judge: Betty Horst ***LYDF Midwest is proud to announce a new Champion Trainer’s Award, sponsored by US National Dressage Team Trainer Robert Dover. Presented to the trainer of the Grand Champion rider of the show, Robert Dover will generously donate FIVE LESSONS at his Wellington location for this award recipient. Robert has a special passion for the Dressage4Kids programs and is happy to invest in the professionals who are preparing young people for future dressage careers. LYDF Midwest Prize List 2018 and Entry Form now available on the Home Page of this website. TEAM riders must apply through the Dressage4Kids website. Information and application available athttps://dressage4kidsorg.presencehost.net/programs/team-program.html All TEAM Riders MUST enter the LYDF on Sunday, June 24.
Grandioso in Wellington: The American Win
When you climb the Tower Giralda, the 340 foot Moorish minaret that is the symbol for the city of Sevilla, you learn a valuable life lesson. That is, that the views on the way up are far better, more rich with detail and lovelier, than the view from the top. Last week, during the CDI-W at the Global Dressage Festival sponsored by USPRE, Daniel Martin Dockx and Grandioso took second in a huge Grand Prix class and then went on to win the Grand Prix Special-- the first Grand Prix victory in America for a PRE horse in an international competition. This past weekend was more than a milestone for us at HGF. It wasn't our biggest show or our biggest win, but it was the fulfillment of a dream--to bring Grandioso back to the US and continue his successful competition career here for the benefit of the American dressage audience. The road with this horse has been long and winding, and like the walk up the stairs of the tower, filled with previews of success as well as long sections of dark, bricked walls. Some memories of the career of Grandioso are: --Discovering him in Spain at the Yeguada Marin Garcia as an unstarted four year old, with Pati and Peter Pierucci. --Inexplicable low scores and puzzled comments by judges at the national levels. --A placing of dead last in a Stallion Under Saddle class of 20 horses, at Dressage at Devon Breed Show, from a respected CA dressage judge. --Martin Schaudt's first ride and our first glimpse of the real potential of the horse. --Kathy Connelly's admonition not to sell him when he was first designated as a sale horse. --Robert Dover's early prediction "This horse could ride for any team!" --Courtney King Dye's first ride. --The first Freestyle, and the first international 74%. --USEF Inter 1 National Championships, finishing Fifth. --The darkest 10 months... --The audition in Wellington with Daniel Martin and Jan Bemelmans. --The tearful good-bye in Jan. 2011, with Courtney King-Dye and Jason. --10 Centerlines in Spain. --4th in Salzburg, Champion of Spain, first 70 at Aachen, London, Treffen, Herning, Champion of Spain again, Bronze in Aachen, Normandy and now Wellington... Grandioso is now 16, and we don't take for granted his continued soundness and willingness to work at the level he is competing. Coming back to Florida is one of the last few goals we had for him. We waited until he had nothing more to prove, but this horse seems to want to keep proving things--not least of all that breed, type and size are irrelevant in this sport. Last weekend's win was his gift to us who have labored so long to see this day. Next weekend's 5* is about fun and pageantry and being a part of it all-- a showcase of the best horses in all of North America plus many top horses from overseas. We are honored to have been invited and to take part in this wonderful event--which will be a brilliant spectacle for the general community, but for us, a hometown celebration of Grandioso's fairy-tale career.
LYDF Midwest and EDAP Fact Sheet
Q: What is LYDF Midwest? A: The Lendon Youth Dressage Festival Midwest is a one-day version of the LYDF held every summer in New York--a three-phase competition encompassing a Written Test, a group Equitation class and an individual Dressage test--for youth riders 21 years old and younger. Q: Who Can Participate in LYDF Midwest? A: Riders 21 and younger from all equestrian disciplines who are interested in furthering their knowledge and riding skills through the exercises of dressage. Q: When and Where is LYDF Midwest? A: July 12, 2012 at Hampton Green Farm, 5440 E. Farr Road, Fruitport, Michigan. Q: Who is Coming to LYDF Midwest? A: US Olympians Lendon Gray and Robert Dover. USEF International Dressage Judge Natalie Lamping. Canadian Dressage Trainer Jacklyn Brooks. 2012 EDAP Riders and riding clubs from around the Midwest and more. Q: How Do I Register? A: Entry Form is available at the link on this page. Send in your Entry Forms early as space is limited. Q: What Happens at the Dinner on Wednesday? A: EDAP Riders and families join with LYDF Midwest Riders for a festive dinner with special speaker Robert Dover. Tickets are available to the public for $20.00, checks made out to Dressage4Kids. Q: Where Can I Get More Information? A: First, see the Prizelist at the link on this page. For additional information, contact Joan Mack at , or Lendon Gray at . Q: How Much Does It Cost? A: See Entry Form for fees. Q: What is EDAP? A: The Emerging Dressage Athlete Program was founded in 2011 to find, to help to educate and develop talented youth under 21 to become the international riders and trainers of the future. The program organizes clinics in various parts of the US and from these clinics participants will be selected for national clinics. Top international coaches have also been asked to nominate riders they feel have special talent. It is meant as a stepping-stone from participating at the grassroots level to climbing the long ladder on the way to representing the US in international competitions and/or becoming a successful professional. Through this program, dedicated, talented Dressage youth will be sought out in all parts of the US. The teacher(s) in the clinics will ensure that the basics of their education as riders and horsemen are properly established and will give them a road map for their Dressage journey. Q: When and Where is the Michigan EDAP Clinic? A: July 10-11 (Tuesday and Wednesday) at Hampton Green Farm, 5440 E Farr Road, Fruitport, Michigan Q: How Do I Register? A: You must apply to be an EDAP rider. Go to for the Application Form and instructions. You will be asked to submit two letters of recommendation, a print-out of your scores, a 4 minute uninterrupted video of you performing particular tasks on your horse, and the completed application. APPLY EARLY! Q: How Much Does It Cost? A: There is a $20.00 Application Fee, and a $150.00 Program Fee if you are selected. Q: How Do I Get More Information About EDAP A: First, see . Then see our Media Partner 's coverage of the 2011-2012 EDAP news at . For more information, contact Joan Mack at , or Lendon Gray at .
Endel Ots to Replace Robert Dover at Lendon Youth Dressage Festival Midwest
Due to circumstances in his family, Robert Dover regretfully has had cancel his appearance at the Exhibitor's Dinner and Lendon Youth Festival Midwest. We are happy to announce that Pan American US Team Alternate Endel Ots will take Robert's place as speaker at the Exhibitor's Dinner on Wednesday evening, July 11, and Dressage commentator on Thursday during the Festival. Endel is a "rising star" on the American dressage scene, with a number of National titles to his name. At 26 years old, he has numerous CDI wins including CDI Dressage at Devon Intermedire 1 and Intermedire 1 Freestyle with over a 75%. Endel has years of experience teaching everyone from beginners to adult amateurs. He coached his sister to a Bronze Medal at the North American Junior Young Rider Championships, and to other top place finishes at Gladstone. Endel has much experience with troubled horses and starting young horses on the path to success. He has trained in Germany with Hubertus Schmdit, and currently resides in Florida where he works with Lars Petersen on a daily basis and operates Lions Share Dressage with his business partner Caroline Roffman. Endel joins Lendon Gray and Dr. Hilary Clayton as special guests at the LYDF Midwest on July 12. Tickets for the Exhibitor's Dinner--Wednesday, July 11 at 6.30 pm-- are available to the public for a $20 donation to Dressage4Kids.RSVP-231-865-6000.
Robert Dover and Dr. Hilary Clayton to Headline the Lendon Youth Dressage Festival Midwest in Michigan
Hampton Green Farm in Fruitport, Michigan, is pleased to announce that Robert Dover will be the speaker at the LYDFM Exhibitor's Dinner on Wednesday, July 11. Robert Dover is the most honored dressage athlete in the United States--a multiple-Olympic and World Equestrian Games medalist for the United States Dressage Team, former Team Trainer for Canada, and founder of the Equestrian Aid Society. His latest passion is the Emerging Dressage Athlete Program, which he founded in early 2011 with Olympic riders Lendon Gray and Courtney King-Dye as a venue to identify and develop potential international talent among America's youth riders. Robert is based in Wellington, Florida, and operates a training business that takes him around the world, in addition to hosting a weekly radio program and daily blog dedicated to issues pertinent to equestrians. HGF is honored also to have Dr. Hilary Clayton as the Educational Lecturer on Thursday afternoon of the LYDFM. Dr. Clayton is the first incumbent of the Mary Anne McPhail Dressage Chair in Equine Sports Medicine at Michigan State University's College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Clayton is a faculty member in the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences and holds academic appointments in the Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture and the Department of Materials Science and Mechanics in the College of Engineering. As a veterinarian and researcher, Dr. Clayton's studies on the biomechanics of equine gait have focused on sport horses, including dressage and jumping horses. Some recent work has included videographic studies of Olympic dressage and jumping events and kinematic and kinetic research with some of the world's top dressage riders and horses in the Netherlands. The Lendon Youth Dressage Festival Midwest is a one-day version of the LYDF held every summer in New York--a three-phase competition encompassing a Written Test, a group Equitation class and an individual Dressage test--for youth riders 21 years old and younger. LYDFM Exhibitor's Dinner is open to the public and will function as a fund-raiser for Dressage4Kids. Date: Wednesday, July 11 Time: 6.30 PM Place: Hampton Green Farm, 5440 E. Farr Road, Fruitport, MI 49415 Cost: $20.00 RSVP: 231-865-6000
Time to Register for the Lendon Youth Dressage Festival Midwest and HGF EDAP Clinic
Time to Register for the Lendon Youth Dressage Festival Midwest and HGF EDAP Clinic Registration is now open for the Lendon Youth Dressage Festival Midwest, Thursday July 12 at Hampton Green Farm in Fruitport, Michigan. LYDF Midwest is a one-day version of the internationally acclaimed youth dressage festival held annually in New York. This is the second year of the Midwest version, and this year's show is shaping up to be unforgettable! We are pleased to announce Special Guest Robert Dover--6 time US Olympian, former Canadian National Dressage Coach and co-founder of the EDAP program--for the Wednesday evening dinner speaker and dressage commentator on Thursday. USEF "I" Judge Natalie Lamping will be our dressage judge for the day, with many of the Midwest's dressage trainers also on hand to assist and evaluate riders. LYDF is open to all riders who turn 21 in 2012 and younger. The competition consists of three divisions: a written test based on the LYDF reading list; a dressage test, and an equitation test. Special awards are presented for Best Turn-Out, Best Pony and Breed, Top Scoring Young Trainer, and more. The 2012 HGF EDAP clinic will be conducted two days prior to LYDF Midwest (Tuesday and Wednesday, July 10-11), and all EDAP riders will be required to participate in LYDF. The Emerging Dressage Athlete Program (EDAP)--founded by Olympians Lendon Gray, Robert Dover and Courtney King-Dye--is a series of invitational clinics for youth riders of distinction held around the country. Riders must apply on-line at and submit a video. At the end of the year, 12 riders will be selected to attend the week-long Robert Dover Horsemanship Week in Wellington, Florida. LYDF Midwest Prizelist and Entry Forms are now posted at the links on this Home Page. Register now as space is limited.
January News
The Robert Dover Horsemanship Clinic for the Emerging Dressage Athletes is now behind us, a great success. 12 selected riders and 10 auditors enjoyed a week of lessons, tutorials, lectures and demonstrations by a top field of dressage VIPs including Olympians, team trainers, veterinarians, the press and others. The awards party and fundraiser on Saturday night was held at HGF, with over 200 Wellington dressage supporters dropping by to help build the program for 2013. See is following this program throughout the winter, and is giving special coverage to the various Youth initiatives in Wellington this year, culminating in the Florida Youth Championship at Global Dressage in March. Our own riders are getting ready to compete, starting next weekend at the Gold Coast Opener. Stay tuned for regular reports on our riders and their horses.
Lendon Youth Dressage Festival Midwest and the Emerging Dressage Athlete Clinic Bring Aspiring Dressage Stars to Hampton Green Farm
For three days last week, Fruitport Michigan was the place to be for top youth talent and young equestrians with big dreams. On Friday and Saturday, 11 hand-picked riders participated in the first ever Emerging Dressage Athlete Section A Clinic. This program was conceived last winter by three Olympians--Robert Dover, Lendon Gray and Courtney King-Dye--and patterned after the successful program of the same name for young Jumpers. The 11 riders, all under 21 years old and all young women, were given an exam on the first morning based on a reading list, and then two in-depth riding sessions each with Lendon Gray and/or Courtney King-Dye. The riders came from Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Florida and New York to participate, hoping to be selected for the Section B clinic in November in Wellington with Robert Dover. Not all of the riders were able to bring their own horses, and so mounts were loaned to them from various owners. The level of work was high and the atmosphere intense, but all 11 rode their very best and took away invaluable lessons for the future. Many of the riders brought their own trainers from home, who were able to interact with the clinicians during each session. A dinner on Saturday evening ended with an extended question and answer session between the riders, their trainers and Courtney and Lendon. On Sunday, the clinic riders joined other local riders ages 8 to 21 for the Lendon Youth Dressage Festival Midwest--a one-day competition that involved three components: a written exam, a dressage test, and an equitation class. In spite of a long weekend for some and a demanding show day for all, the enthusiasm among the riders, trainers and parents remained high and the day ended with many awards and personal bests. Congratulations to our Champions and all participants! Our thanks to our staff, volunteers and sponsors for making this possible: Show Manager: Lyn Kendall Show Secretary: Maureen Sharp Assistant Manager: Marilyn Fahringer Dressage Judge: Colleen Haveman HGF Staff led by Joan Mack and Sandy Talbot Parents and Trainers Millbrook Tack Coopersville Hardware [&] Feed A1 Tents West Michigan Veterinary Clinic Ver Duins Printing Sunset Valley Horse Stalls DressageDaily.com Jen Kaiser and Baker College and her nursing students Sycamore Lane Farrier Lendon Gray and Courtney King-Dye Results: Grand Champion (sponsored by Millbrook Tack): Megan Heeder 239.32 Reserve Grand Champion (Sponsored by Millbrook Tack): Chelsea Reed 227.89 Division One (15 and Under) Champion: Chelsea Reed and Lentisco 227.89 Division One Reserve Champion: Chelsea Reed and Kabileno 225.49 Division Two (16 and Older) Champion: Megan Heeder and Simpatico 239.32 Division Two Reserve Champion: Elizabeth Mauer and Wynshire's Valiant 223.58 Millbrook Tack Turn-Out Champion: Emily Gillispie and Goodnight Moon USPRE Champion: Chelsea Reed and Lentisco Hampton Green Farm Young Horse Champion: Megan Levine and Rhomann Coopersville Hardware and Feed Volunteer Award: Jim Guthrie
Lendon Youth Dressage Festival Midwest, with Courtney King-Dye, and Emerging Dressage Athlete Program Clinic, August 5-7
Hampton Green Farm will be the location of the first Lendon Youth Dressage Festival held in the Midwest, as well as the first regional "Section A" Clinic for the new Emerging Dressage Athlete Program, both events to be held during the weekend of August 5-7 at HGF's Fruitport, Michigan farm. Courtney King-Dye will be a Special Guest and Judge. The regional "Setion A" Clinic on Friday and Saturday is for dressage riders under 21 who are interested in working with Lendon Gray and qualifying for the invitational "Section B" sessions in Wellington, Florida with Robert Dover and Courtney King-Dye. (See ). Interested applicants must apply on-line at . The Lendon Youth Dressage Festival Midwest will be held on Sunday and is open to all riders of any discipline under 21. A mini-version of the original, the LYDF Midwest is modeled after the highly successful LYDF held every year in New York in July, which annually draws over 250 youth riders from the United States, Canada and South America and which brings aspiring equestrians together with top judges and professionals who judge them in three categories: A Written Test, Equitation and Dressage. The Prize List for the the LYDF Midwest will be posted on this site shortly and Entry Forms will be available on-line or by emailing . A special dinner on Friday night, August 5, will be a Q and A with Olympian Courtney King-Dye, and open to all her fans. (Cost is $20.00 per person/ RSVP to the HGF office.) For directions and lodging information, see Call the office for more information, and plan to join us for this very special weekend!
Where Are They Now? HGF Fiero and Robert Dover
Over the course of the next few months, we will feature short updates on HGF-bred horses who are in the hands of professional riders and their progress. Robert Dover, 6 time US Olympian, purchased HGF Fiero in the fall of 2010, and since October his 2008 bay colt (by Grandioso III out of Ibiza) has been stabled at Stillpoint Farm in Wellington where Robert has been handling and managing the young stallion himself. This spring, with the assistance of Oded Shimoni and his staff, Fiero began his training under saddle. A recent visit to Stillpoint Farm produced these photographs, with Robert actively involved in starting his young horse. Fiero is already working off the lunge--hacking around the farm, as well as trot and canter in the open and covered arenas, with other horses present. On this week's blog atwww.doversworld.com , Robert says this about his PRE prospect from Hampton Green: "I am thrilled with the progress of my coming 3 year old PRE stallion, Hampton Green Farm Fiero! He has gone from being turned out and groomed daily to broke under saddle and ridden with other horses going in the covered arena at Stillpoint Farm in less than one week. Thanks to his trainer, Nicolas Fyffe, who is doing a masterful job of bringing him along, Fiero was so simple that he seemed to want nothing more than to be ridden and played with. But beyond the fact that he displays the perfect temperamant for training, he also has 3 truly lovely and balanced gaits and already shows his father’s ( Hampton Green Farm Grandioso) super ability to extend and collect without even being asked. I could not be happier!" We will keep you updated on Fiero's progress, and check back here weekly for more updates from professional owners of PRE horses, including Beth Baumert, Martin Schaudt, Annie Morris, Cindy Ramirez and Daniel Martin.
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!
Hampton Green Farm in the News
We've been making the news recently. Some highlights of our recent press coverage... Robert Dover on Dover'sWorld.com: "I am so excited to have a young horse again after so many years, and HGF Fiero has been a total pleasure to deal with...The other day as I led him into his stall, he began to passage down the aisle-way and when I held him back he produced what I know will be a perfect, classical piaffe. You have to love that!" Courtney King Dye on DressageDaily.com: "He's in his prime now, and she can't just wait around for me to get better or ask someone else top to ride him, and give him back to me if I'm better right before the Olympic qualifications. I agree that just wouldn't be fair. But he'll come to me right after, and I have plenty of her young horses getting ready for me!” Kim Boyer on Eurodressage.com: "My opinion has always been that Spain is full of good horses, and yet so few make it into the hands of top riders who can compete them at top levels. Why is this and why has the world-class success of a few not brought the same opportunities to so many others? The full answer to this is complicated and a topic for another day, but the conundrum is best illustrated at SICAB." Video Interview about the HGF horses in Spain, Katharina Braren,TopIberian . Links: http://doversworld.com/blog/2010/11/more-thanks/ http://www.dressagedaily.com/index.php?option=com_content[&]view=article[&]id=5669:courtney-king-dye-getting-ready-to-ride[&]catid=344:december-2010[&]Itemid=437 http://www.eurodressage.com/equestrian/2010/12/02/state-sicab-2010
Robert Dover Finds His FIERO at Hampton Green Farm
Hampton Green Farm is proud to announce that Robert Dover, six-time United States Olympian for Dressage and current Technical Advisor and Coach for the Canadian National Dressage Team, has recently purchased an outstanding 2008 son of Grandioso III. For several years, HGF has worked with Robert in the training of some of our top horses, including Grandioso, and we have always been aware of his respect and admiration for the PRE breed. During those years, Robert expressed his interest in finding a young PRE of a certain type that would meet his standards for athleticism and temperament. Conversations with Robert began earlier this summer following his announcement on DoversWorld.com that he was looking for an international prospect for himself, which eventually culminated in his selection of FIERO HGF (Grandioso III x Ibiza). FIERO is a virtual replica of his sire, Grandioso III--trained and competed by Courtney Dye--a stallion with whom Robert has had much interaction and influence. Robert was immediately attracted to the son who, in his words, "has 3 exceptional paces and an extremely uphill expression already as well as a lot of scope." At Hampton Green Farm, we have been aware of this colt's exceptional potential and we are happy to know that he will go to one of the world's top trainers and the sport's greatest showman, and we are happy that FIERO HGF will be trained, like his sire, with the hope of joining the United States Dressage Team in the future!
Decoroso HGF
Hampton Green Farm congratulates Cindy Ramirez-Smith, on the purchase of Decoroso HGF, 2006 chestnut PRE stallion. This young stallion, out of Grandioso III's full sister, already has an impressive in-hand and show record, and promises much more for the future. Professional Trainer Cindy Ramirez-Smith is based in Templeton, California, and now joins the growing family of dressage professionals who own HGF horses, which includes most recently Robert Dover, 6-Time US Olympian and Coach of the Canadian Dressage Team. We look forward to hearing about Cindy and Decy's successes on the West Coast!