HVHBlog

The time had come; Radiance and I were headed to Dressage at Devon.  The trailer ride was 12 hours, included a over night stay at another breeding farm where the horses could stretch their legs, followed by a 2 hour trip to the show grounds.  During the transport I was preparing myself mentally to ride in the materiale classes and handle for the FIRST time.  Radiance and her full sister Rebellienne were both signed up for numerous classes including 2 Region 1 championship classes (USDF/Great American Ins. Group championship) and 2 very competitive International Breed Classes (IBC).   I had a few breed shows under my belt.  Radiance and I had won both material classes at both of those shows.  Both mares were taking home fantastic scores and champion ribbons at each show. I had watched the professional handlers at both breed shows.  I watched the good ones closely.  I studied their every move.  I watched how they ran, how they held the reins, how fast they went, how they turned, their tricks for getting a square halt, and most importantly how the horses responded to them.  A few handlers offered me their best advice, and quite honestly there were some major differences in every school of thought.  I was trying to piece together what I thought made sense, but I basically had nothing to compare it to.  All I had was my

Dressage at Lexington VA, where Radiance HVH was the Champion Mare in Hand, winner of the 4-5 year old Materiale, and 2nd place in Hanoverian IBC (bumped out by her sister Rebellienne).

knowledge of horses, a few tidbits of information, some conflicting ideas, and a twelve hundred pound animal at the end of the reins.  I watched one handler face plant in the dirt as the horse knocked her off balance around a turn.  “Great” I thought, “I hope I don’t bust it at Devon”.

They enjoyed stretching their legs after 12 hours in the trailer.

I devised a plan, and I hoped it would work.  The plan was, to try numerous different styles of handling with both horses, and “feel” for the best response.  This plan works for riding, why should this be any different?  For me it’s about finding that “sweet spot” where everything just “clicks.”   For 2 months I worked both Radiance and Rebellienne in hand.  Radiance and I already had established a “sweet spot” in our riding so it was much easier to transfer that to the ground.  It wasn’t until the week before Devon when I finally felt Rebellienne and I “clicked.”  The owner would stand on the rail and say two words, “yes!” or “no”.  If she said no, I pushed harder.  Finally…  I had found our run.  Would I be able to recreate our best runs with both horses at Devon? I mostly prayed at that point.  I prayed I wouldn’t face plant.     I must say, to have never handled before, still have so many questions, and to “go out” at Devon, was nerve-racking.  However, I felt like I knew our horses better than anyone, they were comfortable with me and had all been working really hard.  I was physically prepared to stretch my legs as far as they could take me.  I schooled Radiance under saddle and in-hand the day before we left.  She was a busy girl.  Radiance had 5 events withing the next 6 weeks.  Her training included arena work, free jumping, and riding mountain trails.  Most of her training was straightforward and went smoothly.  Well…  almost smoothly…  There were those 2 weeks where I couldn’t ride her at all.  One Friday we had our best ride ever.  Saturday she would NOT cooperate.  I thought, “Great, she’s hit a wall.  She’s done.  She’s been working so hard and now she is shutting down? Or she is just being bad?”  If either of these were the case I would have been very surprised.  She never once seemed unhappy, I was never too hard on her, and her routine was so varied.  I tried very hard to “work” while she thought she was “playing.”  We had 5 events coming up!!!  This was not good.  All I kept thinking was, “NOT NOW! C’mon girl, pull through this.”  I prayed and prayed.  I even had my friends and family praying.  I was so excited to campaign her after all we had overcome.  We had been working so hard.   I wanted her to have the chance to go out there and be the horse I knew she was.  Fortunately…  My prayers were answered.  It was all hormone related.  This was an easy fix.  One vet visit, one chiropractor, one massage and 1 week later…   We were back in business. Our time was up.  The busy part of the year was here.  It was one show or clinic right after the other. Two dressage shows in,  we came home with 9’s on gaits from both shows.  We had done it.  We had accomplished our goal at the shows.  We had gone, made a good impression, and everything went smoothly. We  now only had one week until Devon.  I kept her happy and willing that week.  There was some fear she would be unrideable again.  Despite the fear I was hopeful. I was praying she would “come alive” at Devon.  I was hoping I could pull this off.

We arrived at the park on Monday. After settling in, it was time to ride Radiance.  We tacked up and headed to the warm up.  There were horses everywhere; the warm up arena felt microscopic, and Radiance did feel much better.   In all honesty she was a handful.  I had her attention for moments, but would soon loose it.  To put it simply we were all over the place.  I hadn’t had a ride that bad on her in quite some time.  However, I shrugged it off as no big deal.  She is a young spicy mare, surrounded by large FEI horses, in a totally new place.  The positive thing was…  She didn’t do anything completely stupid, she wasn’t too stiff after the long trip, and I stayed on.  Sometimes when you ride the young horses, it’s the simple things that make you happy.   I also know this mare pretty well.  What I know is that she has a “game face” she wears when it is time to perform.  Some people say she has “presence.”  When the lights go down and the curtains open, she rides like a dream.   Never once for a second did I think that would change.   As I left the barn for the night I mentally checked my expectations.  My expectations were for Radiance to have a positive experience, not embarrass her, our farm, or myself. I was also going to make sure I had some fun.
The next morning Radiance and I were headed to the warm up before our first class.  She was competing in the class Suitable to Become a Dressage Horse for 4 Year Olds.   She was a completely different horse from the day before.  She was attentive, active, and calm.  But she wasn’t quite 100%.  I didn’t want to make too many big corrections with her.  My goal was for this class to be a warm up for her in-hand class,  material class, and championship class the next day.  I wanted her to feel comfortable and be happy.  I would push her harder tomorrow.    They called our class to enter and for the first time I entered the “Dixon Oval.”  When the white gaits opened all I saw was a sea of baby blue.  This was it, I was at Devon on one of my favorite horses, and she felt great!  For a moment I pretended we were taking our victory gallop around the Dixon Oval after winning the Grand Prix.  Pretty soon the class was over.  They called the line up.   We took 3rd place out of 10 horses.  The class had done its job. She had been in the show arena, gone around smoothly, held it together, and took home a ribbon.  Tomorrow would be the real test.

Wednesday had come.  Today was the class for Four Year Old & Older Maiden & Yeld  Mares,  the USEF Materiale 4 & 5 yr old Mares,
and the USDF/Great American Ins. Group Mare Championship.  Radiance and I were going to be busy, and I also understood that if we won top 3 in any of these classes we would compete in that class’s championship.  This meant the top horses from each division competed against each other.
I entered the warm up area for mares showing in-hand that morning.  This would be my first in-hand class of my career.  I was more nervous than I usually am in any under-saddle competitions.  I was brand new at this, and if I did any thing stupid,

Our first in hand class. Dr. Ludwig Christmann judging.

Devon was not the place for it.  I harnessed my confidence and went in.  Everyone at past breed shows raved about Radiance’s walk, so I paid close attention to detail in the walk triangle.  A quick snap of the whip to get her “up” for the trot triangle and she was off!  The run felt really great!

I was honestly too overwhelmed to really “feel” much of anything.  It all happened so fast. I stood her square one last time for the judge and it was over.  That was it.  I wonder what they thought of her?  I looked to the owner for something, she didn’t have much of an expression.  I wasn’t sure if that was bad, but I didn’t feel like it was good either.  I took deep breaths, I rubbed my hand down Radiances neck, and just began to talk to her as if we were back home.  I was trying to remember my expectations.  She seemed very happy to just be standing there with me.  And for the moment that was perfect.  I continued to talk to her and tell her how great she was as we walked back to her stall.  I put her up and just sat down.  At this point I was battling with myself.  I should have done this, that, or not so much of this…  I took a few more deep breaths and tried to relax while we waited for the “call backs.”  If you got called back that meant you had placed in the top of the class.  The announcement was made.  We heard “Radiance HVH” over the loud speakers.  She was competing against 19 other mares and was in the top 6!  I smiled at the thought, grabbed her bridle, threw it on her and went back in the arena.  We all lined up.  As the announcer called out the ribbons, I couldn’t believe what I was NOT hearing.  They were not calling her name!   Radiance HVH was called last.  We stood alone.  She won!!!

Standing with Dr. Christmann after our first in hand class.

We accepted her blue ribbon, the judge, Dr. Ludwig Christmann, congratulated us and told me, “That mare has a walk like I’ve never seen.”  I nodded my head, said thank you, and still in slight shock, I left the Dixon Oval with a huge smile, and a few tears.    The tears were coming from a place that had nothing to do with the color of the ribbon.  I had always believed in Radiance.  Despite her occasional unwillingness, fiery attitude, and small stature…  I believed in her.  Not only does she have great bloodlines, talent, and athleticism.  To me she is smart, particular, positively sensitive, and has just enough fire to make her stand out.  I had to ride this mare for her future, not live in her past mistakes or inadequacies.  I could feel she was beginning to believe in herself.  For me as a trainer, this was the greatest reward.  We had survived our first in-hand class, and I managed to stay on both feet and my face out of the dirt.  Could we pull off an under-saddle class with great results?  I felt more confident now.  I knew how she “turned on” when I rode her.  I knew she would move even better.  I was ready for her materiale class.

Now I knew I had a quality horse.  Radiance just took first place out of nineteen horses.  It would look really bad if I couldn’t ride her well.  The pressure was greater now.  We had eyes on us.   When you start to win, you are somewhat expected to keep winning.  However it was somewhat different with Radiance and I that day.  The locals, all the other breeders, and owners were wondering, “Who is this horse?  Who is the rider again? Where did they come from?” But the fact still remained, when you ride a quality horse there are not many excuses for  “it was just a bad ride”.  That pressure can be strong enough, but add that to being at Devon for the first time and it’s a real treat.  Somehow I’ve learned to keep my expectations in check and stay in reality. The reality was that I was still here for the same reasons.  We were going to have a positive experience, do well, and if possible have fun.  But inside I wanted to win.  I am competitive by nature and despite my expectations or reality…  When I enter an arena, I enter to win.
Later that afternoon we entered the warm-up for the USEF Materiale for 4 & 5 yr old Mares.    With our newfound confidence we started to work. Radiance felt even better than the day before. I gave us only 10 minutes to warm-up.  I wanted to conserve her energy and power.  I prayed I had a horse under me.  As I made the first transition to trot I could already feel something.   Her balance, straightness, connection, and activity in the hind leg were all in place.  The issues I normally had with her not stepping off the right leg and into the left rein was greatly diminished.    Her tendency to get tight in the right canter was better.   I had said before, this was the mare I knew. When people are watching she shifts.  I guess it is her way of “turning on the charm.”    My goal was to stay out of her bodies way, keep her focused, inspire her to be beautiful, make myself disappear, and all people would see was her.
I rode into the Dixon oval for the second time.  I made sure to ride her walk to the best of my ability.  The first judge commented on her “winning” walk, so I knew I had something to showcase.   I paid no attention to the other horses around me.  I didn’t want to know my competition.  It didn’t matter.   We were competing for our own “best time.”  The announcer asked the whole ride to trot.  Her rhythm was steady.  Her mind was glued to me.  She didn’t seem to notice the other horses either.  I held her tempo and encouraged the hind leg.  There were two judges for this class.  Dr. Christmann ( who already loved her once)  and Jeanne McDonald.  When I had the chance and I noticed the judges were not looking, I rode shallow leg yields.  The leg yields would give her something to think about and keep her body where I needed it.  When I noticed again that we had eyes on us, I tried to ride as if “this was the easiest thing in the world.”  I felt confident and Radiance acted like she had done this a million times.  After many transitions, we were split into 2 groups for the canter work.  I was in the second canter group.  As I walked on the other side of the arena I let radiance relax her walk but kept her focus.  I watched the other group across the Dixon Oval.  All the other mares seemed to have their “game face” on as well.  There were a lot of 5 year olds in this class and I could see they were a lot more developed than Radiance.  She was clearly one of the smallest horses in the arena.  Before my thinking could psych me out, we were called to canter.   If something could go wrong, this was when it would happen.  I had to be proactive.  I made a point to be the first in my group to enter the other side.  I strategically tracked to the left.  The last thing I wanted to do was to attempt the right canter after such a long walk break.  “Thank God” I said to myself, they all followed me.  Every left canter transition was seamless.  We turned around and tracked to the right.  Perfect.  No problems there either.  She only had a few times where she was running too close to the horse in front and we lost the canter.  Other than that, she was on point. The longer I rode the more relaxed I became.  “This was no big deal”, I thought.  Honestly it was even getting easy.  Radiance was being so great, all I had to do was make sure I didn’t do anything stupid.  Mostly, I was having FUN!!!  It seemed like the class went on forever. The time came where they announced the top 6 to line up.  We had made the cut!  After we had lined up and were waiting for the results I looked around. There were a lot of REALLY nice mares in that line. Including Chris Hickey on a much bigger and fancy mare, and a 5 year old mare ridden by Ulla Parker. Ulla had been very successful with her mare Biscaya  in the USEF Young Horse classes that year. I was honored to be standing there next to them.  I would be honored if our score were close to theirs.  I honestly had no other expectations at that point.  But still… inside somewhere…  I wanted to win.   The ribbons were called in descending order.  So we kept standing there…  horses were leaving and we were still standing there… more horses left…  We were the last ones standing.  She WON! She WON?  Really?!? She won!?
Once again we accepted a blue ribbon.  Once again the judges commented on her walk, and how lovely she was.  Again, I said thank you, and left the arena, this time…  even more shocked, but with a bigger smile.   Now it wasn’t just about “being at Devon” and having our name in the program.  Of course we thought this mare was fantastic, but she was family… we were bias. Now we were seeing that the judges  loved her too!  Here we are, a relatively small breeding farm from Suches, Georgia, with an unknown horse and basically unknown trainer, and we won, not once but twice.   I remember looking over to her owner, my working student, and my mother in the stands, they had the same look as I did.  We were all just taking in the moment.  We were all smiling ear to ear.  I was especially glad my mom was there.  This was what she wanted for her birthday.  She wanted to come see her daughter ride at a show they had only read about.  That was a special day for both of us. My mother has always been my biggest fan and I was so proud she could share the success with me that day.  Another person I shared this moment with was Annetta Coleman (Owner and Breeder of all the High Valley Hanoverians).  Annetta and I were just finishing our first show season together.  I had only been her head trainer for 7 months. From day one I wanted to make her proud.  She had so many wonderfully talented youngsters.  Radiance was one she had big hopes for.  I wanted to do this mare justice.  I finally felt like I had done that.  One of the greatest things that day was seeing how proud Annetta was.  Annetta and I were a team.  We had pulled this off together.  I couldn’t have done any of it without her.       However, we were not done.  We still had our Region 1 championship class.  This class was named “GA/USDF Breeder’s Championship for Mares , East Coast Series Final.”  The big named matched the size of the competition.  The finest mares from the East Coast were going head to head.  Radiance was one of the youngest of 6 competing.  To sum it up… We had a great run!  We were on a roll.  Annetta was my assistant handler for all the in-hand classes.  She helped me get Radiance “fired up.”  We  ran  the triangle with a bit of controlled chaos.  The class was over.  They were calling names.  She won that class too!  She won Region 1 Champion!!!  By this point, it started feeling like a dream.  When I look back on it now it still feels that way.  The owner and I never once expected to win all 3 classes.  Our experience at Devon was amazing. The other owners, breeders, trainers, and handlers were all so positive and fun to be around.  We were all competing against each other but the atmosphere still felt welcoming.  I got to meet some of the top handlers and trainers in the country and they were all so down to earth, laid back, and easy to be around.
Our first experience at Devon was unforgettable. I am counting down the months until we go back.  Radiance will compete again in the same materiel class, this time as a five year old.  No pressure though;)  One thing in life that I have learned is that the greatest knowledge comes from experience.  My experience is forever growing and changing. Whatever the challenge and whatever the outcome I can always use every opportunity to learn and grow as a rider, trainer, and as a person.  I look forward to our next challenge and opportunity to further my experience in this life.  It’s a good one and I am blessed to live it.

Radiance HVH is a beautiful and talented Hanoverian mare.  As a breeder, I try to ensure that the name that is chosen for the horse “fits” the horse.  And, I am very apprehensive about names that simply presume too much….. (It would be really hard to explain why a horse named ”Super Star” was always last in his class!!)  Since the filly’s sire is Rotspon, and the Hanoverian breed society requires the names of offspring to begin with the first letter of the sire, we had a long list of potential  “R” names that did NOT include Radiance.  But, during the early dawn hours shortly after this filly was born, the name “Radiance” came to mind.   The sun streaming through the barn door bathed her in a radiant light and she just seemed to glow from the inside out.   I spent 3 days testing out other names beginning with R and none of them suited her.   Thus, Radiance was named and hopefully will continue to shine.

Radiance Under Saddle w/ Ashley Marascalco

Radiance is a 2007 bay Hanoverian Mare by Rotspon (Rubinstein) out of Elite Mare Whitney (one of our best producing broodmares).   She is currently 16H and may grow another inch or so before she is mature (or not).   A ‘perfect’ size for a Hanoverian mare is between 16.1-16.3H and we truly wish that she would grow a bit more.   But what she does not have in size she completely makes up for in presence and gaits.  She is a beautiful mare with fancy gaits and tons of show presence.   She simply lights up when there are spectators or cameras around. 

Radiance Mare Champion at Dressage at Lexington

Radiance is in full training with our resident Young Horse Trainer, Ashley Marascalco. The two of them have done very well so far this year and have a busy schedule for the next few months.   Radiance and Ashley have performed in the 4-5 year old mare materiale at several USDF breed shows where their high score has been an 82.9%.  Radiance has also been shown in-hand at these breed shows where she has been awarded the USDF Mare Champion award.  Radiance and Ashley will perform in the 4-5 year old Materiale class and also the Mare (in-hand) classes at Dressage at Devon (PA), the most prestigious breed shows in the USA, in late Sep.2011.  Additionally, Radiance will be shown at Training Level dressage in regional shows in September before moving up to 1st Level dressage in October.   Additionally, Radiance will compete in the American Hanoverian Society Mare Performance Test in Oct.2011, that will determine if Radiance becomes an Elite Mare within her breed registry.

Radiance in Hand w/ Quinnten Alston

I hope you enjoy reading about Radiance during the next few months & years.   She is a very special mare that we will campaign to her performance peak in dressage.  We would enjoy hearing  your comments about Radiance and encourage you to interact with us on our blog posts about her.

You can also read more about Radiance on her web page: http://highvalleyhanoverians.net/horses/Radiance.htm