Wednesday September 10, 2003

2003 Dressage at Stone Tavern

Armstrong and Gustaaf Win FEI Grand Prix in Dressage at Stone Tavern

By Nancy Degutis for DressageDaily

ALLENTOWN, NJ - When owner Patsy Ward bought Gustaaf to be her amateur Second and Third Level horse, she found the dark chestnut too strong. So she had trainer James Armstrong take him eight years ago and slowly he dark chestnut's strengths emerged. They propelled him into the grand prix ranks six years ago and qualifying him for the national championships.

Those very strengths earned the dark chestnut in the FEI Grand Prix (64.41 percent) and the FEI Grand Prix Kur (69.500) in the Dressage at Stone Tavern, which gave Armstrong presents for his 40th birthday that Labor Day weekend.

"Every day I come out and have a great time with him. I have never had a day when I say it is impossible because he is so exciting to ride," Armstrong said of the gelded son of Flamingo - Citrona he affectionately calls "Gussy." Armstrong's only disappointment of the Labor Day weekend show came the first afternoon when he made his Grand Prix victory gallop without any music as an accompaniment. "It wasn't the same as with it, but I was definitely happy to be there," the Glyndon, Md., man said with a grin.

Gussy's passage and his piaffe plus his willingness and consistency carried him to the blue ribbons through the show. His pirouettes have improved over the summer months and the 15-year-old horse's tests in the Olympic qualifying classes at Stone Tavern were high energy, said Armstrong, who hopes to yet again qualify for the national championships next year.

Although Gussy may not make a US Olympic squad before he retires in the near future to be Ward's mount, "he has the heart to do it against the bigger horses," Armstrong said of the Dutch warmblood who successfully competed against horses that towered over Gussy's 16-hand stature.