Friday, April 8, 2005

2005 Dressage at Equestrian Estates

Carousel and Steve Kanikkeberg Shine in the FEI Dressage Test for 6 Year Olds

With their eye on the USEF/Markel Young Horse Championships to be held in Lexington, Kentucky in September, Steve Kanikkeberg and Rene DiClemente’s Carousel (by Contucci) topped the six-year-old class at Dressage at Equestrian Estates, Sunday April 3. Showing off his exceptional gaits, and smooth flying changes which is usually the undoing of many horses moving up to the 6 year old test, Carousel, the handsome 18 hand liver chestnut by Contucci out of a Bolero mare scored a 74.4% topping a small but talented class of six-year-olds.

The American bred horse was purchased by DiClemente, an amateur rider and real estate agent from Palm City Florida, as a 3 month old foal, from George Walker’s Middlefield Farm in Blythewood, South Carolina who stood Carousel’s dam’s sire Banter (by Bolero) for some time. “I was looking for a well bred weanling and researched breeding facilities in the US. I have a Bolero (Bolschoi) and I wanted something with that type of breeding.” said DiClemente. “He was delivered to my Florida Farm at 7 months old with a winter coat. My husband nicknames all our horses. He was not use to seeing horse with winter coats in Florida, hence the name "Fluffy".

DiClemente had hoped to keep him as a stallion but “we got tired of chasing him around the neighborhood. He could jump anything.” She broke and trained him herself taking it slow and easy due to his increasing size. “He is a gentle giant at almost 18 hands. I broke him myself and he has never done anything bad.”