Thursday, April 6, 2006

Cesar Parra's Piaffe Performance Dressage in Florida Ends Season on High Note

Julie McKean Tops the Junior Divisions in Quest for Junior Team Championships

Jupiter, FL— Dr. Cesar Parra’s Performance Farm team of juniors, young riders and adults took home armfuls of top ribbons at the toughest CDIs in Florida in February and March. Among the fine performances were those of Camden, Maine resident Julie McKean. The 18 year old won numerous blue ribbons in the competitive junior division, with hopes of competing in the USEF Junior Team Championships in Pebble Beach, CA in July. Julie would like to follow in the footsteps of barn mate Noel Williams who was on the gold medal winning team at the 2005 championships. To make these dreams a reality, McKean has devoted herself to riding for 10 years, first with Willette Brown and now with Dr. Parra.

“There are always results from training,” McKean explains of her scores that have regularly been above 65%. “It shows that the [scale of training] system really works.” McKean met Dr. Parra when she rode with him on a demonstration team at the Metropolitan Horse show in New York City. “He has a system and philosophy and he follows it,” she says. “He focuses on excellence at all time. When you ride with Cesar, you want to try harder; he inspires you to do your best. McKean has found the team atmosphere at Performance Farm to be particularly conducive to not only achieving top scores, but for having a lot of fun. “It’s the first team I’ve been on where I feel like I belong; it feels good to be part of something.”