Thursday, September 14, 2006

Amanda Bailey and Faulkner Impress a Tough Judges' Panel at the USEF/Markel Young Horse Championships
By Kelly Gage for DressageDaily

Amanda Bailey, a wife and mother of a 20 month-old daughter from Jonesboro, Arkansas, proved to the nation at her first USEF/Markel Young Horse Championships 2006 that you can have your cake and eat it too. On her four year old German bred Hannoverian gelding, Faulkner (Friendship x Wiesenbluete) they took third place honors in a class of the top four-year-olds in the country.

With over 14 Grand Prix riders, and young horses coming from 21 states, the young professional not only held her own, but excelled under the critical eyes of the judging panel, consisting of Axel Steiner, Lelo Fore, and Janice Foy.

Amanda describes Faulkner as "the ride of my life", whom she purchased from HW Farm and Irene Hoeflich as a three year old after viewing just four, 20 second video clips. She had sold her 1/2 blind fourth level horse, Paladin (Graf Gottard) and was working with a limited budget. "It was a risky experience because I was operating off of complete trust." The first time she saw her new horse was when he stepped off the trailer at her four stall barn. Going from known to unknown wasn't without its challenges.

"Faulkner is a big horse for me, he can be a difficult ride due to the way he's built, but he has a fabulous mind." said Bailey. The pair persevered against odds and they qualified for the Young Horse Championships with an 8.36 in St. Louis, the pair's second show.