Thursday September 21, 2006

NEDA Fall Dressage Festival Starts on a Damp Note, Ends on Sunshine

Saugerties, New York – Days of rain at the New England Dressage Association’s Fall Dressage Festival didn’t dampen the spirits of Arlene “Tuny” Page and Wild One, winners of both the FEI Grand Prix and FEI Grand Prix Freestyle in the CDI competition.

The five-day show may have started off wet and dreary but the final two days were dry and bright, which meant the competition rings dried out beautifully just in time for Sunday afternoon’s Grand Prix Freestyle competition and that meant Page had the perfect footing she wanted to let loose with Wild One. She admitted she held him back a bit in Saturday’s FEI Grand Prix because the footing was still a bit mucky in places. v“On another day I could have pushed a bit more and he probably would have gone over 70 percent,” she said after Saturday’s ride in which the pair earned a 67.96 percent.

And on Sunday, with excellent footing beneath them, she did push and she and the 10-year-old Wild One earned a 73.95 percent.

Wild One only returned to the U.S. from Europe on Aug. 18 but he looked more than ready for Grand Prix competition. He was so ready, in fact, that Page dumped her initial plan of giving him a break after his European trip. Once she saw how well he had weathered the trip home, she decided to put him right back in the show ring. And so, the pair headed off to NEDA, a show Page said she is particularly proud to support.

“I’m a die-hard NEDA supporter. I like coming here and all my friends are here,” she said.