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Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Dressage Festival of Champions

Cathy Morelli - Dressage National Championship Record Holder
By Lynndee Kemmet for DressageDaily.com

Longevity in Dressage With Her Riding and Her Horses

Longevity is rarely seen in high performance horses or riders, but Morelli, who also competed in the 1990 Dressage World Cup (in the Netherlands with RH McKinney) and her horses are an exception. Her many appearances in the National Dressage Championships were often with horses that returned with her year after year.

“I’ve had some nice horses and they’ve had longevity too,” she said. “It’s nice to make it to the Championships so often and usually when my horses have made it there, they’ve been there several times. I guess I’ve been lucky to have horses that have been nice enough to do it. And a lot of times they’ve been difficult horses that I’ve had to retrain. They’ve come in all shapes and sizes.”

Morelli is actually quite modest because she gives lots of credit to her horses and too little to herself. The horses wouldn’t be in the National Championships year after year were it not for her skill as a trainer and rider. A strong believer in the true classical system, Morelli has long advocated against the use of training “aids” such as draw reins. And, she’s been very opposed to some current training methods.
PhelpsPhoto: Cathy Morelli and Doublet at the 1998 USDF Regional Championships