Elegant River Side Lady Takes Third with Debbie Hill in the Markel/USEF Young Horse Championship for Four-Year-Old Horses

A mare that judges called “soft and supple” was the third-place finisher in the Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage Championship for Four-Year-Old Horses. River Side Lady, owned by Robbie Rice of Knoxville, Tennessee is a Hanoverian mare (Royal Diamond – Déjà vu by Donnerhall) bred in Germany by BG Schroeder & Hanken.

Ridden by Debbie Hill, River Side Lady made riding look easy, judges said. “We really enjoyed it,” Gribbons said. “She has an elastic and ground-gaining trot and good hind legs and she uses her entire body and that’s a nice thing to see. She sped up slightly in her first lengthening, but then she became a little more balanced.” For that, River Side Lady was awarded with a 7.9 for the trot. The walk, which Gribbons said was a walk “like Marilyn Monroe” scored an 8.6.

The problem gait was the canter. There judges noted that River Side Lady is a tad downhill and “fights herself a little bit.” But they were optimistic that progress could be made. “This is the weak gait and the one you need to work on to help her with her balance in order to make her front leg more elastic,” Gribbons said. River Side Lady received a 7.0 for her canter. The mare’s score for submissiveness was 8.3 and an 8.0 for general impression. Her overall score was 7.96.