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Monday, March 17, 2008

Picnic Atmosphere Prevails at Welcome Back to White Fences II
By Lynndee Kemmet for DressageDaily.com

Welcome Back to White Fences II is Like Coming Home for Ed Borresen

Ed Borresen competed at the Palm Beach Dressage Derby when it was still being held at the White Fences show grounds. Hence, competing this weekend at the Welcome Back to White Fences II was like a homecoming for him. What made it even better was taking a win at both Prix St. Georges and Intermediaire I.

Both wins were with Beemer, a 10-year-old Oldenburg by Lauditio owned by Borresen and his wife, Monica Sinks. “We bought him when he was three. At five, he was the Five-Year-Old National Champion. Now, he’s really beginning to show his stuff,” Borresen said. He and Beemer earned a 65.25 percent in their Prix St. Georges win and a 68.5 in Intermediaire I.

Next stop for this pair is next weekend’s Wellington CDI. Borresen, who is based in New Hope, Pennsylvania where he and his wife own Willow Spring Farm, is hoping that Beemer will eventually be a Grand Prix horse. “He just needs mileage and time,” Borresen said. “The best thing about this horse is he has a really great mind and he really likes to work. He’s there for you all the time.”

Around the barn, Beemer “is a total sweetheart. He nickers when I walk in the barn. He’s wonderful to work with. He’s always been a really good boy. He’s got so much power, it’s just teaching him to carry it and be balanced.” Borresen said that he and his wife coach one another, but they do get some extra help from their friend, Lars Petersen.

Like so many other competitors at this weekend’s show, Borresen couldn't’t say enough good things about competing at White Fences. “I really like these shows. It’s such a great atmosphere and everybody is so very, very happy to be here. And the footing in ring one is some of the best I have ridden in all season. It is tight yet comfortable, and maintained by Ingred's crew throughout the show.”

Borresen works in the mornings for the show jumping barn Debbie Dolan's Sagamore Farm and her phenomenal barn manager Fiona who was Eddie Macken's Barn Manager for 17 years . He is enjoying the exposure to the jumping horses, and admits sometimes her need to focus on making the adjustment going back to dressage.

Borresen and Sinks have also been working with Al Guden and Hyperion Farm developing young horses and training him on his horse . An architect, Borresen is know as the designed of Arlene Page's Stillpoint Farm, a masterpiece in design, mood and functionality.

Wins for Both Pam Goodrich and Student Tacie Saltonstall at Welcome Back to White Fences II