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Saturday, March 22, 2008

Winter Equestrian Festival Zada Dressage at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center

Shelly Francis and Pat Stempel Have a Relationship of Mutual Respect

Francis and Dominion took their Prix St. Georges win with a score of 67.50 percent and their Intermediaire I win with a 67.25. They’ll also be competing in the Intermediaire I Freestyle. Francis said one thing the horse has much of is power. “He’s a real powerful horse that really has energy. He’s not dull. A lot of big horses are dull but he’s not,” she said. She has no doubt Dominion will eventually earn scores in the 70s once he gains more strength. “He has to look more uphill, like he’s carrying himself better.”

It’s clear that Stempel, who owns both Dominion and Wigwam, as well as some younger horses in training with Francis, clearly loves her horses. She also adores their trainer. “Shelly is a wonderful trainer and the horses absolutely adore her. She tells them they’re good. She doesn’t drill them. When she teaches them something new, if they just get a couple steps correct, she tells them good boy. She doesn’t overwork them. She’s just wonderful. She’s a very empathetic kind of person,” Stempel said.

What Francis and Stempel share is a long-time love for horses that goes back to their childhoods. Stempel grew up in a city, but always wanted a horse. When her father bought her a puppy, she named it Trigger, after the mount of Roy Rogers. Now, Stempel, who owns Roundabout Farm with her husband Robert, says she’s “living out my dream. It’s just been a wonderful, wonderful journey.”

For her part, Francis calls Stempel “delightful” and a wonderful owner who really seems to care about her horses. “She let’s me take the time I need with the horses.” That Francis believes in taking her time is part of what Stempel likes about her as a trainer. “Shelly spends a lot of time conditioning them and doing exercises to build strength and muscle so the horses can do what she asks them to do,” Stempel said. “Shelly is so very considerate and she is totally for the horse. She’s a wonderful person and we get along really well. I adore her.”

One humorous note to their story of the trip that resulted in the purchase of Dominion and Wig Wam is that once Dominion showed he had a talent beyond being the ride of an adult amateur, Stempel was still left in need of a horse for herself. “So, I had to go back to Europe and get another horse for myself,” she said.