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Monday, June 30, 2008

Olympic Selection Trials for Dressage at the Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Festival of Champions

America Sending a Strong 2008 U.S. Olympic Dressage Team To Hong Kong

Steffen Peters, Debbie McDonald and Courtney King-Dye were all smiles after sealing a place on the 2008 Olympic Dressage Team following the Grand Prix Freestyle competition that served as the final round in the Olympic Selection Trials.

McDonald knew early in her ride that she and Brentina, a 17-year-old Hanoverian mare owned by the Thomas family, were in good shape to make the team. "I always kind of judge that first circle of twos by how she does. If she stays on the aids, I feel comfortable that she's going to be with me for the rest of the ride. So, once I did that first circle of twos I knew we were in sync."

McDonald performed her popular freestyle with Brentina coming down centerline for her final halt to Respect and, as always, the audience clapped in beat with the music. "For me, the fun part of the freestyle is to get the audience involved. That's the fun part of the sport and I've got a horse that loves it so why not?" McDonald said.

The trip to Hong Kong will be long and for months there has been much debate over the impact of such a long trip on the horses. McDonald was quick to admit it's a concern that hasn't disappeared. "I have mixed feelings, I think like everybody. To represent our country is such an honor so in that regard, I'm extremely excited, proud and very emotional. But as far as the trip, I think we're all a little concerned. It's a long journey for the horses," she said. 

Earning a spot on the U.S. team affirms McDonald's belief that dreams do come true. "When I did my first Olympics I was 50. I'll be 54 for this one. I had given up that dream a long time ago because I thought I was getting too old, but I think if you always have that in the back of your head and keep trying to listen to the horses and do right by them, you might have that lucky one come along in your life," she said. "There's still a funny part of me that thinks maybe I'm too old for this. When you are in there with younger people you sometimes doubt that you should be in there, but for me, this weekend showed I could still hang in there."

For her part, King-Dye was a bit surprised to find herself on her first Olympic team with veterans Peters and McDonald, two riders she has long admired. "It's a thrill to be on a team with them," she said. "This is the culmination of 21 years of work and to be lucky enough to have a sponsor that allows me to ride horses of this caliber and to have the training that I've needed and to have the horses stay sound and fit is a lot of luck. I feel grateful. You can be a great rider and you can work hard and still never get this chance. So, the fact it has happened in my life and also this early, I feel real thankful that the stars out there that lined up in my favor. And, I'm thankful for all the people out there who have given me the opportunities to do this."

King-Dye's freestyle with Harmony's Mythilus, a 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Harmony Amateur Sports Foundation and Leslie Malone, was created by Marlene Whitaker and she said it was developed around a Cat Stevens song she likes called Sad Lisa. Peters rode his freestyle to a mix of music that included a piano piece from Romeo and Juliet, Asian music and music from the Rolling Stones. He was thrilled with how it rode.

"The rhythm was on, the music was on with the footfalls. The passage was there. I was right on the music with the two tempis. With the ones, I was just a little off but then caught up. It was just unbelievable," he said. Creating the freestyle was, Peters said, "quite a chore." He got help from Terri Gallo and said the difficulty included finding music with the right timing and cadence. Ravel, a 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Akiko Yamazaki, has a big canter and one problem was fitting the canter work into the right spaces of the arena.

Peters was clearly thrilled with his freestyle ride and said it showed him that he could push Ravel more than he had thought. "Maybe we could have taken it more conservatively but you've got to know what's in there and you've got to finish strong," he said. "I know now that I can push him and he can take it and do even better. At the moment, I haven't found the limit on this horse and that's an amazing feeling."

Results - Grand Prix Freestyle