Amanda Bailey, a wife and mother of a 20 month-old daughter from Jonesboro, Arkansas, proved to the nation at her first USEF/Markel Young Horse Championships 2006 that you can have your cake and eat it too. On her four year old German bred Hannoverian gelding, Faulkner (Friendship x Wiesenbluete) they took third place honors in a class of the top four-year-olds in the country.

With over 14 Grand Prix riders, and young horses coming from 21 states, the young professional not only held her own, but excelled under the critical eyes of the judging panel, consisting of Axel Steiner, Lelo Fore, and Janice Foy.

Amanda describes Faulkner as "the ride of my life", whom she purchased from HW Farm and Irene Hoeflich as a three year old after viewing just four, 20 second video clips. She had sold her 1/2 blind fourth level horse, Paladin (Graf Gottard) and was working with a limited budget. "It was a risky experience because I was operating off of complete trust." The first time she saw her new horse was when he stepped off the trailer at her four stall barn. Going from known to unknown wasn't without its challenges.

"Faulkner is a big horse for me, he can be a difficult ride due to the way he's built, but he has a fabulous mind." said Bailey. The pair persevered against odds and they qualified for the Young Horse Championships with an 8.36 in St. Louis, the pair's second show.

In a thrilling evening performance at the Chapin Arena in Jerez, Spain, the United States Dressage Team made history by winning the first ever Silver Team Medal with a total team score of 5527, behind Germany (5642). Speaking for the team at the press conference, Guenter Seidel said, "The key to this medal was one year intense preparation, Klaus Balkenhol, and having Lisa." Chef d'equipe Jessica Ransehousen said, "This is the culmination of a long hard fought dream."

A teary eyed Lisa Wilcox gave credit to her trainer Ernst Hoyos, "He's the reason for the season. He molded me and my horses, together we are a winning combination." Speaking of Klaus Balkenhol, Sue Blinks added, "There were no secrets, he taught us good horsemanship, and sports psychology, and to feel good about ourselves, and he made our horses feel good."

Currently standing in third position is Debbie McDonald with Brentina. When asked about her chances for an individual medal, she said, "I try not to think about that, hopefully we will put in a nice test tomorrow, in the Grand Prix Special."

Third place, behind the two leaders in the 6-year old division at the 2006 USEF/Markel National Young Dressage Horse Championships, went to Pamela Doolittle of Masomanie, WI riding her own Cobra (Contucci – Work of Art by Wallstreet Kid). It was, quite literally, a rough road that Doolittle and Cobra traveled en route to the championships, but her story has a happy ending.

“My husband and I decided several years ago to save our money to buy a horse farm,” she explains. “I sold my horse and pursued a PhD in chemistry; now I’m a professor and we have a 60-acre farm. It was our ‘American Dream’. Coby was the best horse that I could afford, and I bought him when he was only two; when he was three I took him to another stable to get him started while we built an indoor arena.”

She continued, “The day I brought him home, I put him in my brand new trailer and headed home. It should have been the perfect trailer for a horse his size according to the manufacturer’s book, but on the way home my husband, who was driving behind me in a minivan with the kids, called my cell phone and told me to stop.”

After a moment of silence declared by the organizing committee the final section of the morning Grand Prix class, Sue Blinks and Flim Flam riding for the USA, are in first place with a 70.240, after the best Grand Prix in his career, with no mistakes. What better way for th American Dressage Team to honor this day. The first horse of the German team, Renoir-Uniceff (Oldenburg x Rubenstein), ridden by Ann-Kathrin Linsenhoff, was two rides before, and is currently standing second with a 72.240.

Chef d'Equipe for the USA, Jessica Ransenhousen explained the American's strategy for the order in which the team will ride."Sue went first because Flim Flam is a cornerstone horse. We chose him for the first position because this is a pair who has been seen. Then we will bring on the new look, Debbie McDonald and Brentina.

This is Flim Flam's third time in a World Class event, having competed at the 1998 World Equestrian Games in Rome, and the 2000 Sydney Olympics. "We've never looked this good before." Said Blinks right after her ride. We (The USA) are a close knit team, and we've got our bases loaded. Flim Flam has never had a better Grand Prix test. The back was the strongest in the test, the pirouettes very much improved. They were a weak spot in the past. Throughout the entire test, there were no mistakes. That's something !