Rider Profiles: April 2010 Archives

We've all seen the magical photo by now... and I'm sure many of us were just a tiny bit jealous of the adorable girl getting to pet Rolex superstar Mandiba.  Kudos to Josh Walker for capturing this moment, which really explains what eventing is all about. 

EN has learned the identity of the now-famous Pony Clubber, and we are pleased to introduce her to you in a very special edition of LL Rider Profile.

An incredible moment captured by Josh Walker of the USEA.

Your Name: Brittany

Age: 23

Location: Minnesota

Primary horse's name: Pleasantly Confused (aka Silver)

Age, breed, pertinent info: 5, QH, but more of a TB build


Level currently competing: Green as grass, pre-BN

Short term goals this spring/summer:
To get around the whole event course without injury :)  and to work on our dressage efforts(this might mean participating in some dressage only shows AHH!!).  Also since I'll be graduating from RN school I'll be happy I can actually RIDE my horse.  

Year-end goals: Our first BN event!  

Overall goals? 
To have a consistant jumping effort.  She's green and really dosen't think she can jump sometimes, even though other times she will FLY over things.


What's the best thing you've learned recently?  Any big epiphany or light-bulb moment? 
A light-bulb moment came during a gymnastics run when I realized that my horse gets super mad if I don't give her credit when she does an amazing job (I got bucked off).  So now I give her amazing applause after every effort and we've been doing much better, and shes a happy little camper and keep continuing to try.  

Favorite eventing moment/story? 
VOLUNTEERING.  Even if I do not have a horse capable of making it around some of the "real" events, doesn't mean I can't participate in helping out the people who do.  I want these great events to be here when my horse finally makes it to a level where we can actually SHOW in them.  So volunteering is really important to me.

I love Brittany's attitude!  Volunteers are truly the unsung heroes of our sport.  Please heed Brittany's advice and support your local events by helping out!  

Once again, it is time to meet a fellow member of our Eventing Nation.  To see previous rider profiles, click on "Rider Profiles" in the Categories sidebar.  These features have been interesting and insightful-- I am continually impressed and humbled by our readers as the emails keep pouring in.  You guys rock! 

If you would like to be featured in an upcoming profile, please fill out the Questionnaire and email it to VisionaireEN@gmail.com.  Thanks again to all our participants...there are many profiles to post, and hopefully we will get to yours soon!


Your Name: Lindsay Berreth

Age: 23

Location: Fredericksburg, Va.

Primary horse's name: Oh So Extreme


Age, breed, pertinent info:
10 y.o., Off the track TB. 17hh, black. He can be somewhat cocky, but I think that's a good thing. He was raced until he was 7, so he started eventing a little later than most horses, but he's finding Novice and training quite easy. He is brave and quick-thinking. On the flat, he can sometimes be his own worst enemy because he tries too hard. And he is almost impossible to jump at home because he gets so into it. Once I get to a show, he focuses on the job and jumps much better.


Level currently competing: novice/training

Short term goals this spring/summer:
to compete all season at training level successfully.

Year-end goals:
Maybe a prelim by the end of the year.

Overall goals?
I'd love to complete a long format event. I've done prelim and a training 3 day on my other horse, but I'm training Oh So myself, so it would feel like a real accomplishment. My trainer thinks he's got the talent to go to the upper levels. He's brave and loves to run and jump.


What's the best thing you've learned recently?
Oh So is the first horse I've trained by myself, and through the help of my trainer, Lisa Reid, I've realized that you have to take your time introducing a horse to something, especially jumping. We've made him feel like there is nothing in the world he can't jump, by taking our time with him and getting the basics down correctly. He'll jump anything for me now, he's so brave. Even if he's unsure of a spooky fence, I feel like he's saying "Ok mom, I'll try it, even though I'm not so sure".


Our strength is cross country for sure. As I said before, he is bold and fast. He's got that TB mentality. You can't tell him what to do, you have to ask and he'll give you everything he's got. Our weakness is dressage, only because he has a tendency to get tense. I'm learning to manage it through stretching. He's so tall and has a huge neck and withers. When his head is up like a periscope, he is taking everything in and letting it get to him. When he's stretching, it puts him in a better place mentally and I can "keep a lid" on him.

Favorite eventing moment/story? 
I've been to Rolex a few times and most of the major events on the East Coast. It's always fun to watch the greats go. Personally, I'd say my 2006 season at training/prelim was memorable. I was riding my other horse, What the Heck. He is an old campaigner, having gone advance and done long formats before I had him. We had just switched to my current trainer. He is a difficult show jumper, very careless. That entire season at training level, I think we only had a couple of rails down. More clear rounds than not. We did the Waredaca Training 3-day that fall and were leading until show jumping, where we had a rail and finished second. The next weekend we won or prelim at Lexington. We also did AECs that year and were 4th going into stadium, but had 2 rails.

Link to blog or website, if applicable:
I wrote this blog about my other horse.

Photo(s) or videos:  Link to photo album    Lindsay has lots of LOVELY pics, check them out!

 

   

Once again, it is time to meet a fellow member of our Eventing Nation.  To see previous rider profiles, click on "Rider Profiles" in the Categories sidebar.

If you would like to be featured in an upcoming profile, please fill out the Questionnaire and email it to VisionaireEN@gmail.com.  Thanks again to all our participants...there are many profiles to post, and hopefully we will get to yours soon!




Your Name: Jen Wolz

Age: 30 (ugh, when did that happen)

Location: Pulaski, VA (it's in the Southwest foot part)

Primary horse's name:  Boston No Sox ("Boston")

Age, breed, pertinent info:  8 year-old thoroughbred cross (I'm thinking he's a race bred quarterhorse); I ended up with Boston because his owner stopped paying board on him and I was the only one who could ride him.  He's very atheletic and has the potential to do anything I would want him to do (and maybe more).  He's also a little "special" sometimes and we've had several cross country rounds that involved a lot of sideways travel (imagive traveling at cross country pace, but sideways and forward instead of just forward).  We're working on it.


Level currently competing: 
Finished out the season at Rubicon going Beginner Novice.  Would like to start out this season (whenever the snow melts) going Novice.

Short term goals this spring/summer: 
Lose the sideways stuff and confidently jump around at Novice.

Year-end goals:  Training Three Day at Waredaca.

Overall goals? 
I'd love to get Boston up to Prelim eventually.  I've gone Prelim once (well, twice if you count my first failed attempt when I missed a jump in stadium,which, of course, was scheduled before cross country) and then that horse magically sold to an older lady who wanted something to take out on trail rides.  Yep, the horse I'd brought from the track to prelim went from prelim one month, to trail horse the next.  Lucky horse, he's loving it.  If Boston has the potential to do more than prelim, I'd love to see him do it.  Will it be with me?  Who knows.  
 
I'm also a lower level pro (people tend to forget about us lower level pros, instead they tend to break eventers down to upper level rider/trainer pros and lower level amateurs).  I want to continue helping my riders develop solid foundations and the ability to be competitive at recognized shows.  I'd love to get another project or two out in the competition ring this year.  I am currently working with a halflinger pony that was an amish work pony until November '09 (no joke).  Maybe she'll be the next pony eventing star. 


What's the best thing you've learned recently?  Any big epiphany or light-bulb moment? 
It's okay to give up the outside rein sometimes.  I don't need to, and shouldn't be, holding my horse up all the time.  What are your strengths?  I'm a hard worker and love having lessons so that I have goals to continue working toward and so that I can continue to bring my new knowledge back to my students and the horses I'm riding.  What are your weaknesses?  I'm a control freak and a perfectionist.

Favorite eventing moment/story? 
Crossing the finish line after cross country at the Maryland Horse Trials II last July after completing my first prelim.  It was a goal that I'd been working toward for a few years and the rush of finally realizing that dream was incredible.  I didn't care that I'd had two stops on course - both were at somewhat difficult questions (corner and water complex).  All that mattered was that I had done it and I had done it safely and securly (i.e. I knew my horse and I were both ready for the move-up).  Emily Beshear, who gives me lessons as regularly as we can make it happen when she lives 3 hours away, was cracking up at the finish line because I was crying like crazy.  I think she said something like, "Jen, you cry when things go bad and you cry when things go great.  You're funny."

Link to blog or website, if applicable:  http://www.wolzequestrian.com/

Photo(s) or videos:

  
My husband took them - it's fun having my own photographer travelling with me; it's weird that I'm pretty sure I'm my husband's hobby