Silva Martin and Rosa Cha warming up for the Kentucky CDI this past weekend
The majority of Lexington area schools have already broken up for the summer holidays, so my children took full advantage of making their objections known loudly and often when I dragged them out of bed bright and early on the very first day of their vacation to try and watch cross country at May Daze. I saw two horses! We did get to spend a little time with Silva Martin and her coach Michael Barisone (is there anyone who hasn’t seen The Colbert Report yet?), and I have to admit to having most of my misconceptions about dressage shattered. Thank you, Silva, for showing me the light and also for chatting to us briefly before the awards ceremony on Sunday morning. Rosa Cha loved being on camera, I think, and Silva told me she also has her baby at home, a 4-year-old by the German stallion His Highness. “She’s fabulous,” Silva said. “She’s pretty much identical to Rosa, but a lot bigger and very, very naughty!” So we look forward to seeing her out and about soon too.
I had so much fun — what great company — and we had fascinating conversations about dressage, judging, riding and fitness. We hear it all the time, and, of course, we know it. Michael actually told me himself last year at Plantation when I asked him the difference between teaching eventers and dressage horses, and he said there is none. Horses are horses. The same basic principles always apply, but sometimes a fresh perspective is all you need! I’ve never been anti-dressage. I always enjoyed it when I evented as a means to an end, but this weekend I even began to see perhaps the attraction of just dressage as a sport — dressage for dressage’s sake — until I watched Silva compete!
This was the first time I’ve seen her in the ring — not training other eventers — and she is as focused and fierce as all get out. I admit I’m sometimes scared when I’m standing too close to the galloping lanes and Phillip Dutton or Andrew Nicholson gallop by, but Silva wants it just as badly. The difference is when she came out of the ring all psyched and pumped up … that’s it! As eventers, we can go and walk the course, ride cross country or show jumping. Obviously the dressage is just one phase, and I don’t know if it’s because I’m now programmed that way having done three phases all my life, but I don’t think that as much as I enjoy the process, one dressage test alone would ever be enough for me. Fail! Of course, it’s all moot until my kids grow up and go to college, but in the meantime I’ll be carefully considering all my options, not forgetting driving and endurance. I imagine I’ll probably go eventing!
