Add your banner on this site fo only $25per month.
Dressage on the First Coast
(held in conjunction with the 2010 USDF Symposium)
December 4 & 5, 2010
Jacksonville Equestrian Center
Jacksonville, Florida
Great American/USDF Regional Qualifying Show
USDF/Dover Adult Amateur Medal Program
USEF Dressage Level 2 Competition
Dressage on the First Coast’s
“Welcome All” Cocktail Party
Immediately following the Saturday conclusion of the USDF Symposium in Indoor Arena Concourse/Trade Fair Area
All Officials, Competitors, USDF Symposium Riders & Registrants and Guests Welcome
Cocktail Party Followed by the
USDF & FEI Freestyle Challenge - $3,000 Purse
$2000 Purse for FEI Level Freestyles
$1000 Purse for USDF Level Freestyles
Judges:
Linda Zang FEI “O” (MD)
Marilyn Heath USEF “S” (FL)
TD:
Sarah Bartko “r” (FL)
Show Manager:
Carlie Evans
(352) 215-0710
xevansfarm@bellsouth.net
Show Secretary:
Dibbie Dunnam
(352) 466-3538
gtrslfrm@aol.com
Vet:
Susan Oakley DVM (On-Call)
(386) 747-5359
Farrier:
Eric Fox (On-Call)
(352) 266-1814
For more information, the USEF/USDF approved prize list & required entry forms go to:
DressageontheFirstCoast.com
Please check our blog at AHorseBlog.com or HorsesintheSouth.com for more current information. We are slowly moving this to a new blog, TheEquinePost.com, so it's easier for all of us to update & you can become a contributor to add your own stuff!
Friend us on Facebook.com/TeriRehkopf.HorsesintheSouth & 'like' our Fan page at Facebook.com/HorsesintheSouth, Follow us on Twitter.com/SouthernHorses, Twitter.com/HorsesSouth, Twitter.com/SouthernDressag, Twitter.com/TheEquinePost
FEI Launches Investigation into Odense Dressage Warm-Up & FEI Position on Hyperflexion
This is the modern version of Dressage showing the 'competition trot' with the front leg overextended and not parallel with the hind leg, plus the horse's head is behind the vertical. Notice the horse's rump high and not rounded - the horse is on his forehand and cannot make use of his backend for thrust. He is being ridden from front to back instead of back to front as in Classical Dressage. He may have been trained using hyperflexion (roll kur) techniques
October 26, 2009 – The FEI is aware of the video filmed at the FEI World Cup Dressage qualifier at Odense (DEN) and posted on YouTube by Epona TV at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hIXGiV4N4k. FEI’s main concern has always been and will always be the welfare of the horse. We are taking the issues raised in the video and in the comments made by members of the public on social media and by email very seriously and have opened a full investigation. The conclusions of this investigation will be made public in due course.
Please read Dr. Gerd Heushmann’s book “Tug of War” and see his DVD “If Horses Could Speak” about the dangers of using this method of training and the long term effects of forcing horses to be hand ridden, ridden incorrectly from front to back which is is SUPPOSED TO BE as in Classical Dressage – from back to front, and pushing young horses into doing Dressage levels at too young an age before they have completely developed. I had posted that I interviewed him last week and will be posting more on this in the very near future. Click below to purhcase his book and DVD.
See previous blog post: http://horsesinthesouth.com/blog/index.php/2009/10/28/dr-gerd-heuschmann-author-of-tug-of-war-dvd-if-horses-could-speak-lecture-clinic/ . Click on this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TahYWzsCdQM to watch a YouTube excerpt from his DVD which you can purchase from the Amazon.com link above. This should be ‘required reading’ for all of those who compete and for judges, if you do not know the true form of Classical Dressage or riding the horse from back to front to have a happy horse!
FEI POSITION ON HYPERFLEXION – updated 17.11.08
“The FEI held a successful seminar on Hyperflexion in 2006. There has been no change in the scientific evidence since that review. There are no known clinical side effects specifically arising from the use of Hyperflexion. However, there are concerns for the horses’ well-being if the technique is not practised correctly. The FEI does not permit excessive or prolonged Hyperflexion in any equestrian sport, and has a strict stewarding program to protect the performance horse in all disciplines.”
“The FEI regulates international competition principally. Also through its work it seeks to educate riders, trainers and judges thru their NFs how to deal with issues which have a bearing on the welfare of the horse. Where there is a specific training issue which brings the welfare of the horse into question it is for the NF to legislate at National level. At international competition level it is for the FEI to act. Through the ongoing training of stewards and all officials we seek to develop peoples understanding of what is acceptable and unacceptable training techniques.”
David Holmes, Executive Sports Director
Associated info at HorseandHound.co.uk: http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/397/291211.html
British Horse Society chairman Patrick Print has since written to HRH Princess Haya requesting the FEI launch a second investigation into the practise of hyperflexion.
Print’s letter reads: “The concerns so widely expressed are reasonable and therefore deserving of an urgent two-part investigation: first, an inquiry into the treatment of this particular horse on this particular occasion; and, second, a broader inquiry into the ethics and consequences of hyperflexion. In this second aspect The British Horse Society stands ready to assist the FEI in any way it can.”
Forums are rife with angered comment on the topic and several facebook groups have been set up in condemnation of rollkur.
The Classical Riding Club have also written to the FEI and are urging all members to sign their petition to the FEI to ban all hyperflexion in competition.
Another YouTube video showing hyperflexion used in show jumpers and western riders: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7o-Ref-owE
More to come on this important issue!!
See our new blog - AHorseBlog.com - for posting Contributors Jane Savoie and Ruth Hogan-Poulsen, plus many, many more posts on Dressage and other issues. Click on the Dressage category on the right sidebar.
Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to our blog Feedburner account so you will get automatic updates via email when we add new posts!
As you are probably aware by now that Klaus Fraessdorf passed away on August 31st after a long bout with cancer. He will be sorely missed in our Dressage community. He was a part of the Dressage on the First Coast recognized shows many times in various capacities since our first recognized show in 1997.
Mary Phelps of Dressage Daily has a page on her website Memories of Klaus Fraessdorf for which people who knew Klaus can add a tribute. Below is the tribute from my trainer and great friend, Kathy Daly, through whom I first met Klaus when both he and she were judging at a show at Rocking Horse. I was her scribe at the show (around 1996). He was so funny and loved to tease Kathy!
Kathy Daly
I have many memories of Klaus but the first that came to mind was from a show where he was serving as the TD. It was pouring rain and I was warming up a client's horse for a training level class. He was watching us go around the ring so I smiled and said hello. On the next trip round, he called me over. Rules on bits had recently been changed and he wanted to check the width of my horse's bit. I asked if he could wait until after the class (it was raining after all) but he insisted because if we waited I could be eliminated. I had to send a groom back to the barn for a halter and we stood in the shelter of an overhang from a mobile tack store trailer. The bit was fine and I went on to win my class. Another time, he was judging and, after my halt and salute, he climbed out of the judge's box to congratulate me on getting a "10" on a movement. I was riding a canter-trot-canter transition on the diagonal in a 1st level 4 test on a client's horse, Malibu Royale, owned by Mary Ann Thornton, and we did a perfect transition (I thought we would get at least an “8”. I was very happy for the "10"!). A character like Klaus will be greatly missed. See Kathy's PREMIUM directory listing and get your own with all of the same bells & whistles at HorsesintheSouth.com/directory/
Click here for Klaus' obituary and his bio on his website, Dressage in Florida
Klaus was a licensed USAEQ. "R" Dressage Judge, “R” Technical Delegate, and held the rating of Dressage Chief Steward with the FEI, plus many more accomplishments, including producing the Dressage in Florida Omnibus, known internationally as The Blue Book.
Mary Phelps also has a page on Dressage Daily dedicated to Klaus at Klaus Fraessdorf Passes Away and so does Robert Dover at Remembering Klaus Fraessdorf.
showcased sponsor
dogwood sport horses
Dogwood Sport Horses Our Breeding Focus - Our focus is strictly on the quality of the horse as an individual and not so much about breed or Registry. The horse stands on it's own merits and a top pedigree is a plus. Temperament and trainability are on the top of our list; correct conformation is essential for balance, soundness, and movement. Pedigrees are important because they give us a basis to judge the possible qualities of the offspring.
We enjoy our pedigree homework for a particular stallion and the successes of his offspring. The Europeans have done a tremendous job of documenting the proven attributes of their horses and this gives us an edge on making breeding decisions. Some traits have proven to be highly inheritable and this is very important.
Our Stallion, Freedomhall - Standing at Stud, born 05-15-02 ~ 16.2HH. Branded Westfalen, Approved Rhienlander. His Sire is Festrausch by Florestan. His Dam, Pathriesja is a Ster mare imported from Holland whose tail female line (Etrichta,Trichta, Katrichta Ster Stef Prest) is one of the most accomplished at 
Grand Prix Level for Holland in Worldwide competition.
Bred from some of the finest and successful bloodlines in Europe. Freedom's temperament is a 10+. His conformation is correct and uphill; his movement is free and powerful!
Visit DogwoodSportHorses.com and purchase your next sporthorse or breed to the champion, Freedomhall!
Northeast Florida Dressage Association -
Fall Series: all will be held at CCAC
September 26, 2009
Judges: Sharon Jerdeman (L)
October 24, 2009
Judges: Heather Stalker (L)
November 21, 2009 (And NFDA Championships show)
Judges: Jean Thornton and TBA
dressage defined
Dressage is a French term meaning “training.” The fundamental purpose of dressage is to develop, through standardized progressive training methods, the horse’s natural athletic ability and willingness to perform, thereby maximizing its potential as a riding horse. The NFDA is dedicated to promoting the sport of dressage in the north Florida region.
The USDF is the governing body of Dressage in the United States and boasts a national membership greater than 45,000. Region 3 (Southern Dressage) includes Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina and Tennessee.