Jan Ebling Clinic

FEBRUARY 7, 2009

DATE Saturday February 7, 2009 Sunday February 8, 2009

FIRST COME FIRST SERVE, SPACE LIMITED

COST: $120.00 Per ride, $30.00, 2 day Auditing Fee

Call Anna, 389-0248 To Reserve Your Day and Time

MAKE CHECKS OUT TO ASDS AND MAIL TO:

Anna Awana 41-838 Mahiku Place Waimanalo, HI 96797

Please See Intro Poster for additional information.

ASDS News Letter - October 2008

OCTOBER 10, 2008

Aloha ASDS Members, The last two shows have come and gone completing the 2008 ASDS show season.

Look for 2009 show schedule and 2008 show scores on line at www.alohastatedressage.com On a sad note the Dressage community lost Trip Harting S judge. Trip is known by many of us in the Hawaii horse community since he lived and trained from Koko Head Stables (now known as Koko Crater Stables) in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The following news release was taken from the USDF web site: Thank You Very Much: A Tribute to Trip Harting Thoughts and Memories of Trip Harting by Lois Yukins Trip Harting was a complex man. He had the power to live in extremes. He was both childlike, refusing to be a grownup, and on the other side, had the wisdom of age. He could be fun and light and then serious and thoughtful, but never afraid of the total adventure of life. It is hard to imagine what energy he put into life; energy so positive that the space one shared with him just glowed. He was very private about his personal life and also his professional life, no matter which side you were on. Most often, one did not know much about the other. He confided with just a few of his closest friends his joys, successes and his troubles. I choose to think that this was an incredibly unique and special quality, others, Trip included, felt it was a deception. I\'m not sure it should really be up for judgment.

I met Trip when I was quite young at a National Pony Club Championship. He was such a star then, talented, brave and of course handsome. Over the next couple of decades I had heard about him, but never really got to know him well until the eighties when we, by chance, had a judging job together. It was one of those moments everyone has had at sometime or another, the feeling that you had known this person forever, or had a deep relationship in another life. We never lost touch with each other from that time forward. We talked on the phone often and increasingly for the last several years. We were like brother and sister, best friends. We had many adventures together, such as our trip to England to judge together. We had such fun being tourists along with judging a wonderful show. We shared a near death experience one evening and I said \'that was horrible, the worst day of my life\'. Trip said \'no\', this was the best day of our life, we lived\'. He was a glass half full sort of guy. At one point in my life I shared my private story of my tormented marriage. He was neither judgmental nor wanting to fix it; he chose rather to share with me some wisdom from his swami. His stories and examples helped me through a very difficult time. Trip was incredibly spiritual; he started every day with prayer. When he was home he had a shrine with many candles and special pictures and mementos of friends and spiritual beings. He prayed for his family, friends, his partner Steve and for situations that were confusing to him. He would light the candles and play the same Hawaiian music he loved so much. Trip never judged people. I never heard him say anything bad about anyone. He had an amazing ability to face something difficult and then work it through his heart and head to try to better understand the situation. Trip was the most generous and caring person I have ever known. He helped so many people during his lifetime, he made a difference.

Trip\'s many accomplishments may be found on www.DressageDaily.com as well as in the USDF Connection and Dressage Today. Trip was known for his friendly demeanor at horseshows. He always gave his signature statements to the riders before and after each ride, and I am now hearing over and over again how much the riders appreciated those words and kindnesses. He loved horses most genuinely above almost anything else in his life, except perhaps his dogs. I remember him telling me how much he missed riding, but felt that part of his life was over, and he would continue teaching, coaching and judging. That was until his student and friend Lori Lauver convinced him to train her horse. He was so worried that he couldn\'t get back into shape to do a good job. He did both, and he was so proud of the horse, Lori and even himself. He had a lot of joy riding these past few years.

Trip had a secret, a very serious secret. Something he was neither proud of, nor could control. I didn\'t know anything about it, until five years ago, and then I had a secret too. You may wish to visit WWW.TRIPTOHELLANDBACK.COM . In the end, only a few weeks before he passed away, all charges were dropped, his record was clean. At the same time his documentary was premiered in Providence, RI and won the highest award. Trip was not able to come to the premier because he was too sick. He was prepared to lose his equestrian career. Trip was a well known speaker in Narcotics Anonymous, and very proud not only of his own recovery, but was very instrumental in the recovery of others.

When Trip heard of his diagnosis, he told me that he had done many regrettable things in his life, but had no regrets. If we are to believe we are put on this earth for a reason, or have things to accomplish before our next life, Trip is one of the few people I have known that really worked through many stages and seemed to raise himself to a better level with each situation. I am very proud to have known him.

His last days were at home with many of his dear friends. He knew we were there with him. He found time to say some last words to a few of us and then as I was holding his hand he kept saying, ‘don\'t be afraid, the angels are coming\'. And they did, as we all touched him and each other.

We all will miss him so much. In keeping his memory, please share your experiences about Trip with each other. There are so many wonderful stories, and I wish he could hear them all right now. A while back Trip said, \'if I ever have a tombstone, put the proper dates on it and then say THANK YOU VERY MUCH\'.

We will miss you dearest Trip.

The USDF annual convention will be held this year December 3-7th 2008 in Denver CO. with the appropriate theme of “ Dressage with Altitude”. Headlining the convention will be Kyra Kyrklund an Olympic trainer. ASDS member, Martha McDaniel will attend as our representative as well as a delegate for our region (region 7). She will bring with her a basket filled with Hawaii goodies to be entered in the annual GMO basket raffle. I am looking forward to 2009; Jan Ebling will be here to teach a clinic in January. To reserve a spot, renew your ASDS membership and call Anna at (808) 389-0248. Unfortunately, Lilo had to cancel her November clinic. In 2009 we are scheduled for four weekends of showing beginning April 11-12, June 13-14, August 8-9 and concluding with September 12-13. Lists of judges are available on the ASDS web site. The proposed Performance Standards have been submitted to the USEF by the dressage committee , to take a look you must go to the USEF site, log on as a member, and look at proposed 2009 rule changes. The full proposal will be listed alphabetically under DR (dressage). My own opinion is that the current revisions are not only sensible but manageable. Basically, performance standards are rider qualifications. A person would be able to ride in any test from Training level through Third level with out any qualifications, however, after third, the rider must earn qualification points or have earned their USDF medals. Finally we should thank all the volunteers who willingly help at the horse shows especially the secretaries, show management, scorers, and scribes. By Carole Crist

Remember to renew your ASDS membership applications! THAT TIME AGAIN! Save $5.00 and complete your ASDS Membership early. All membership Forms expire 30 Nov 08. You can also go on line and complete your USEF membership and USDF Membership if applying for Participating Membership. Only trainers and coaches are not required to be a ASDS or USDF member. You must be able to retrieve your USDF GMO membership on line prior to any competition or pay the $20.00 non-member fee. The same for USEF membership. Horses are required to have a ASDS number if rider is going for year end awards. All horses must have a USDF Life or HID number to compete in recognized Dressage Shows (except if riding Introductory rides). Register your horse on line if he/she is not already a Life time number or has a HID number. At this time a horse USEF number is not mandatory. All riders and owners are required to have USDF (GMO or Participating) number and a USEF number. Trainers and coaches are required to have a USEF number only. Thank You, Jo Ann

ASDS Newsletter - July 2008

JULY 14, 2008

Aloha ASDS Members,

Time waits for no one. How true this is! I am sorry I missed seeing the last horse show at Hilltop in June. Congratulations to all the winners. If you are interested in seeing the results you can find them on line. Speaking of shows, it is almost time to enter the August show that will be judged by Loris Henry.

Deadlines for August show are: Mail in deadline is July 19th Hand carried entries to Hilltop July 21st all other entries will be charged a late fee of $20.00 per day and $5.00 per ride.

Here is a small bio I found on the web about Loris Henry: Ms. Henry is a life-long equestrian who began her career by obtaining her British Horse Society Assistant Instructor certificate at Burton Hall in Ireland. She is a USA Eq \"R\" Combined Training judge an FEI “C” Eventing judge and a USA Eq \"S” Dressage judge and has earned Bronze and Silver USDF Medals. Ms. Henry was president of the California Dressage Society 1984-86 and is a former President of the United States Eventing Association and served on its Board of Governors from 1991 - 2001.

I know we have hosted Mrs Henry here in the islands before. She judged a horse show on Maui in October 2003. I rode in the show and remember her as a fair, kind judge offering helpful comments on the test sheet. I encourage any one who is interested to sign up and ride in the show.

The ASDS website has received a face lift with a new look and user friendly layout. The web site was updated by Roya on July 5th, If you have not taken a look, check it out. Many thanks to Roya for her volunteer work. Here is a news release from USEF about the Dressage team selection trials: USEF Names Nominated Entry for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team in Dressage Release: July 01 2008

By Joanie Morris

Lexington, KY – The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) has approved the following nominated entry for the dressage team for the 2008 Olympic Games in Hong Kong. Final entries will be made to the USOC on July 15, 2008. The following riders are ranked based on their performance after the USEF Selection Trials for Dressage: Name/Age/Hometown/Horse/Age/Breed/Sex/Owner

1. Steffen Peters/44/San Diego, CA/Ravel/10/Dutch Warmblood/G/Akiko Yamazaki

2. Debbie McDonald/54/Hailey, ID/Brentina/17/Hanoverian/M/Peggy and Parry Thomas

3. Courtney King-Dye/31/New Milford, CT/Harmony’s Mythilus/14/Dutch Warmblood/G/Harmony Amateur Sports Foundation

4. Courtney King-Dye/31/New Milford, CT/Idocus/18/Dutch Warmblood/S/Christine McCarthy

5. Steffen Peters/44/San Diego, CA/Lombardi 11/16/Holsteiner/G/Akiko Yamazaki

6. Leslie Morse/46/Beverly Hills, CA/Kingston/16/Dutch Warmblood/S/Leslie Morse and Laura Petroff

7. Michael Barisone/44/Califon, NJ/Neruda/13/Dutch Warmblood/G/Jane Suwalsky

8. Sue Blinks/48/Encinitas, CA/Mark/14/Dutch Warmblood/G/Leatherdale Farms and Louise Leatherdale

9. Lisa Wilcox/41/West Palm Beach, FL/Naomi/13/Dutch Warmblood/M/Janet Bell

10. George Williams/42/Delaware, OH/Rocher/17/Westphalian/M/Joann and Charles Smith

11. Kristina Harrison-Naness/36/Burbank, CA/Rociero XV/13/Pura Raza Espanol/S/Margaret arrear

Because of where Peters and King-Dye are ranked with their second horses, Lombardi and Idocus can be used as substitute horses for those riders if needed. Leslie Morse has been named as the alternate rider and will travel with the team to Hong Kong.

The top five riders and the top seven horses will fly to Aachen, Germany on July 10 where they will enter quarantine on July 17.

ENDS

For more information about selection please contact USEF Managing Director of Dressage Gil Merrick at gmerrick@usef.org. Meet an ASDS Member The following article was written for Dressage Today by Christine Trevino an ASDS member who keeps her horse at A Tri K stables. Christine earned her Gold Medal at the last show in June with her final required ride on Sunday. Besides being a Grand Prix rider, Christine is a wonderful artist. You can see her work on line at http://www.equineartguild.com/marengo-ink/ On a sad note for us, Christine is leaving the island, relocating to Washington State.

Getting Nothing

“It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. In this life we get nothing save by effort.” (Theodore Roosevelt)

When I lost my first dressage horse, Marengo, I didn’t think that I would ever be able to love another horse so completely. I knew that I would ride again, but I vowed that I would do it from a distance. I started looking for a replacement for Marengo and heard about a local stallion named Symbol, who was producing phenomenal offspring. One Sunday afternoon my husband and I drove to have a look at him. I knew nothing about him; and as I eyed him in the stall, I was less than impressed. He was dirty and obviously had not worked in a long time. He also appeared to be lame. The handler turned Symbol loose in the arena.. This chestnut stallion looked around with awareness, gathered himself, and gracefully executed a double pirouette. Then he joyfully performed a freestyle to our delighted applause and gasps of wonder. I left the farm that day vowing to find a Symbol baby that I could afford. Even lame, he had shown more movement than any other horse I had ever seen, and his heart was enormous. I followed up every lead in my search for a Symbol baby, but everyone who had one, knew what they had and didn’t want to sell. Finally I received a Polaroid in the mail of a yearling colt in my price range (cheap). If I had judged him strictly on the photo, he never would have gotten a second thought. Fortunately, I remembered the words of a German friend: “You don’t ride the looks.” I planned a trip to take a look at this ugly colt on a cattle ranch in Kansas. His head was huge, his feet were huge, his butt was high, and his neck was upside-down. Yet, the look in his eyes made my heart soar. When he trotted around on a long rope in a rocky pen, I knew I had found my next dressage horse. On the way home I thought about what symbols are used for, came up with ciphers, and named my new colt, Sypher. He arrived soon after, and I turned him out on pasture. He was very suspicious of new things and every time I went out to him, he would circle me until he could catch my scent. I’d let him approach at his own volition. When he stopped, I was able to approach and halter him. His cautious attitude was just fine by me. As a matter of fact, it was just what I wanted. A few years passed. I broke him at two, rode for a month then put him back out. At three I took him trail riding for a few months then put him back out. At four I fiddled with actual riding, but I didn’t know how to train a dressage horse. By then we had moved to Washington State with the Army, and I knew I needed help. I attended dressage shows, watched riders and asked for trainers ‘names. As a result, I found the trainer who guided me for the next eight years. With her help, Sypher and I began the long, hard slog up the pathway toward Grand Prix. The path was not easy, there were lots of times when I went home and said to my husband “I don’t know if I have the stomach for this.” But I didn’t quit, and Sypher liked learning new things. Best of all, his idea of a reward was to go to a show and have an audience applaud. We had several bumps along the way. I had life-threatening medical problems that took years to fight through. I lost my job. We moved and moved and moved again with the Army. Each relocation set us back a bit, required finding a new farrier, a new vet, and someplace safe to stable and ride. Sometimes, it was just a grassy area flat enough to ride on with no groundhog holes. I dreamed about covered arenas with good footing. We lost training time occasionally from farrier errors. I learned how to tactfully coax each new farrier over to my desired shoeing requirements. Sypher took it all in stride. My husband encouraged me to take Sypher to Florida two years in a row for the experience and training. The first year it drained our meager bank account. The second year I was a 50-year-old working student. Everyday from before dawn to after dark, I fed four sessions, groomed nine horses, cleaned stalls twice a day plus tack, managed the barn, and rode. I lived in a tiny apartment over a barn and had a shower outside that I shared with a tree frog. I worked to pay for my stall, my apartment, and $125 a week for gas and food. I watched and learned about the art of dressage beyond the mechanics. By now Sypher was OLD at age 14 in the opinion of most trainers, as was I at age 50. But we had earned our Bronze and Silver medals and two scores toward the Gold. Sypher had made it all seem so easy because of his love of showing, I figured once we got to Grand Prix….shucks, we would get those last two scores the first year! And along the way, our separate personalities became united into one team. I began riding with my heart again. Reality hit me right between the eyes with the Grand Prix test. Not only was the daily training grueling, but the test absolutely was the hardest most challenging thing I had ever tried in my life. I had to convince Sypher to work harder than he ever had and keep him sound while doing it. War broke out, my husband deployed; I moved back to Washington and found a job after 8 years of part-time work. We showed Grand Prix all year in 2006 and managed to get one medal score. At the end of the season I was burnt out, Sy was burnt out. I decided to take a year off and think about whether or not I really wanted another award. Was it worth pushing my horse that hard for? In 2007 my husband was going to be deployed to Iraq again. I was offered a job with a big promotion in Hawaii. So we both went our separate ways, and I brought horses along with me. I found a quiet, friendly barn and hit it off with the manager. We encouraged one another with our dreams and goals. My best friend and my husband both paid to bring a German trainer to the island three times so that I could continue to get some guidance. The rest of the time I was on my own. I read new books on classical riding, watched videos, and lay awake nights thinking about riding issues that Sy and I were having, my husband’s safety, and a recurrence of health problems of my own. I had a horse psychic talk to Sypher and learned to my surprise that he wanted to try the “hard work” again. So with that information, I decided to try again in 2008. I came from a different approach for this last attempt. Every resistance from Sypher I interpreted as an indication of pain instead of obstinacy. Using that criterion, we broke through all the issues. I quit dominating and began truly partnering, listening, and encouraging correct efforts. Sypher, true to his bloodlines, gave with his heart and mind. He responded to just treatment with honest labor. He began muscling up and became alert to all changes in his surroundings again. As we would walk down the road complete strangers and non-horse people would call out “What a beautiful horse!” He was proud and happy. The first show of 2008 approached, and I started having problems with Sypher accepting the right rein aids. I looked him over and noticed a slight asymmetry in his face. He had a sarcoma growing in the soft cheek area between the mouth and cheekbone. The vet burned it off, and I scratched our classes. Two months passed and the next show deadline arrived. Now I had been having soundness problems with Sy, so I waited until the last hour before putting in the entry. Precise shoeing and supportive medical care solved the pain issues. Each day of training resulted in better and better elements of the test. I made sure that I understood the question of each movement then asked the right question of Sypher. Most of the time, he gave me the old answer first. When I repeated the question, I could tell he was really listening, thinking, and then giving me a correct answer but with a question mark at the end. When I would praise him, he would then give the answer confidently. One by one the challenges of the test were conquered and checked off. Show day arrived and we hacked over to the grounds. It had been two years since we had been in the show ring and ridden the test. Warm up went about like I expected, some of our correct work had been left behind at the stable. The test was a bit of a disaster, one particularly memorable moment was the canter half pass with flying changes. Sypher’s answer when asked to do it was “I spit on your zigzag!” (score 3). Then to make it up to me he offered lots and lots of flying changes (score 4 on both lines). We hacked back to the barn, and I told him he was a good strong boy. Day two. I wake up exhausted. I don’t want to do it. I go to the barn, and I can tell that Sypher is tired, too. We look each other in the eye, and he says, “Let’s get this done.” I check his legs, hard and cold. I check his back, no soreness. I braid him, tack him up, and we head off down the road. Today I added my husband’s unit crest to my jacket pocket so he can be here in spirit. As we ride down the road, I say a prayer, asking for guidance to make the right decisions. The test had one mistake (a canter break at the beginning of the first extended trot) and counting errors in the zigzag. The rest was very good, and Sypher and I knew it. At the end the judge complimented me saying she had not seen anyone improve that dramatically between tests before. “It was quite respectable!” she told us. We headed back to the barn while I replayed the test in my head. I dumped a bag of apples and carrots down for Sy. As I took his braids out, I wondered what our score was. One of the boarders walked in with her cell phone and said that the barn manager needed to ask me something. I figured he wanted me to bring him something from the barn to the show. “Do you have a space on your wall for your gold medal?” he asked. I think my delighted screams were heard all over the island. So my old guy, my 22 year old American bred, American trained gelding and his old, beat-up 58 year old amateur owner did it. We started from the valley of ignorance and made it to the mountaintop. And let me tell you something, while the view is wonderful up here, the trip was the best part. It wasn’t easy. In fact, it was the hardest thing I have ever done. What would have been easy was giving up. If I can do it, anyone can do it.

Newsletter by Carloe Crist

ASDS Newsletter - May 2008

MAY 25, 2008

Read the May 2008 edition of the ASDS Newsletter!

ASDS Newsletter - April 2008

APRIL 25, 2008

Read the April 2008 edition of the ASDS Newsletter!

ASDS Newsletter - February 2008

FEBRUARY 13, 2008

Read the February 2008 edition of the ASDS Newsletter!

Attention All Competitors!

JANUARY 27, 2008

Special award money will be offered at the last show (Number VIII, September 7, 2008. Awarded to the highest score at each level for said show.

Visit the ASDS Video Library

OCTOBER 17, 2007

With over 50 titles, the ASDS Video Library is a terrific resource to all ASDS members. To borrow videos contact Sharman Elison by telephone or fill out the borrowing form online!

Renew Memberships Early!

OCTOBER 9, 2007

Please remember to renew your ASDS and USEF memberships early to avoid fees! Reasons to renew early:

* Renew memberships early, avoid non-member fees.
* Submit your ASDS entry forms on time, avoid late fees.
* Attach all required memberships to each entry form and avoid the $25.00 missing card fee.
* Fill in all required information requested on the ASDS entry form and avoid the $10.00 error fee.

ENTRIES: Mail entries to: ASDS, PO BOX 6494, Kaneohe, HI 96744. Hand delivered entries will be left in the bathroom at Hilltop Equestrian Center in Waimanalo, not later than 4:00 PM on the Hand Carry Due Date. This is the only place Hand Carried entries will be picked up.

New 2009 ASDS, USDF, and USEF Forms and Applications

OCTOBER 8, 2007

We have updated all Member Forms and Applications. Download all Forms from the homepage under Registration Forms.