IHB 6 YO Young
Dressage Horse Class
Round 1 Part 3

MEC Genesis and Tracey Clayton are in the first group to go.   The program says he is by ‘Belcam’ and as his name starts with G, I am guessing he is from the Grannus line!   Unfortunately the horse was tight and lacked the expression and flow to coax the higher scores.  But there were moments when you could see that it will come together for Tracey and Genesis.    Well done!

Jaybee Amelia is the 2003 4 YO class winner.  At this event her stablemate Jaybee Alabaster won the 5 YO class and went on to be Champion of Champions.  Jaybee Amelia was sold earlier this year to Rachael Calhoun who also purchased Jaybee Collette she and values the sensible temperament and willing attitude of her Jaybee horses.  Tony Uytendaal trains the horses ad at this early stage of the careers, competes them for her.  I understand that she does ride them and will take them out later on.    Amelia’s performance lacked energy and this affected her posture and frame.  The six year olds were expected to be working in about a ‘medium towards advanced’ frame with a clear definition between collected and extended.  There was some resistance in the first part of the canter work which seemed to upset the flow of the test.  Amelia is very compliant and Tony soon got her back on track.   The flying changes were clean but crooked.  She is a lovely mare and certainly one to watch for the future.

Lavache by Wirragulla Hamlet from an APH Warmblood mare.   He was ridden by our German visitor Laura Stigler who had her work cut out for her, as he was not always ‘through’ and onto the aids.  Laura did a nice job. And really looks the part on a horse.  There was no flying change so Laura had to drop back to trot and get on to the new lead through a simple change.  The horse was long in the frame and this seemed to allow the mistakes to creep in.  At this level, reasonably secure ‘baby’ collection is necessary in order to meet the requirements of the demanding FEI 6YO test.   As Laura would have her first ride on the horse quite recently, she has done a great job to partner Lavache at this competition and we hope to see them again.

Linnacre Ferro Electra by the super stallion Olympic Ferro, ridden by Ashlea Day.   I am suspecting that the Ferro horses will be better as older competition horses – this was certainly the case with their sire.  He showjumped in the early part of his life and Dutch Rider Coby van Balen took him on at a later stage and he became legendary for his dressage work.  There were a number of Ferro horses at this competition, but for me they did not live up to promise.  Electra was not always with her rider, but Ashley was able to encourage improvement with her good riding and tactful application of the aids.  

Aubaine Jamaica is by Jet Set D from a mare by Jaguar (a stallion who came to prominence when his gorgeous son Jahnus was on top) Mornington Peninsula Vet Sue West rod the attractive brown mare.  They presented a neat and precise test but tension spoilt some moments and the mare was a little blocked through the back.  Sue told me that Jamaica has improved with her competition experiences and the training objectives and way forward are clearer.  Sue is a very dedicated Dressage girl and is sure to work on the basics so that they will progress up the ranks.

Grand Proposal and Victorian professional Rob Clay.  All Victorians are behind this combination as the horse is jointly owned by Marg England who is a very popular local identity.  Marg is hugely generous with her time and a very loyal supporter of Dressage – we love her!  However the judges had no such biased sentiments behind their decisions and the horse lost her forward desire and became a little lofty at times.  This detracted from the flow of the test and some of the lateral work got stuck.  The walk became tight but Rob was on the job and kept it all together.  Being part of this competition makes all competitors winners and we loved seeing each and every horse.

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E-mail Berni, bernis@cyberhorse.net.au for proofs