Alanna Mitchell has won the San Francisco Peninsula Chapter’s volunteer award, a $150 competition grant, for riders attending the CDS Jr/YR Championship at Rancho Murieta, September 23-25, 2011. Fifteen-year-old Alanna keeps her horse, Montague, at Webb Ranch and trains with Summer Hensley. Alanna, along with Webb junior riders Arianna Barzman-Grennan, Julia Melmon and Kendra Mitchell, were a huge help with cleaning and packing up after the chapter’s Annual Show in July!

Bayhill Equine Sports Medicine and General Practice has posted a health alert regarding an EHV-1 outbreak in Utah: http://www.bayhillequine.com/BayhillEquine/EHV-1_2011.html

A recent disease outbreak of Equine Herpes Myeloencephalopathy (EHV-1) has been traced to horses who attended the National Cutting Horse Associations’ Western National Championships in Ogden, Utah on April 30 – May 8, 2011. California horses who participated in this event may have been exposed to this EHV-1 virus. We thank them for posting this information and encourage all SFP members to consult their veterinarian about the management of their horse’s health.

The Regional Adult Amateur Competition, known as “The RAAC”, gives CDS members a great way to gain competitive experience, have fun, and win great prizes.

This year, SFP will be hosting the Northern RAAC in partnership with the Woodside Summer Dressage and Breed Show July 14-17 at The Horse Park at Woodside.
NEW in 2011! At the recent CDS Annual Meeting, the state board added to the RAAC a “Basic Level”. Riders can now qualify and compete at Intro Level Test C for Basic Level RAAC awards. It’s a great entry-level competition goal for even the newest dressage rider or competitor, as well as young and green horses.

Click here for more information about the RAAC.

SUMMARY of new USEF helmet rules effective March 1, 2011, for dressage: Anyone mounted on a horse must wear protective headgear except those riders age 18 and over while on horses that are competing only in FEI levels and tests at the Prix St. Georges level and above (including FEI Young Rider Tests, the USEF Developing Prix St. Georges Test and the USEF Brentina Cup Test).

Click here for complete rule information.

2:00 to 5:00 pm

Chapter Awards Presentation
Akiko Yamazaki on the US WEG Victory
Refreshments courtesy of SFP

Location: N.C.E.F.T.
880 Runnymede Road, Woodside
Indoors, rain or shine!
Click for N.C.E.F.T. directions

See you there!

Welcome Aboard CDS!
Sign up now and prepare to experience a weekend of education and fun at the 2011 CDS Annual Meeting, being held in Long Beach on the Queen Mary, January 21-23, 2011. CDS Chapter Chairs, Chapter Representatives and CDS members are in for a treat.

Friday, January 21 will be the CDS Executive Board Meeting, which is open to all CDS members. The CDS Annual Meeting starts at 8am on Saturday, January 22nd. Saturday is a full day of education and a Sports Psychology lecture with Dr. Pollock. There will be Round Table discussions, with 15 minute presentations, so you can move from table to table and take in lots of information. The titles for the tables are: JR/YR, Junior Championships; Scholarships – Awareness and Procedures; The RAAC; Central Office – All about the Paperwork; USEF – Rules and Requirements. This is a great time to talk to other Chapter members and share ideas.

Saturday evening is the BIG ART DECO PARTY! We will have our awards dinner in the Queen Salon Grand Ballroom. Cocktails, Dinner, Awards and Dancing will take place from 5:30pm – 11 pm with music provided by a DJ. CDS Celebrity riders, Jan Ebeling and Mette Rosencrantz will talk about the highlights of their training and competition.

Sunday morning you may stay on the boat and enjoy more presentations on Biomechanics with Janelle Robinson and a session on the New 2011 Dressage Tests with Hilda Gurney, S Judge.
Take the water Taxi from the Queen Mary to Shoreline Village. Enjoy the Aquarium of the Pacific, Specialty Shops, Restaurants and Parker’s Lighthouse.

Registrations: www.california-dressage.org
Reservations: QueenMary
Special Room Rate $117 Call for Reservations 877-342-0742
“CA Dressage Society Block”

Pictured, left to right: Katherine Bateson-Chandler (team member riding Nartan), Tina Konyot (team member riding Calecto V), Todd Flettrich (team member riding Otto), Courtney King-Dye (who came to visit!), Ravel and Steffen, Anne Gribbons, and friend of the team.

CO: Ravel was granted a “bye” from the final qualifying competitions, based on his proven competition record. Has that helped as much as you hoped in getting him to the WEG in optimum condition?

Akiko: Definitely! The trials were over two weekends in Gladstone. This is a very tough schedule for horses and riders. It also meant that instead of being away from home for almost a month and a half before the WEG, he was away for a little under 3 weeks. There is nothing like sleeping in your own bed, as we all know!

CO: Ravel and Steffen were at/are at USET training at Gladstone prior to traveling to the KentuckyHorsePark for the WEG competition. It’s a legendary location to be at for preparation for a groundbreaking competition. What was that like?

Akiko: The facility has had improvements thanks to the generosity of several major donors, including Guenter Seidel’s long-time sponsors, Jane and Dick Brown and the USET Foundation President and long-time Robert Dover’s sponsor (and now Katherine Bateson-Chandler, who is part of the team), Jane Clark among others. I was not personally at Gladstone during the training, but I received several updates from Steffen and Rafa, Ravel’s groom, including pictures of the team. It seems like everyone was very happy to be training in a historic, quiet location, with good footing. You could tell from the photos that everyone was very happy to be part of the team.

CO: How does your team feel going into the WEG? What do you feel are their strengths and/or concerns?

Akiko: The team is relatively “new” in the international arena. However, we have a very high quality of horses and riders. Two of the horses are seasoned World Cup veterans (Nartan and Ravel). The partnership between Tina and Calecto is magical and they create a beautiful picture. Todd’s horse, Otto, has world-class piaffe and passage. I think they will all rise to the occasion and make us proud.

CO: Any predictions?

Akiko: We have an unprecedented field of horses that could score over 75% in the Grand Prix and over 80% in the Freestyles. This is an exciting time for the sport. Obviously medals for the team and an individual medal would be very nice for Team USA!

Regardless of the results, I am so proud of Steffen and Ravel and grateful to the team that takes care of him!

Akiko adds: My 18 year old Grand Prix horse, Kranak, is also going to WEG with a para-rider, Jennifer Baker, representing the US. I thought I would retire him in May from showing but this opportunity came when Jennifer’s horse went lame. He is happy doing his job! It turns out Tina Konyot (another member of the US WEG dressage team) trained him as a youngster and made him a GP horse by 8. He was then sold to Belgium and then to Germany where I bought him as a 13 year old. He has been all over the world and now he is Kentucky at the same time as Tina! It is an amazing coincidence!

It is amazing. Jennifer and Kranak have probably gotten more publicity than any horse in the WEG! They have been on the local paper, on TV! If you do a search on the web for “Jennifer Baker and Kranak” a few things pop up, including the TV segment. They really clicked and make a good picture. She is a very good rider and is doing a great job with him even in the very short time that they needed to get acquainted with each other! It brought tears to my eyes when I saw the video of him showing with her. A horse that did the Grand Prix in May was diligently obliging to single lead changes through the walk. When he extended the trot, he was ready to come back to the passage and then realizes, oh, I don’t need to. Some horses deserve to retire in glory and Kranak is one of them.

CO: Thank you, Akiko, and good luck to Steffen and Ravel, Jennifer and Kranak, and all the US Team.

It’s election season for the California Dressage Society, with state and chapter elections for new board members.

Chapter Board: Three of the six chapter board members are elected each year, and each board member serves a two-year term. This “staggered term” structure provides fresh ideas and expertise, as well as retaining experience and continuity. Returning board members for 2011 will be Andrea Chenu, Jennifer Shearer and Suzanne Vuko; the other three board positions are up for election.

Nominations are now open, and members of the SFP chapter may nominate themselves and/or another chapter member. Nominees must submit a candidate’s statement of 100 to 200 words; this statement is the candidate’s opportunity to tell our voting members about their background, qualifications, and goals for the chapter.

Voting Schedule:

• Oct 12: Candidate statements due
• Oct 26: Voting opens
• Nov 5: Voting closes
• Nov 11: Election results announced at chapter meeting

Further nomination and voting information will be emailed to you in subsequent issues of Centerline Online.

State Board:
You have received your CDS election information via email, with a PIN number mailed to you by snail mail. Voting must be done by Thursday, September 30, 2010 until 11:45 pm, PDT.

Val Metcalfe and Sasha working with Debbie McDonald

Debbie could not have been nicer, and she quickly put everyone at ease so we could focus on the instruction. Her themes were establishing a good connection, and transitions between and within the gaits. She talked about her experiences in Europe and the US, and said she finds on both continents a lack of understanding of classical riding with the poll the highest point, so that is why she teaches the importance of proper connection. It is no coincidence her excellent book is called Riding Through. I learned a great deal in my lessons, as well as from watching the other rides. My horse, Sasha, can be wiggly and I learned how to better  keep her forward, straight and elastic. Debbie emphasized quality of gaits, and work, saying it was better to work diligently for a shorter period of time, than compromise with less good results. Recognize immediately when the horse does what you ask and reward. A common request throughout the clinic was “pat him”. Many of us worked on renvers to straighten wandering haunches, and I learned a better appreciation of having the horse truly on the outside rein.

NorCal AA clinic participants

I have attended previous AA Clinics as an auditor and think they are very valuable educational forums, so please keep up the tradition. Clinics of this quality are not often available for adult riders. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity. Thank you to CDS and the SFP Chapter.

Best,
Val Metcalfe and Sasha

On Saturday, March 20, at EquiSport Therapy & Rehabilitation Center in Woodside, Dr. Wayne Browning and Dr. Philip Bellamy hosted an informative equine health lecture and tour.

Dr. Browning gave chapter members a comprehensive tour of the facility, including a demonstration of the AquaPacer underwater treadmill, and covered advanced treatment techniques for common sport horse injuries.

Dr. Bellamy addressed the holistic therapies he practices, and demonstrated equine acupuncture methods.

Chapter members discovered the wealth of treatment, therapy, and rehabilitation options now available locally. Our sincere thanks to Dr. Browning and Dr. Bellamy for a thorough, educational, and enlightening tour.

For more information about the EquiSport Therapy & Rehabilitation Center, visit www.equisportrehab.com