August 17-19, 2002
A western horse has guts and commitment;
an English horse has grace and elegance;
but my horse has it all.
Our six riders at the Central Canadian Championships certainly chose an appropriate logo. Five of the six competed in dressage and their horses rose to the occasion - or perhaps it was the riders? Representing four different branches from across the region, they formed a great group and supported each other throughout the dressage day, even through stable management, despite their avowed lack of interest. What can you say to five team members competing on Saturday when every one of them places first in stable management!
Jocelyn Mapplebeck of Perth & District was our sole D member on the dressage team. As one quarter of team D1, she teamed up with three COR riders to win the D stable management with the highest score of the day. The reward was not only a red ribbon but the Helen Baird Trophy which consisted of a rather large, heavy gold-coloured pitchfork. For some reason (lack of room in the truck?) Jocelyn graciously chose to allow the Central team members to take the pitchfork home.
Our C team consisted of Matthew Kidney of West Carleton, Vicky Thivierge of UCPC, Jenny Tennent and Gina Billings of Kingston & Region PC. Despite their insistence that they weren't particularly interested in the stable management, I could not help but notice that their tack room was incredibly organized, the aisle was always clear, the horses impeccably clean and the tack never neglected. Matt personally took care of the garbage can, the winning touch that secured the C team championship.
None of the above interfered with the riding in any way. Matt and Vicky both achieved personal bests at Basic 1. Vicky on her pony Tarka (up against all those horses!) won the B test class with a 65%, and was fourth in the C test with 58.8% to end up 3rd overall. Matt, in his first year of showing any real interest in dressage, was second in both his tests with scores of 64.58 and 62.4% and took the reserve championship with his still very young horse Cutting Remark.
In Basic 2, Jocelyn and Gina showed very well in excellent company. Jocelyn's young horse Plan B placed 8th in the B test with 57.41 (which highlights how high a level the first 7 horses attained), then came back with a whopping 70.9% to win the Basic 2 Freestyle. Gina had to change her goals rather rapidly after suffering a mild flu on Friday. To Gina's dismay, Mom had to finish the braiding (not up to Gina's standards, one understands) but Gina chose to endure the result and ride anyway on Saturday. Swaying a bit dangerously in the saddle at times, she and Walkover pulled off a 59.62 and 58.75% in B and C, placing 5th in both classes and ending up 5th overall.
Finally, Jenny with her Paulette proved they had made the leap from Basic 1 to Basic 3 in barely a year by placing 2nd with 58.57 in test B and 3rd with 54.64 in test C to end up 3rd overall. Polly had a few complaints. She absolutely despises mud! One could hear her muttering all day, "They are all eating - why am I still on a diet?"
Matthew, Vicky and Jocelyn I believe achieved personal bests, and although both Gina and Jenny were disappointed as they had been achieving mid-60's throughout the summer, there were extenuating circumstances for both of them. Pictures of the happy crew will soon be available.
Matthew, Vicky and Jocelyn will now be joined by Caitlin Kidney to form the show jumping team on Sunday. News and photos to follow.
Special thanks should go to Pam Bechard and her hard working crew (very few names of which I remember) who slaved to pull off these championships. They did a great job, especially having to work long distance. Pam lives several hours away. Pam's daughter's best friend Tina found herself building a dressage ring in the muck for the first time after having innocently offered to come along to watch. I've forgotten the names of the rest of the faces, but I do remember that they worked hard late into Friday evening and were setting up the jump ring when we left on Saturday.
Kasia Miedzinska