Special Horses Ridden & Sold by Valerie

 

Step A Side (who was sold and went on to earn a 9th place nationally in the junior hunter division with a student of Don Stewart's), my first Regional Championships. GDCTA Champion and SCDCTA Champion awards at first and second levels.

 

Norman Swygert's mare California (who was sold to a student of Gunner Ostergaard's), a $3500 Thoroughbred I took to her first competitions and earned a Regional Championship placing in the Open division. I leased her back as a broodmare after I sold her, resulting in a lovely Starlight (Sandro Hit) filly, who was first premium at her Oldenburg inspection as a weanling.

 

Simpatia - First Place ranking in First Level Freestyle for Region 3, and 11th for the national rankings (sold to a student who is active in Lendon Gray's junior dressage program).

 

Lynda Bragg’s Vulcan deserves special mention, as he is a Missouri Fox Trotter/Quarter Horse cross who held his own in the Open Division, going to Regionals and earning a median score of 66.4 for the year at training level. He overcame a past history of abuse and I am especially proud of our achievements together.

 

Persona Grata, my first Dutch import, with whom I earned my last scores for the Bronze medal and got started on my Silver, while competing at Region 3 championships and earning SCDCTA championships.

 

Una Voce- a Gribaldi mare I picked out in Holland before Totilas hit the international scene. This mare had never competed before coming to the USA, and she hit the ground running. She repeatedly earned Overall High Score awards at many shows, winning multiple blue ribbons, along with SCDCTA and GDCTA championships, Performance Horse Registry National and Zone Championships, and USEF rankings, and a KWPN national 6th place. She received the second highest IBOP score in North America at the keuring. I also bred her to Wynton (by Jazz), resulting in a spectacular filly I co-own with Michelle Folden (selected as first premium at her keuring as a weanling). Regretfully I had to do my L program testing at the Regional Championships we qualified for, so I was unable to add this to her resume.

 

Re Versa- I competed her in November, 25 days after her arrival in the United States, earning scores over 70% at third level, and competed again in December. These two shows gave us scores high enough to earn year end championships. She now belongs to a lovely junior rider.

 

Personality, imported in 2009 as a sales horse,  but quickly weaseled her way into my heart. She has not been the most successful competition horse, and has been plagued with a multitude of health problems (a now-resolved s.i. lameness, incurable immune-mediated keratitis which causes blurry vision in one eye, allergies to most hay, a displacing palate causing oxygen depravation!) but she has taught me so much and always tries her best despite her limitations. We have earned many year-end cumulative awards including: SCDCTA and GDCTA Championships and Fourth Level, Prix St. Georges, and Intermediare, along with a Reserve Champion at Regional Championships with a freestyle (one I put together in August, qualified in two shows in September, and contested in October), and PHR National and Zone Championships and Reserve Championships. She was one of six horses selected to be bred to Moorland’s Totilas before he was sold to Germany!

 

Weva Rose, now called Veva Rose, I imported in 2011 and sold immediately to my very, very dear friend Laurie Hutchinson, as a third level mare. Within one year, Laurie qualified for the developing horse Grand Prix championships at Lamplight. Sadly, Laurie died unexpectedly in 2014 and has left a huge gaping hole in the world, which can never be filled. I know she and Fletcher are pulling pranks and inducing laughter all over Heaven.