Not-So-Speedy Dressage
From Endurance to Dressage
After all of the fires that have plagued California over the past few months, you might not remember the two we had here in October that killed at least 30 horses. I wrote about them here and here. Out of the Cottonwood fire, a stallion named The Boss and a mare named Rias were both saved. The Boss was severely burned, but is still alive. Rias, also badly burned, turned out to be in foal by The Boss. A few weeks ago, against what seemed like staggering odds, Rias delivered a very healthy and very spunky filly. Meet Ember. The local media was so excited to hear about such a cutie-pie being born after such a disheartening tragedy that as soon as they caught wind of the birth, they swooped in to tell her story. Watch one of the news videos here. Over the weekend, Cecile invited me to come visit Ember. Holy moly is she ever a pistol. As I entered the stall where she was napping, I walked around her very carefully so as not to startle her. I shouldn't have worried. The second she realized she had company, she leaped up and jammed her face into my leg, chewing on my clothes and boots. Within no time, she was whirling and launching her little hooves at anything she could connect with. She kicked at everyone and everything in her vicinity. She chased off Cecile's dogs and then gave momma a whack just to demonstrate that she could. Even though we were there for more than an hour, she barely suckled. She'd dive in a for a quick sip and then charge around shoving her way into everyone's space. She is definitely a spitfire. Ember suits her well!
Martina peterson
1/15/2018 10:41:54 am
Talk about winning over adversity. What a heart warming blog story. Comments are closed.
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About the Writer and RiderI am a lifelong rider.
I began endurance riding in 1996 where I ultimately completed five, one-day 100 mile races, the 200-mile Death Valley Encounter, and numerous other 50, 65, and 75 mile races. I began showing dressage in 2010. Welcome to my dressage journey. About Speedy GSpeedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse. After helping me earn a USDF Bronze medal in the summer of 2020, he is now semi-retired. Speedy is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.
About IzzyIzzy was started as a four-year old and then spent the next 18 months in pasture growing up. I bought him as a six-year old, and together, we are showing at the lower levels. He is a 2008, 16'3 hand warmblood gelding. His Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) name is Imperioso.
National Rider AwardsState Rider Awards
State Horse Awards
Working Towards:
CDS Sapphire Rider Award Third Level: 63.514% Third Level: 62.105% Fourth Level: Fourth Level: 2023 Show Season
Show Rating (***) CDS/USDF/USEF (*) CDS (s) Schooling (c) Clinic (r) Ride-a-Test Clinic 2023 Show Schedule
TBD 2023 Completed … Pending 2023 Qualifying Scores
Regional Adult Amateur Competition (RAAC) Qualifying Training Level 3 Scores/2 Judges/60%: Score 1: Score 2: Score 3: Archives
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