DressageDaily: Lightning Strikes Twice for Kathleen Raine

Sunday, July 2 2000

Lightning Strikes Twice for Kathleen Raine

They say that lightning never strikes twice in the same place and every FEI dressage rider also hopes that rule applies to the draw for the start position in a class. But for Kathleen Raine and Fidelia lightning struck twice as she drew first to start for both the Grand Prix and the Grand Prix Freestyle at Bad Honnef Dressage. Raine, who was also the reserve rider for the 1996 Olympic Games with Avontuur, is now in fifth position according to the scores from Arnhem and Bad Honnef.

The pressure was on after Arnhem where Raine was in fifth position after the Grand Prix, the only test to count for the selection process. After returning to Germany to her trainer Johann Hinneman, "Filly did the best Grand Prix of her life, and we are ready to show them what we've got."

For the gracious and talented rider with her KWPN mare by Beethoven, which she has trained from a young horse, being the first to start in the Grand Prix class did not help. Fidelia has had better tests throughout the qualifying process, but the USET Selection criteria, dropped all scores for the top five riders prior to the final two selection trials.

Raine made light of her fate as the riders took a pleasant boat tour of the Rhine before the evening's Grand Prix Freestyle. Checking the schedule to make sure they would be back for beginning of the Freestyle, we all knew what time the class began, just ask Kathleen what time she rides!

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