Friday January 24, 2003

Dressage In Florida Kicks Off 2003 Season

Competition Qualifiers for Pan American Games Featured in Winter Show Schedules

The Winter Equestrian Festival includes three dressage shows, two of which are Selection Trials for the Pan Am Games. The first trial is Wellington Dressage, January 30-February2, and the second trial is Zada Enterprises/WEF Dressage Classic, March 13-16. In between trials, is the Florida Classic, February 13-16.

Selection Trials are part of the qualifying process for the US dressage team headed for the Pan Am Games to be held in August in the Dominican Republic. The final trials will be held at USET headquarters in Gladstone, New Jersey, June 19-22 for the top 12 qualified riders. Dressage at the Pan Am Games is contested at the Prix St. Georges level rather than Grand Prix as in the Olympics or World Equestrian Games. For more show information and results visit http://www.stadiumjumping.com

The Dressage in Florida community covers the entire state and southeastern USDF Region 3. In central Florida, Klaus and Maria Fraessdorf host the Orlando Dressage Series, at the Clarcona Horsemen’s Park, Apopka, Florida, beginning with Snowbird’s Paradise, this weekend Jan 25-26. Olympic team medallist Michael Poulin, of DeLeon Springs , Florida, and Danish native, Gunnar Ostergaard, from Ocala Florida are regular competitors.

But it’s not all training and competition — the party season kicks off on Friday January 24, with a USET Fundraiser from 6: 00pm to 8:00pm at Beyond the Barn in Wellington. The featured guest is USET Dressage Coach, Klaus Balkenhol. Tim and Susan Dutta and the Dutta Corporation are sponsoring the event. Call Susan Rubin at 561-333-5255 or 561-662-1759 for directions.

Saturday night David and Arlene (Tuni) Page are hosting a parting in honor of USET Dressage coach Klaus Balkenhol, and Sunday evening is the grand opening of Diamante Farms (formerly Two Swans Farm), Wellington training center for Olympic Dressage Team bronze medallist, Michelle Gibson.