DressageDaily: Young Rider Chosen to Train with Lisa Wilcox and Ernst Hoyos

Tuesday March 11, 2003

Young Rider Chosen to Train with Lisa Wilcox and Ernst Hoyos

Wilcox and Relevant Last fall Lisa Wilcox, Ernst Hoyos, and Gestuet Vorwerk in Cappeln, Germany offered to have a young rider from the United States spend 6 weeks to three months in training with them at the Gestuet Vorwerk. Lisa, an American who lived in California and Colorado, has now spent many years in Germany perfecting her system of riding and training. Lisa was a member of the US team that won the silver medal at the World Championships last year and is currently ranked 4th in the BCM World Dressage Rankings. She remembers her struggles in the early years of her career, so she has offered to help an American young rider and horse.

Ernst Hoyos, is Austrian and after nearly 30 years at the Spanish Riding School he moved to Germany work with riders and horses. Some of his other students include Ulla Salzgeber and Heike Kemmer.

Gestuet Vorwerk is one of the top Oldenburg breeding farms in Germany and stands the stallions that Lisa competes including Rohdiamant, Royal Diamond, Rosier, and Relevant as well as others.

Twenty four riders between the ages of 16 and 21 applied. The applicants were from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Florida, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and Washington. They were expected to be competing at the Prix St. Georges level. Each applicant sent a ten minute video, wrote an essay about their goals and what they hoped to learn, and had to include one reference.
Lisa and Ernst chose the rider who had a horse which they could work with and improve as they improved the seat of the rider. In Lisa’s words, “the riders were fantastic”.

Sixteen year old Suzanne LaPorte of Wellington, Florida with her 10 year old Danish warmblood gelding, Wittus is the lucky rider chosen for this fabulous opportunity. Suzanne plans to go to Germany as soon as she finishes school this spring and then hopes to return to compete in the FEI Junior Championships in September.

The reserve rider is twenty year Lindsey Anderson from Puyallup, Washington. Lindsey rides an eleven year old Dutch gelding named Intrepid in the Young Riders classes. Jessica Rizzi with the Dutch warmblood Jamboree was the second reserve. Jessica is trying out for the Pan American Games this year and hoping to show Grand Prix in the fall.

Suzanne will be involved in the daily routine on the farm: helping get horses ready and watching Lisa and Ernst ride as well as getting lessons on Wittus. She will go to shows to experience this atmosphere and help the groom with horseshow-oriented tasks. Suzanne can look forward to many different experiences during her stay in Germany.

As Lendon Gray (the US contact for Ms. Wilcox) wrote to the applicants, “It was a very impressive group of applicants (not only as riders but as people!) You are a group that shows that America has an even brighter future. Lisa herself has set a high standard and we will continue rising to that level with riders of your seriousness and dedication.”