Thursday, May 13, 2004

First Ever Windsor Invitational Dressage Grand Prix

The Comeback Queen and Her Equine Prince

But the biggest comeback story of Dressage 2004 is Tami Crawford and Dakota, who placed third with an impressive 71.795%. Riding an elevated and expressive freestyle at Windsor, these two who were in the top 12 at the 2000 Olympic Selection Trials, are back again, flirting with the standings, and holding their own.

For Crawford, a mother of two from Tennessee, this achievement is nothing short of a miracle. After the 2000 Selection Trials Dakota developed an indefinable and debilitating issue with his shoulder, and was laid off for over a year. The 14-year-old gelding by Donnerhall has been Tami’s horse since he was a four-year-old, and like his stable mate Markant, Crawford has trained both her horses to Grand Prix competing successfully, in spite of raising a family and running a busy training and lesson operation at her farm in Franklin, Tennessee.