Monday, June 4, 2006

CDI***/Y Dressage at Raleigh 2006
On the Scene for DressageDaily by Sue Smithson

Chris Hickey and Regent are Two for Three on the Small Tour at CDI***/Y Dressage at Raleigh 2006

Chris Hickey bought four horses for his client Brenna Kucinski of Amherst MA, and took one back to ride.

“She made the decision that (Regent) was good enough quality for me to compete in the High Performance,” Hickey said, explaining that the eight year old Flemmingh gelding lives with his owner, and Hickey drives 40 minutes to ride him from his base in Westhampton, MA. Kucinski grooms, manages, and hacks the horse - a plan that apparently works well.

Hickey and Regent won Friday’s CDI Prix St. George (68.3) and Sunday’s I-1 Freestyle (69.1). “We are at a tricky place now,” said Hickey. “We can do a clean test. But when I go for more brilliance, I make mistakes. That’s what happened yesterday (Saturday’s I-1, fourth, 64.7).”

Hickey was both clean and brilliant in his freestyle on Sunday, saying “It’s a fun freestyle to dance music.”

Melissa Jackson of Parrish, Florida and her Wellington claimed Saturday’s Intermediate 1 with an accurate trip (66.4). “I’ve had better tests,” Jackson said. “We didn’t quite have the fluidity, but I’m still getting to know him.”

Jackson imported the Wolkenstein II gelding from Germany just last September. “He wasn’t a horse I was even looking at, but I saw him and thought ‘wow’. I bought him off one ride. It’s been fast forward, we’ve come together so quickly. I feel like we’ve developed consistency and trust, now it’s time to start pushing the boundaries.”

Jackson operates her own training facility, Windfall Farm, in Florida and is coached by Cesar Parra. Her husband and daughters aged five and six travel to shows and the family camps out.

Both Hickey and Jackson are on their way to Gladstone N.J. for the USEF National Intermediate Championships.