Sunday, June 18, 2006

USET Foundation Dressage Festival of Champions 2006

Grand Prix Special Proves Depth of the Future American Dressage Team for the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games - Aachen

Leslie Morse and Tip Top Show The Right Stuff

Leslie Morse, of Beverly Hills, CA, and her 12-year-old Swedish Warmblood stallion, Tip Top 962, had another strong third place finish despite a few small errors, with a score of 72.0%. “I think that was a rider error. I had such beautiful two tempis that I came in on such a big buoyant beautiful flowing stride that I thought I could just kind of keep that into the one tempis, and I think that’s where it helps to have more experience with your horse. This is definitely a time that I gained experience.”

“Once that little bobble happened I felt that he felt kind of like oh, I made a mistake and I didn’t want to make a mistake and then we lost a little bit of our momentum.”

Just like with Jan Ebeling’s lost rein across the diagonal yesterday, Morse and Tip Top supplied a moment of comic relief during their test. Just before completing the test, Tip Top came down the center line and sneezed himself out of his piaffe before he had completed the move, looking confused as to what had happened.

“It just shows he’s a horse and he has personality, and at the end of the test he still has a lot of gumption. It did really amuse me, he was still right there, and he was really happy to be in that arena and for him to be able to do that at the end of the test shows that he was really happy to be there and that’s what you want in a young grand prix horse.”

Despite entering the arena to a screaming crowd when Peters’ scores went up on the board, Morse said she like riding right after Peters. She said it was like playing tennis with a really good tennis player, it makes you rise to the occasion.

Morse who has travelled to Europe with her horses perhaps more time than any team member, three times in in the past year, expressed her appreciation for the USEF and all they are doing in support of the American team. "