OK, Gang - The Dover’s Dreams….And Yours icon is now up and running at the top of the page! I will be posting my first “Dreams and Wishes” tomorrow and hope each of you will share yours with me and my readers.
I know some of you may be a bit shy at first, but by putting them out in the universe you take the first step in realizing your hearts’ desires.
I promise to put my energy into every wonderful wish out there!

Cheers!

RD

I just watched this video after coming back from San Diego where I stayed with Guenter Seidel and Sean and their two Pugs, Oprah and Bentley. So when I saw this video I just had to post it on my site. Take a look and I bet you’ll love it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdLVLPoRXR4

Cheers!

RD

Well, I’m at the airport in San Diego awating the boarding of the redeye back to West Palm Beach via Atlanta.
I can safely say I’m not looking forward to the long trip home, but it was a great week out here in California and today was a wonderful day of Dressage.
Everyone rode well and the horses seemed to enjoy showing off what they had learned.
Guenter rode U2 through his 1st Grand Prix and I can tell you, objectively speaking, it was well over 70%! They would have received a minimum of six or seven ‘9’s’ and showed thrilling work!
I also saw perhaps one of the finest 5 year olds I’ve ever in my life seen, ridden by Beth Ball who also has a wonderful 7 year old and two other lovely Grand Prix horses.

So now I am letting down after a nice dinner and thinking how pleased I am with the standard of riding and horses out here on the west coast.
Still, I will be happy to get home to Robert, Simon, and my horses. I only hope I can sleep on the plane!

Cheers!

RD

I just finished my 2nd day of teaching in San Diego and saw truly fantastic horses and riders.
To be totally frank and honest, I’ve seen more quality horse-flesh and riding out here than anywhere else in the country.
And I ask myself, “Why?”
So here is my theory- take it or leave it.

For many years the majority of top riders and horses were on the east coast, primarily in the north-east and Florida in winters.
But as fate would have it, some wonderfully talented Germans decided thay had had enough of the cold and rain of their native land and moved to the place with the best weather just about anywhere, San Diego.
And guess what - they flourished. It took some hard work and some luck but each found their clients as well as their sponsors and they carved out a name for themselves and eventually made one or more Olympic teams.
In the meantime, the riders they taught as well as those who just watched from a far saw that these riders were excelling and tried to figure out why. If they were smart, they asked them for lessons as well as to help them select future mounts if they were unsure what was most suitable for them.
Over time the Californians have surpassed the rest of the country both in their selection of wonderful horses and their understanding that style, elegance, and attention to detail are the qualities which make up the foundation of top Dressage training

This most certainly does not mean that there are no great riders or horses back east. There most certainly are, but it is definitely obvious by the results of our previous decade of championships that the west coast is producing the lion share of our combinations.
While we are all Americans and equally proud of everyone representing the U.S., there has always been a kind of competitive rivalrey between the two coasts and I don’t think that’s bad.
What I do think is that we need to look at and respect the reasons why the Californians have produced such great results and bring the rest of our great country up to their high standard using every bit of knowlege and expertise to do so.
The goal should be to bulid squads so strong that we can field multiple medal winning teams at every international level.

Cheers!

RD

Sure is easier said then done! I am working on it but when you spend 7&1/2 weeks in a rented villa and have had to fix it’s problems along  with yours small stuff becomes huge stuff.For instance the insurance man just walked out after telling me how lovely things looked when the rain started and water poured down the wall on the new carpet that was guaranteed stain proof! It isn’t!  l sat on the floor and cried for a second and then said to myself “It is not my health just another small inconvenience!”When all  3 outside  walls were taken down due to mold and mildew the hurricane shutters were removed. Now no one wants to rehang them as they say they are not up to code! Small stuff indeed…unless a hurricane comes our way. So Dear Friends of Roberts Mom I am happy to be back writing a note to you. AT&T took 10 days to restore our phone service. A DSL man came out to get my computer going. Of course it didn’t work when he left. I spent almost two hours on the phone with a number he left if I had a problem. Yesterday it still would not let me retrive my e-mail so I had my computer Guru over for another hour on the phone to get positive results. Small stuff indeed. Maybe tomorrow I will be able to buy new plants . Ours got all sick looking from being out in the tropical storms here in Paridise. Thanks for letting me vent. I hope to be more up beat next time.                                    Love,                         Roberts Mom

I just finished my 1st day of teaching in San Diego which began at 7:00am and went to 5:45pm.
Needless to say I am tired, but I really enjoyed the high quality of horses and riders which I always find out on the west coast.
I trained a total of 13 combinations, 3 of which were Guenter Seidel’s horses and, as always, watching Guenter is spectacular! His U2 is ready to begin Grand Prix and I am extremely excited by this pair’s potential.
Metter Rosecranz also has a new 8 year old aptly named “Finally” which has wonderful talent for the big arena. And I always love teaching Laurie Doyle who, along with me, was the only young rider back in the 70’s to have trained her own Grand Prix horse.

I am looking forward to 2 more days of seeing top horses and riders such as Beth Ball, Nick Wagman and others and will give my daily report tomorrow evening.

Cheers!

RD

My 1st day is over and I really enjoyed seeing the riders and horses at Jan Ebeling’s beautiful farm in Moorepark, CA. Jan rode his mare Rafalca as well as 3 other horses and all went very well. He is planning on trying out for the WEG’s in Kentucky next year and possibly coming to Florida this coming winter to do the qualifiers there. I also had fun watching Jan’s young rider, Amanda Harlan, who will be leaving next week for the Young Rider Championships.
I wish her the best of luck! It was also great to see Charlotte Bredahl with her fantastic five year old which she bred herself. He has amazing hind legs and shows extraordinary talent to go on.

So now I’m on the train on my way to San Diego where my good friend, Guenter Seidel, will pick me up. I’ll be staying with him and Sean for the next 3 days while I teach both at Albert Court and Laurie Doyle’s place in Rancho Santa Fe.
I love it out here, especially since Robert just told me we are having another huge rain storm in Wellington right now!
I’ll report on the riders and horses again tomorrow.

Cheers!

RD

I had been pondering the question of whom I thought worthy of being named my “Out For Good” Hero for July, and then It happened - Micheal Jackson died. His untimely death affected me in far greater ways than I ever imagined it could. Now, many people might question my calling Micheal a hero, considering the turbulent nature of his later part of his life. But here’s the thing - he was found NOT GUILTY of any wrong-doing and, though he did settle with another child’s family out of court, in my heart I believe he did so in order to spare himself the thing he most dreaded - being placed under public condemnation. If I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Micheal was guilty, I would never consider him a hero, regardless of anything else he may have done, but I honestly think he was innocent. Sure, he made some very poor decisions, both having children sleep in his bed and holding his own baby over the hotel railing, among other things. Still, I believe he acted more like a child himself in these instances and never thought of hurting anyone, especially not the kids he held most dearly.

On the other hand, Micheal Jackson not only was the greatest entertainer of my era; he wrote and performed “important songs” which asked us to Save The World, ask the Man In The Mirror, and look beyond being BLACK Or White. In doing so he also gave more money to charities than any other entertainer in history, and personally toured AIDS ravaged villages in Africa as well as amputee wards in American military hospitals. Micheal Jackson’s inherent love for everyone and everything in the world far outweighed instances of his poor judgment or quirkiness depicted by his ongoing  need to change his appearance, a true sign that he found loving others far easier than loving himself.

So I choose to love Micheal Jackson as I always did and, moreover, look upon him as a hero and humanitarian who will be sorely missed, though his legendary music will go on for ever. One thing is for sure- there is far more beautiful music playing now than ever in heaven!

RD

I’m in an airport again, getting ready to leave for my next stops on my Farewell Tour, LA and San Diego.
I’ve been going out to both of these places often since the early 80’s and always know I’m going to have a great time and see wonderful horses and riders.
Especially fun for me is to see and help one of my best friends and former teammate, Guenter Seidel.
I will report on everything from out there and also be posting on other news.

Cheers!

RD