I got a lot of emails this past day from users who couldn’t post a comment or view certain posts/categories. Well it seemed word press (where we do most our editing) was hacked through a malicious code that was inserted into the permalinks, it took only a couple of seconds to fix, but to realize what was wrong  took a couple minutes.  Well everything its alright now, just wanted to let people know what was wrong and that it’s fixed now.

Julian

I am pleased to announce that the Final report from the FEI Dressage Task Force is out and you can read it and let me know what you think.

Cheers!

RD

Dear allWe have now placed the report on the open website.  www.fei.org/dressage/news and here you will find the report. I am pleased we got this solution, which also mean that we can be more open in our communication around it.

In 1983 Herb & I were thrilled to see Robert’s long uphill climb to become a Dressage Star come to fruition. Not only was he going to ride Romantico in the 1984 Olympics, but he would become the Captain of the team. That was a great honor, and one he would receive 6 times.  I  had a jewelry corner in a friend’s boutique. Everyone was congratulating me and asking how it felt to have a son in the Olympics. I also enjoyed having a jewelry table at the Horse shows. Herb would help me sell.  We made many life long friends. Everyone was excited and impressed, as few knew anyone who had ever gone to an Olympics event.     My first thought was,” What should I wear?”  Now that I look back at the album that I had put together, I see that I wore lovely pants and  skirts. It was long before ladies wore jeans. Soon we were caught up in preparation for the trip. There were airline tickets, motel reservations for Margo, Tom, and their two little girls, Dale, and for us. Herb rented a huge van. No SUVs were around then. The time went fast, and at last we were on our way. There was one very important person we had been trying to convince to come with us. She was our own Aunt Tillie. Herb’s mom had died at 54 from cancer, and Tillie, being her sister, stepped right in to mother us, a job she did to perfection. Whenever we went out of town for a few days, Aunt Tillie was right there to take care of the kids. My only regret was that she always had their hair cut before we returned. She couldn’t see trying to unsnarl Margo’s hair, or make Dale cry when she combed hers. Al & Robert even lost their baby curls. I had to hold myself back from crying over that. Every Friday Aunt Tillie came over and cooked up a storm. She would say to the children, “What would you like for dinner, dear?” “Oh, Al, you want chicken. Fine”. “And you, Margo?” “Oh, you want spaghetti?. Fine, dear”. “And you Dale? Oh, you want lamb chops. Fine dear.”And you, Robert? Oh, you want what your brother is having. Fine, dear”. When Robert was about 8 Herb opened up a new Do-Ray Lamp Company factory in Toronto. It was a big shock to the kids when I said, “no more Aunt Tillie. From now on it’s Hamburger Surprise for all.” They survived. I say all this to tell you that Aunt Tillie was very special to all of us. The only problem is she had never flown.  She was scared to death of flying. On the day we left, her children found her in the basement doing laundry with curlers in her hair. They had packed a bag for her. They handed her her ticket and  whisked her off to catch her flight. We were all thrilled to go to the airport to pick her up. She was still protesting that she needed a touch up. We overcame all that with many hugs and kisses. The first thing she did upon arriving at the hotel was to hunt out a grocery store. Off she went to find goodies for all her children, “they shouldn’t starve to death.” It was very hot in Los Angeles, with sweltering, oppressive heat. The Olympics opening ceremony was spectacular. Nothing like that had ever been  seen in America before. We came into the stadium to see hundreds of balloons lying on the field. Little did we suspect that under each balloon was a person getting ready to let them loose to fly away into the air. There  was a Wild West pageant. Then 40 pianos came out of the wall with men dressed in formal whites playing patriotic songs. The Olympians were piped in, and we were mesmerized by the young people parading before us who would compete over the next few weeks. Many would win medals. Many would have their hearts broken, but all would go home with the knowledge that for once in their young lives they had had the chance at immortality. Off we went for the first team day. Whoops! Margo left her tickets on the bed. Back she and Herb went. In the picture you see the huge crowd of thousands of people in the stands. We were standing nearby, as Robert entered on Romantico. The trainer gave Romantico a hard crack on the back of his legs as he entered. I remember thinking, “that is one horse who will lift up his legs for sure.”  And it came to pass he remembered, and wouldn’t stop Piaffing, ending Robert’s chances.What was wonderful about that first Olympics was that the Olympic committee had provided, free of charge, for all the American parents, to be seated together. Robert was the first American rider to enter. Picture, if you can, 22,472 people stamping their feet, whooping, and applauding this entrance. As you know Dressage is done to “no noise”, period. I always said to Robert,”You should train your horse to hear noise and not freak out.” My heart almost burst with pride when he rode down the center line, looking like a young god. His outcome wasn’t perfect, but we enjoyed every minute of our time there.  We had luncheons with our Canadian friends, our California friends and family, and new friends who came to tell us how much they admired Robert.Half Halt was there too. Robert’s friend David took great care of him. Robert said he had learned a great deal from that first Olympics. I still have the red shirt made for us by his Texas friends. I am thinking of framing it and letting Robert use it at a silent auction to raise money for his Equestrian Aid Foundation.What do you think, friends?                                     Roberts Mom

Well, it has been a long year full of very hard work; however, I can truly say on behalf of myself and my colleagues on the FEI Dressage Task Force that it has also been very gratifying and, we hope, fruitful!
We undertook 5 tasks given to us by the Headquarters and after both in person as well as conference calls practically every 2 weeks, we are pleased to say that our final brief is ready to go out to the Bureau, National Governing Bodies, and Stakeholder Groups for their review.
The Task Force worked untold hours to produce its proposals and we certainly hope they will be enacted in order to positively impact the sport of Dressage as soon as possible.
Please feel free to send me your comments and questions once you have read the brief yourselves.

Cheers!

RD

My friend and colleague, Christilot , has been sharing the exciting news from Europe where she has recently been coaching along with Norbert Van Laak, Canadians Diane Creech and Belinda Trussell.

After doing a nice job in Kaposvar last week, they headed to Weikersdorf, Austria, where it was my hope that each would pull their scores up by even just a bit. Well, both the ladies did much more than this, especially in today’s Grand Prix Special where Daine placed a very close 2nd to Austria’s top rider, Victoria Max-Theurer who had an even 70%. Diane and Devon L received 69.208 Bernard Maurel of France at B placing her 1st! Likewise, Belinda and her Anton received a score of 68.417, giving them 3rd and interestingly had Katrina Wuest sitting at E as well as the head judge at C, Wojtek Markowsky placing her in 1st!

So here is what I have to say to all this. I LOVE IT!   Tomorrow is the Freestyle and I wish Diane all the best of luck to her and Wiona, and will  be looking  forward to hearing the results.

The Canadians are psyched about this upcoming year and I am very excited to be able to do all I can to help and support them. This weekend shows they are producing greater depth of top combinations and there are quite a few who will be coming out in Florida as well as Southern California during the winter. I plan to make many trips back and forth to support our riders at the qualifiers on both coasts and will do everything I possibly can to ensure they all receive the training, experience and exposure they need to make them the most competitive team they can be. And you know me - I’m always thinking “MEDALS!”

Cheers!

RD

So here’s the thing; my semi-retirement lasted just about one year and, though I seemed to remain pretty darn busy, what with my few horses in training, my one (or should I say 5) day a week teaching schedule, my work on the FEI Dressage Task Force, and my once a month symposium schedule. OK, the truth is that I can’t really call what I did “retirement”, but I did have a pretty great year, split between time in Wellington and at our condo in South Miami Beach, with a couple nice vacations here and there as well.

But the leisure time is over as I now will be spending the bulk of my next year as Technical Advisor/Coach for Canada, which will mean a lot of flying back and forth from coast to coast all winter as well as to Europe when necessary. If it sounds like a lot of work, that is probably an understatement, but you know what? I can honestly say I am excited about this project and the challenge of creating great programs and strategies for my friends in Canada.

And you know what else has me stoked? I have received so many calls and e-mails from Canadian riders, trainers, owners, and officials saying how happy and excited they are to have someone come on board that they know will put 100% of their energy, talents and passion toward bringing success to their team. Team greats like Christelot Boylen, Jacquie Brooks, Gina Smith and Bonny Bonnello as well as their present star, Ashley Holzer, have all sent message of support which I can’t say how much I appreciate!  I guarantee them and all dressage enthusiasts in Canada that I will do everything in my power to produce the very best short and long-term results  possible.  And , in case you haven’t noticed, I have very lofty goals!

Cheers!

RD

So here’s the thing, Canadians - I began to work on my calendar of CDI’s and possible clinic/ training session dates for the rest of 2009 and 2010, and then I thought, ” Maybe I should ask the riders if they have any special wishes or desires.” I mean, absolutely, I have lots of thoughts here as to the best ways to spend time and resources, but I don’t really know most of you that well and so I think it’s only right to ask you to weigh in on this matter as well.
There are quite a few WEG qualifiers between now and next October, though the qualifying date for Canada ends in the beginning of July. If you look at all the CDI competitions in the U.S. and Canada between now and then, and also consider the best dates and most appropriate places to put on training sessions as well on a regular basis, you will notice that my life is going to be hopping no matter how you look at it.

I feel that we should have a series of east and west coast training sessions in Canada during the warmer months and in Southern California and Florida during those months when the show seasons down south are taking place. I also think we should have facilities in all 4 locations which we can “call home”, and to that end I would like to ask if there are those out there with great facilities who would be interested in donating them to the Canadian Dressage Team for clinics. In return we will make you our official site for the Canadian Team (unofficially speaking) and hang our flag in your indoor if you’ll let us.
I also want to ask experts in the field of Veterinary and Human Medicine, Physical Therapy (both human and equine), as well as top farriers who might be interested in donating their time and expertise to the Canadian Olympic/World Championship Teams to contact me to discuss the possibility of becoming an “Official Canadian Team Expert”.

These are but a few of the things I’ve been working on as I begin the job as Technical Advisor/Coach for Canada. I would love to hear ideas from you as well as comments or questions you might have.

Cheers!

RD

The other day, a journalist asked me if my accepting the coaching job for Canada was to “get back at the Americans.”  I had not heard anyone ask that question of me and, to tell the truth, was both a little hurt at first, but then decided it was a completely reasonable thing to ask.  So here is the answer.

I could not be more proud to be an American.  I love my country which I have had the privilege of representing for the last 30 years, as well as my friends and colleagues with whom I have shared so many adventures.  This is why I hoped to be of service when the Coach/Chef d’Equipe job came up, as I always saw myself finishing my career as a rider and moving into a coaching position.  When it did not pan out for me with the U.S., I thought long and hard about whether I truly wanted to add more responsibility to my plate, especially since I have really enjoyed my less hectic lifestyle this past year.

Well, The Canadians offered me a job which allows me to use my creative energies to to try to produce a winning formula for them, while still giving me sufficient time to keep up my symposium schedule as well as for my family and other things in life.  I decided that the opportunity was worth taking and am excited at the challenge.

This in no way is my effort to get back at my country and I truly hope everyone understands this.  But that being said, will I do everything in my power to make Canada great and bring them to the medal podiums in the future?  You can bet your life on it!

If I were not completely committed to that end I should never have entertained the job. And, therefore, while I will be proud as punch if America rides to victory at all championships, I will pull out every stop to ensure Canada goes a step ahead of them and as many other nations as possible.  For that, my friends, is what being a Coach is all about.

Cheers!

RD

I’d like to present Dover’s World new column/section, University Universe. As a student in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, I am pleased and thrilled to share the life of a college student with the readers of Dover’s World. I’ll be writing around once every two weeks, or every month, or as often as studying/work permits. In here we’ll have articles pertaining to modern advances in technology, the life of a college student (studying, classes, transfer decisions, tailgates, and of course parties!), college sports, professional sports, and pretty much everything a college student will be interested on. So come back and check it out, the first article will be coming on real soon!

 Julian Forero

As Robert mentioned on his website, I will soon be writing stories titled. The Dover’s Olympic Follies. I hope you will enjoy going down memory lane with me again. I asked Margo to relate her memories of that wonderful time, and how it all came to pass.  So here it is, Dear Friends.  While that went on in Texas, we Florida Seniors tackled the logistics of insuring a smooth trip to our First Olympics in Los Angeles.

Robert was told he had xx number of months to purchase Romantico from the German owners (RD owned a small  percentage and was training him in Virginia I believe) or Romantico would be at the Olympics for the Germans.I called Marnie Reeder and a group of Texans joined together and bought him with the caveat that we syndicate him quickly and repay the ones that wanted out. I got all of the phone numbers from RD of all his top fans and supporters and began making phone calls.  It was my full time job.Stacy was a newborn and I remember the months of March and April, May just walking around and around the house with stacy on one hip and the phone in my hand telling the story to people I’d never met and working to raise the money. Stacy could use a toy phone better then any kid I’d ever seen, it was her life.  I think her first sentence was probably, “so can I interest you in a share of an Olympic horse”? We did pretty well, but when we got to the Olympics we were still about $18,000 short. Stacy and I were getting donuts and coffee in the motel (well, I was getting coffee and donuts stace was along for the ride) when we met a nice young man and his young daughter.  They were from jackson hole I believe and we talked for a while and next thing I knew he was buying the final share.  Phew!What I remember was the amazing heart that a bunch of Texans showed in buying the horse on behalf the USA - and for wanting a young rider that showed such incredible promise to be able to represent his country and the finest horse ever.Remember, after Romantico was retired he to Austin and lived at Marnie Reeders until his death.  He was sweet and loving and when he was turned out he would do his dressage routines without a rider on his back. PS Thanks to Half-halt he hated small dogs forever.

Love,

Robert’s Mom and Sister, Margo