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_______LISA WHITE_______ International Dressage Rider |
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News & Results
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Both Don Antello and Sandroman
were invited to be part of the Conrad Schumacher Symposium in London on the 25th Nov. It was an evening demonstration
of Conrad's teaching system, and Sandroman was used to show the working patterns to improve the flying changes, and Don
Antello was used to show the working patterns for PSG. It was a sell out evening, and had a fantastic atmosphere which
was of great benefit to both horses. After which we had two days of training with Conrad which was absolutely brilliant,
as always. On 4th Nov, Don Antello won the PSG at West Wilts with 66.6%. Being a winter test, it was
a indoors, and as it was in the evening, he coped very well with a new venue, under flood lights then
moving indoors after the warm up to the test under lights. It was another valuable experience for him, and he coped
very well. In the test we had no real mistakes, and it was very smooth, but I didn't feel I could really go for
it as he was a little bit holding his breath, which was hardly surprising under the circumstances. On the 9th September we had a very successful day by
coming first and second with my two horses in the Advanced pick your own test at Burrows Court. Don Antello won doing the PSG with the fantastic score of 75%.
He was absolutely stunning in the test, completely rideable and infront of me. He scored 9's for his three
time sequence changes and single changes after the pirouettes. The weather was beautiful, and he was as relaxed and
focused as I have ever felt him, a great confidence booster for us both. Sandroman was really excellent too, he did the Advanced 100, and was placed second behind his
stable mate with a score of 68.75%. He was very good in his test, but I think I did too much the day before, and therefore
he was lacking a bit of expression and energy. But the positive thing was he was even better than last time, and
I learnt more about finding an effective preparation for him. So it was a very satisfying day for both horses, and amazing to achieve a personal highest score at PSG level
with Don Antello.
 I was thrilled to compete Sandroman, owned by American Debbie McGoldrick, at
his first Advanced attempt, winning the Advanced 100 with 70.63%, at Burrows Court Farm in June 2009. He was completely relaxed and concentrating from the time he arrived, such
a great attitude. In the test he got all his changes, and was an absolute pleasure to ride. He was happy to let
me adjust and influence him during the test which gives me so much confidence in him for the future. Now we are pushing on with the training and hoping to do a PSG by the end of the summer. Emma Kent returns to  In
October 2008 we were very sad to say goodbye to my wonderful groom, and friend Emma. She was with me for four years,
and in that time Emma groomed at almost all my International Grand Prix competitions, and we enjoyed great trips
to At
the same time Andrea McArthur's 6 months was up and she returned also to NZ. We had an amazing time and lots of fun.
So for six months we were 3 girls from Ashburton, NZ in my yard! But
I am lucky enough to have found Alice Nutland, a little closer, from near Devizes and she has fitted in brilliantly. A graduate
of Lackham College, Alice is learning about the life of an international groom, and the horses love her! Awarded
'Most Elegant Rider' at the CDI in Vierzon... (July 08)  I was very taken back to be awarded a special prize that featured on French television.
At the final prize giving in Vierzon, I was presented with the prize for "The Most Elegant Rider". This was for over the whole International competition, male or female. This prize is voted for by the Ground Jury of 10 International Judges presiding at this show, and is sponsored by Hermes, so I won lots of fabulous prizes.. in particular a beautiful Hermes rug from Paris, that will never see a horse -its too special! It was a really special moment, and I was very proud that the judges thought I deserved it, particularly riding an inexperienced horse that struggled a bit in the atmosphere. The popular champagne reception they put on in the VIP tent after the prize giving was certainly enjoyed that night!
I had a great tour in France, riding Maradonna in the Grand Prix at Vierzon CDI and Pompadour CDI. This was his first International
Gran Prix, and the step up to that level certainly showed for him. He found the added crowds and atmosphere a lot to contend
with when concentrating in the tests. He did very well, but small areas of tension crept into the work, and the Olympic Judges
marked this down, quite rightly. I was positive about his performance, although it was quite hard work keeping him settled
when he felt on a knife edge! The Kur (music) in week one at Vierzon was his best test, and he was 6th with 64.5%. He had
never done a GP music before, and I wrote it for him from Carlos's music the day before! He had no idea where we were going,
and so he had to wait and listen to me, so I had a great ride.
We won the Grand Prix at Hickstead with 65%
It was a really satisfying performance from Maradonna, he was so much more relaxed and trusting in the arena. He is learning to stay rideable after each movement and keep breathing! Previously he has taken the energy from one movement to the next and built in momentum and anxiety. I have worked really hard at home in the training to teach him how to relax and breathe between the canter movements especially. I have found a good system and pattern to achieve this and it was very satisfying to have that transfered into the arena in the Grand Prix. There were still areas of the test that need a lot of work. But I am confident he will continue to develop in strength and confidence throughout this year. It was particularly satisfying after missing out on all the spring Internationals and Olympic Qualifyers due to injury, and to have him successfully back in the arena. But disappointing to think what could have been!
 A hugely exciting development for the yard, I have been offered the ride on a fabulous new horse. Owned by an American family, and we are really looking forward to the future with this lovely horse as part of the team. He has arrived at my yard and is settling in beautifully. As soon as all the paper work is completed we will have photos and details on the web site. Watch this space!
It was a very emotional weekend taking Hucarlos back to Saumur for the CDIO and CDI show in April as it was to be his last
International. He was ok in the Grand Prix, but really fantastic in the music on the Sunday, and finished 10th with 64.5%.
A wonderful note to finish on. I was very emotional all morning, but when I got dressed I stopped crying and went out and
really enjoyed every minute with him. We took lots of photos and I really made the most of it.
Carlos is 19 years old and has been an unbelievable horse for me. He is still so fit and keen and energetic, but equally he is a little bit stiff for International Grand Prix. He still loves his work and competing, and I will continue to train him and keep him in his routine, as I owe him so much. But it was getting hard keeping the flexibility required for GP, and he deserves to continue loving his work. We bought Hucarlos in 1998. Our first tests were elementary, on grass arenas in the rain. Together we have ridden to International Grand Prix, and this year he finished the Olympic Rider Ranking list as 2nd in Olympic Group G and was so close to qualifying New Zealand the right to send an individual to the Beijing Olympic Games. Some career highlights for Carlos and I are: 2nd British National Championships at Medium
So, I am very lucky to have ridden such a wonderful horse, but more than that he has been a very special friend and he has
given all he could to me. I look forward to caring for him and treating him with the dignity and respect he deserves. Having
said this he is still shying at the hut every single day, and if the lorry goes anywhere without him he gallops round his
stable all day!
Maradonna sustained an injury in March at this years Sunshine Tour in Spain, which effectively ended his chance at qualifying
for the 2008 Olympic Games. We were advised to hand walk him for the month of March, then bring him back into work during
April.
It has been a really frustrating time for the whole team and especially the owners. We were very hopeful of qualifying for Beijing, but the injury to a ligament in his back is a major setback. Although very slight with only inflammation and no tearing, we had to take the advice of the Spanish Olympic Team Vets and rest him. For me there was no decision as the future of the horse is more important than anything, and I really believe in him.
Despite the disappointment of Maradonna being injured, we still had a great tour, and Hucarlos was in excellent form. He stayed
sound with his feet which was great, but he was showing his age in the extended trots with one front leg going more than the
other. Having said that he did 3 Grand Prix and 1 Kur in only three weeks so it was a big ask aged 19. He was 100% reliable
and I enjoyed every test, at no point was he hard work or lazy, he remained energetic and enthusiastic throughout all the
tests.
It was satisfying qualifying for the music in the middle week, and he was great but the music was way too loud and he was basically out of control for a lot of it, which made me smile through the test! Wonderful to have a 19 year old horse doing his 3rd GP within 10 days and he tearing it up with excitement! There were 57 horses in the big tour, and the marks started at the high forties and low fifties. We were very satisfied to be a whisker below 60% each time, pretty good considering the 5 judges had to really mark down the lack of regularity in the extended trots. We came home from Spain satisfied Hucarlos gave his very best, and although disappointed Maradonna was injured, hopeful for the future.
We are delighted to announce a sponsorship deal with George Smith Horse Boxes, of Shrewton, on the Salisbury Plains. I have
had a really excellent working relationship with them in the past, and they have been unbelieveably helpful and good value.
George helped me out with lorries in the past, and has been more than generous in his support in the past. We first met
because he was the only horse box company who said they could help me wire a little non HGV before a trip to France, every
single other company laughed at me and said it was impossible, and George himself said of course we can do it, we will just
have to work quickly! So over the years he has proven time and time again he will go out of his way to make things work for
all his clients. This year they moved into the large/small luxury horse boxes, and they built an 18 tonne stunning box.
I still cant believe we managed to buy it with help and sponsporship from George. The photos are on this web site. Its turning
heads everywhere I go!
We took it to Spain before we owned it with the kind help of some of Maradonna's owners, and when the inevitable teething problems occured (water pump broke down), George had a mechanic with a new water pump in Spain fixing it by that evening! Unbelieveable.
Maradonna has competed in his second Grand Prix. He was much better than our hair raising experience in December! This time
there was a distinct improvement in his control, and only ran off twice (extended canter and one time changes) and bucked
once (zig zag)...! Despite this, the other work was really fantastic, very keen and helpful piaffe/passage etc and he was
second with 62.9%
He got worked up with the traffic beside the arena, I think about 30 cars raced past during my test on the other side of the hedge, so it was less than ideal. But it was much better than his first attempt.
I first met the team at WOW Saddles through the New Zealand journalist Jan Milne at the British National Convention in November.
I spoke at length with Maggie Kempsell, and her husband the product developer and inventor David. I was really interested
to learn that WOW Saddles are the only dressage saddle with lateral flexibility to allow the scapula to freely move backwards
as well as forward. Also it was fascinating to see all the component parts that you choose to suit you and your horse.. So
many head plate width choices, seat options and the array of panels, gullets, flaps and blocks. Essentially you can create
the perfect saddle for you and your horse. How many times have I wished for my clients and myself that we could have this
flexibility as every human body is so different in shape, as every horse has a different combination of back shape, shoulder
shape, condition etc.
I rode in the WOW saddles in December, and literally from the first time Maradonna felt the saddle he relaxed and this has been a huge part of his on going reduction in anxiety. That day for the first time ever he did 15 ones on the diagonal without tensing and changing the canter, I got off and said I had to have it! Actually I didn't get off as I was so worried David would put the saddle back in the van! Hucarlos also benefited from a saddle and the revolutionary 'H' girth. It has solved the problem of the traditional girth sliding forward to behind the elbows and therefore bringing the saddle forward and close to the scapula. Also amazingly, we took different sized head plates to Spain, and Hucarlos really changed shape in the heat and became much wider and chunkier than how he came out of the winter, so we changed the saddle up one size in width in about 2 minutes and it was perfect again. I am very proud to say I have an association with this great company, and the horses love their saddles!
Carlos and I had a wonderful evening supporting "Sprout Rocking Horses Charity", and the "BBC Children In Need
Fund Raising Dressage to Music" Competition. It was held at The Hand Equestrian Centre, to a sell out and very enthusiastic
crowd! Over 700 people turned up to watch the competition, keen to be part of the unusual format of 'audience voting' to
decide the winner, not the judges... The competition was run in true X Factor style, with 4 celebrity judges (Olympic Trainer
Conrad Schumacher, Olympic Rider Emile Faurie, International Judges Issabel Wessells, and International Rider Rhegan White).
Each act was given a critical evaluation after their performance, and then the rider had the opportunity to comment back.
Carlos and I did our Grand Prix Music, and he was an absolute star. The arena was pitch black but for spots lights hitting the horses from every angle, and huge screens up with live footage in the corner. Carlos warmed up in reverse and on his back legs hearing the crowd next door, but when he went in, it was so scary that he decided to be quite shy and do what he was told so he was foot perfect! It was a brilliant format, with the bar and restaurant packed out, people I think enjoyed being able to vote for their favourite, and made the result much more exciting. A great night out! |
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