Dalliance 1990-2011

I got some sad news from Canada that my old four-star horse Dalliance passed away yesterday at the age of 21. He had been living up north since I sold him to Vanessa Fenwick in 2005.

We bought "Dally" in September of 2001 while I was in England competing Chevalier at Burghley. I had actually looked at him a year earlier but decided at the time it was better to buy a few young horses than to put all my eggs in one basket. Long story short, the timing was right the next year and he was purchased for me to ride by my long time business partner Leila Clay.

Dally was started by Lucinda Fredericks who competed him very successfully through the 3 star level. I believe she won the Windsor CCI** before placing 2nd or 3rd at Blenheim before being bought for Chris Bartle to ride. I don't think Chris hit it off with him, so he was soon after paired with New Zealander Caroline Powell who at the time was riding for Ian Stark up in Scotland. Caroline did a great job with him, ultimately finishing 11th at Badminton in 2000. His owners soon after decided they wanted him closer to their home in the south, so he was being ridden by another NZ rider Dan Jocelyn when I got the ride.

                            Yowza! Dally jumping into the Lower Trout Hatchery Burghley '02

The plan was for Dally to be a back up for Charlie and was hopefully going to get me to my second Olympics in 2004. That didn't quite happen as planned, but I did get a whole lot of great mileage over some very big courses on him. We finished well at Fair Hill just a few weeks after he arrived on U.S. soil in '01. He had a freak injury in the spring of '02 which meant our first 4 star together would be Burghley in the fall of '02. That was the year that Wolfgang Feld built to this day one of the biggest and scariest 4 star tracks anywhere, and somehow we were the only one of eight U.S. combinations to jump around clear that day.... despite his saddle slipping back...way back...  about 1/3 the way around making for a pretty hairy trip to say the least.

I then had one of the best  xc rounds of my life at Rolex in the spring of '03. We were one of just a few clear and inside the time that year. He had pulled a muscle in his back that day, though, making the show jumping a DISASTER.... but luckily the selectors gave us the benefit of the doubt and named us to the short list for the 2003 Pan American Championships that fall. He showed good show jumping form in the lead up, so we ended up on the team that won the gold that year.



That fall of '03 I had retired Charlie, so Dally was my big hope for Athens in '04. We had a fantastic lead up to Rolex that spring, and I was feeling very bullish about my chances: The dressage was competitive, he was foot perfect everywhere xc that spring, and I was keeping the rails to zero or one.... BUT! Just as I was galloping around the course in the selection trial at Kentucky thinking to myself,  "everything just seems so EASY!".... boom! I forgot to kick coming out of the sunken road, and Dally rightfully stopped instead of flipping over the final  vertical element, and I slid down his neck like some kid on a Thelwell pony. Just like that! there went my chances for the Olympics that year, but I always said I had never had such a great time trying as I did that spring.

The next year Vanessa bought the handsome grey, and he showed her the ropes at the 2 star level. He continued to compete with Vanessa's students until recently. He had a great life, and everyone loved his kind, classy personality. Rest well, Dally.

Coincidental Clinic

On the whole I do not get enough lessons. It's kind of ridiculous because I actually LOVE having lessons, being challenged, even being yelled at a bit sometimes gets me pumped and makes me ride better.

I've had several dressage lessons with Sandy Phillips over the last year, and man when we would get done with my session I think I was more spent mentally than physically. To ride that correctly-- every step, every transition, every corner, every movement it takes your mind and your body working in complete sync. Add to that the communicating with another living animal, it's pretty awe inspiring what we all try to achieve with horses every day.

That's the dressage. Jumping has always come much more naturally for me, so it's even more important that I seek enough help so that I just don't go on auto pilot and forget to keep striving to get better. Just the knowledge that I gain from having a lesson or participating or just watching a clinic makes me a better teacher without a doubt.

Well before Phillip Dutton and I ever started discussing our new joint venture Will Faudree had organized to have him come to his Gavilan Farm in Hoffman, NC for a days' teaching. Our first attempt got snowed out right after Christmas, so this past Saturday was "make-up day". It was still pretty nasty weather-- dank, windy and cold with occasional flurries, but being on a horse was the best place for sure.

Photo: Allie Conrad

The best lessons/clinics I've had have been ones where the instructor wasn't trying to light your world on fire, or trying to be too showy or play to the audience. The best teachers will demand precision and perfection in very simple exercises emphasizing absolute straightness, genuine forwardness and complete rideability. Correct and an "economy of position" as I like to call it will also be taught.

All of the above were taught by Phillip the other day as I rode my Advanced horse, Dustin. Phillip stressed how especially at this time of year it is so important to set the tone for the year with your horse really listening to you. Every turn, every transition, every distance needs to be accounted for. There can be no cutting in through the turns, your horse MUST move away from your leg when asked, and he must be just as willing to wait. They must stay straight from approach, to take-off, to landing, and on the move away from the  jump. You have to train your eye to the forward and deep distance. It's the deep one that holds your horse to the jump and makes him think for himself. That is one reason why Phillip is so quick across country; not that he flies around like a maniac. He can gallop to the jumps because he has trained his horses to back themselves up. It was an excellent lesson: simple concepts were expected to be perfectly executed.  Sounds easy, but it was anything but. That's good teaching I think.

By the way, this is the view from my house today, as I'm sure it is in most of the southeast/mid-atlantic. I will not be riding today. It's been a CRAPOLA winter so far weather-wise!

The Cat's Outta the Bag

I'm excited to announce to you that haven't already heard that Phillip Dutton and I are joining forces and will be applying for the USEF Eventing Chef d'Equipe/Technical Advisor position being vacated by Capt. Mark Phillips after 2012.

You can read the entire press release on my website www.tangledwoodfarmeventing.com (click on the NEWS tab) and check out some other reporting on    www.eventingnation.com  We're nearing the completion of our performance plan to be presented to the USEF Search Committee by the end of January.

I'm looking forward to the challenges that lay ahead in the selection process. Thanks to all of my friends for your well wishes today. TIFN.

ROC's attempt at Blogging 2.1

Ok. I've never pretended to be a wiz at this whole computer thing, but (one of) my New Year's Resolutions is to SERIOUSLY try and get a grip on this whole computer/website/blogging part of my life. I decided to erase all previous posts (the last one was-- a bit embarrassingly-- over a year ago....) and start anew. Honestly, the thing that kept me from posting in the past is that I could NOT figure out how to log onto my account. It seems I had about 3 different account log-ins and 3 different passwords and every time I'd try to log on I'd just give up and go on to something else.

That has all changed today my friends! I have finally cracked the code and written it down for safe keeping.

So! A brief re-cap of the last 6 months---and it will be brief as it's all old news anyway...

The summer got off to a bit of a sad and slow start with my dad dying at the end of June. Those that knew Dickie can attest he was the man with at least 9 lives, and he fought hard and lived each one to the fullest. He made it to 80 years old, which was a miracle---but really more a testament to this guy's spirit.

I promptly put  my mom in the passenger seat of the ol' Dodge and took her along with me to a couple of events in Area 1 in July and August. In between competitions we rented Janice a car, plugged in a new GPS and sent her off bopping all over New England and New York visiting family and friends. She met up with me again at Millbrook (a forgetful performance!) before we both made our way back to Southern  Pines in mid-August. Just a final note about the summer.... it was RIDICULOUSLY HOT AND HUMID. The weather man said that there were something crazy like 95 day above 90 degrees. I'm a northern boy and really don't like the heat. The fall was glorious. If I could pick a month to last all year it would be October. For sure.

I had a good go in the Advanced at the AEC's on Dustin (SJ pic above) before heading doing the CCI*** at Fair Hill in October to end the year (xc pic above). A bonehead move on my part on the cross-country resulted in a stupid 20 penalties, but I was very happy with his performance. And what a great win for Hannah-Sue Burnett. Is she one for the future or what? Actually, I think she's one more for the present!
Speaking of talent, I'm so excited to see the really large pool of very talented riders under 30 making a big splash on the scene. These are riders that seem to be in it for the long haul, have more than just one good horse, are in excellent programs and are most importantly good horsemen and women.  I can't recall a time in the last couple of decades when this has been the case. Look at the group we sent to Boekelo. Any country would be excited to have those 4 riders on their rosters.

So back here at the ranch things are returning to normal after the holiday break, in which we had a 6" snow storm! It was perfect timing. Everyone from the farm but me was away for the holidays, and I just had a lovely quiet time with the horses (Chevalier "Charlie" enjoying the snow a few days before his 22nd birthday) and family. Tomorrow it's back to work, and we're all looking forward to it.

That's it for Now (TIFN)