Finally!!

After looking for a very long time, I have finally found another horse! I spent so MANY hours, took trips all over the world and sought the assistance of so many helpful people without success; I was almost ready to give up. I heard about this horse through my friend Stefan Wolf here in California, so it is thanks to him that I found my new horse, who I have appropriately named Finally! Finn, for short, is an 8-year-old Hanoverian gelding, born in Germany and sired by De Niro. I am very happy to have found him and I’m looking forward to the journey together with him. It will be great!

I want to thank everybody who worked so hard to help me find the horse I wanted. I really do appreciate everything that you all did for me and one day it will pay off. I also want to send a special thanks to Patrick Schutte in Holland who spent days with me over many visits. I would also like to thank Gert Jan van Olst.

So this is the reason why I have not competed very much this spring-- I have been traveling a lot to find a new horse. And now I am excited about my great string of horses and for our future together. My next show will be at Flintridge the last weekend in May. I will ride Taison in Intermediarre I and in the Developing horse class. This will be his second qualifier; I really hope he will do well, so we can go to the finals. I will also be taking Rockefeller and Donatello inThird Level and my student, Anna, will ride my beloved Basquewille in Prix St. Georges. I will be bringing a total of 11 horses to the show and I hope all will do well.

In April, I went to the Mane Event in Canada for three days. I gave a lecture and taught different levels of riders in a clinic. It was more for the audience than the riders, but it all turned out more than great. There were tons of people at each session and the Canadians were super eager to learn and very interested. The riders did a great job of showing what dressage is all about. I just feel sorry I could not help them more with their own riding. Hopefully I will have a chance to go back and give more to the riders. For all of you who rode: You all did a great job!

Thanks!

Rockefeller wins with 72%

This time it was Rockefeller who won and was my highest scoring horse at the 2009 Flintridge Dressage Show, May 22-24. In second place was Donatello with 70%; he put in a great test as well. They both went Third Level and I was very proud of them.

Taison was great in Intermediare I, but was a little bit tired in the Developing Class. We warmed up too long in the very warm weather, so he did not feel as good as he did in San Diego. He is still very powerful and obedient, but to win you have to be spectacular.

Basquewille, with Anna Dahlberg, was happy to be showing again. He was so good and Anna did a great job. It was run for both of them.
All of the horses and students who went to the show did great and we all had a good time.

The next time out will be in Pebble Beach the first week of July. Maybe I will bring Finally??

Before that Debbie Mc Donald will be back and help me and I also will have Birgitta Bergsten from Sweden fly out to L.A. again this year to drill me from the judge’s point of view. Both of them are so good and very helpful to me. I'm very appreciative that they take their time to help me. I love it!

Keep up all the hard work and good luck.

-Mette

Taison scored 72% in Intermediare 1 at the first show in 2009!

Mette took Taison and Rockefeller to the CDI show in San Diego the weekend of March 13-15. The Dressage Affaire is always a fun show: well organized with many good horses and riders. Rockefeller went 3rd level and was in the mid sixties. He is coming along very well and Mette was very pleased with him. Taison did great in Prix St. Georges and the Developing Horse test, but the highlight was Intermediare 1. He got over 72% and put in an super good test! Taison is continually improving. Mette is very excited about all her three horses. This will be a great year!

Mette works with Birgitta Bergsten

Message from Mette: My friend and international judge, Birgitta Bergsten from Sweden, came once again as so many other years before. This year the weather was on my side and we got a lot done during the week Birgitta was here. Birgitta’s way of seeing how the movements are performed is clean, classical and correct. So for me as a rider, I just had to try to execute each movement the way it is supposed to be done. There are no shortcuts, I just have to ride correctly.

It doesn’t matter how much we all try at home--if we don’t do it in the way it’s supposed to be done, then we won't be competitive in the ring. So for me, it is extremely important to break down each test on each horse and at the end of the week, put it together. For me the riding is like pieces of a puzzle—you need to work on the basics: movements, test riding, putting the test together and having your horse fit, healthy and enjoying his work by not going into the ring every day. So you really have to set up a short term goal and a long term goal and hope at the end that all the pieces will come together and you get a perfect picture. Thank you so much Birgitta for taking your time to come and help me once again--I really appreciate all your help!

P.S. You can see Mette riding the new Developing Horse test for the first time on Taison with Birgitta's help on her YouTube channel!

Greetings from Mette

The 2009 Show season has already started. My goal for this year is to qualify both Taison and Rockefeller in the National Developing Horse Dressage Championship, which will be held at Lamplight Dressage in Wayne, Illinois in August. I will also show Taison in Prix St. Georges and Intermediare I and if all goes well, he will qualify for the USET Festival of Champions in Gladstone, New Jersey in June.

Donatello is now going in Third Level and I will also be showing clients horses this year. I am still searching intensively for a replacement for Basquewille and I’m getting closer but it has been a long road because I’m not lookin for A horse, I’m looking the THE horse.

I’m very happy to report the Debbie McDonald will be coming back to work with me; I have missed her tremendously. In addition, I’m thankful the Birgitta Bergsten from Sweden will return to work with me for a week to drill me from the judge’s perspective.

This year is filled with lots of clinics and shows and I hope that all of my students and I will have a successful year.

Happy New Year from Mette!

Dear All of You,

2008 was a great year for my business and my horses. Business is booming, and I have more clients and horses that I can take on. It's a lot of fun,and I enjoy every minute of it!
On a sad note, I did retire Basquewille from the show ring. The decision was easy to make, but hard for me personally. I miss him terribly and I have been putting much effort in to finding a new super horse to replace him. These are big shoes to fill. It's very time consuming and tiring, but I hope all my travels and searching will pay off in the end.

My young horses are growing up. Taison, for example qualified for the finals in Kentucky, but I decided not to go this year. In his debut last weekend in Intermediaire I, he came in second behind my ride on a client's horse. He did a great job and I was very proud of him!
I have done many clinics, both in the U.S. and out of the country. It's always nice to see new riders that work hard to reach their goals. There are so many good riders out there, but we all have to work hard to get better. That's the fun part of the journey.

So to all of you out there. Keep it up!! And don't forget to Be Thankful for what you have. Happy New Year and all the best of everything in 2009.

-Mette

Great Last Show of 2008!

At the Dressage Holiday Special at LAEC the weekend of December 6 , Mette won Prix St. Georges on Cory Walkey's horse Coby 727 with 69% and was second place in the same class on Taison with 66%. The two horses were also first and second in Intermediaire I. Mette was very pleased with her ride on the two horses and felt that it was a great last show of 2008. She is looking forward to bring them out again next year, as well as all of her other horses.