Taison takes 6th place in the Developing Horse Championships!

After a 40 hour drive the horses came in a big air ride van to Lamplight Equestrian Center in Wayne, Illinois, which is just outside Chicago, for the finals (August 21-23). There were five horses on the van and they all had box stalls. They had hay and water and were not tied up, so they all rode very easy and safe. The horses arrived at 4 a.m. on Sunday morning and we were all there to meet them.

I had a double stall for Taison at the show and he was very happy to be safe on the ground when he arrived. I traveled with a great group of riders from California and we had so much fun. The time went by so fast, thanks to the super camaraderie, friendship and support of the group.
The show grounds at Lamplight are very nice! It has a wonderful layout, good footing and is green with lots of flowers and plants. I thought that the weather could be a big problem for my big black horse: hot and humid. But we were lucky. It was no problem at all--just very nice!
The jog for the vet was on Thursday and Taison passed with no problems. Excellent start! My first ride was on Saturday. The test that day was Prix St. Georges it counted 40% of the total score. Taison came in 4th and was very close to moving up, but this time the scores were not on my side. I was very happy with my ride and Taison felt great in the ring. He jigged a step or two in the extended walk and stuck in one of my walk pirouettes. Both mistakes were expensive, but that was almost the only thing we did wrong. So Good Boy!!

On Sunday, we rode the test of the Developing Horses. In my book that is not an easy test for any horse, but especially not for a big horse, big mover like Taison. They changed the test from last year and I think it will be changed again. Hopefully they will make it more "Developing" than it was this year! I was the last to go and I was so inspired to ride. We were so ready and I wanted it so bad. I think we rode a great test--just some small bobbles. We were close again to the riders in front, but it was just not enough. We ended up in 6th place and that was just fine. One more point and he would have been 5th. But that is how it is and I'm so proud of my lovely horse.

I am looking forward to the Fall and all the work to move him up to Grand Prix. I know he will try hard to do his best and so will I! I will keep you posted.

To my wonderful friends from the show who made it so much fun; to Marci who came all the way from Canada to help me out; to Anna who flew out for the fun weekend and who always makes everything perfect for me; and to my horses: THANKS!!!

All My Horses are Champions at the Pebble Beach Dressage Show!!

(See a videos of Mette riding Taison and Donatello at this Pebble Beach show on her YouTube page.)

The dressage show at Pebble Beach July 2nd to 5th could not have been better!! All four of my horses were great and all became Champions in their divisions. It is about a seven hour drive from Los Angeles, so it was a heavy load. We left the hot weather and came to the most perfect weather to show in. All my horses loved it and were very fresh.

Finally came along for the ride, just to see how he was going to travel,react to a new place, and so on, and to see how he was in the show ring. I decided to ride him in two Prix St. Georges classes. The first day he was a little insecure, but did a lot of good things. The second day he won and became champion in Prix St. Georges! Fun Fun!!

Taison qualified for the finals in August in the class for Developing Horses, with a score over 70% and he won Intermediare I with almost 74%, making him the Champion in Intermediare I. He was so good and really tried his best. He is such a good boy.

Donatello and Rockefeller both competed in the same Third level classes. When Donatello won, Rocky was second and vice versa. They were both always in the 70% range. Donatello became Champion in Third level and Rockefeller was Reserve Champion.

So overall, I'm so pleased with my horses and happy that all the hard work paid off. A big thanks to Birgitta Bergsten who drilled me from the judges point of view the week before the show. I really had a great time!

Below is a video of Mette Riding Taison in the Developing Horse test at Pebble Beach in early July

Birgitta Bergsten visits Mette for the Second time this Year

Birgitta Bergsten came from Sweden to work with Mette for the second time this year from June 23 – June 30. This was Birgitta’s first time working with Mette on Finn and she had many wonderful things to say about Finn. Birgitta feels that Finn is a very nice horse with lots of talent, good paces, long legs and a beautiful face and good looking overall; he is tall but light. Birgitta noted that Mette has always had good horses, but that she has always been more talented than her horses—now she has a horse the suits her well and has the same talent level. “This horse can really be something good with Mette. We are both very excited over the horse. It will be a lot of work, but he is willing and tries hard. This is the horse we have both dreamt about for a long time.”

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!