Canada's Diane Creech Wins Sportsmanship Award at 2011 CDI-W West Palm Beach

Shows

2011 CDI-W West Palm Beach

Ontario’s Diane Creech, who rode Devon L in the Grand Prix at the Wellington Classic Dressage Spring Challenge CDI, kept a smile on her face and a positive attitude throughout the weekend. Thanks to her shining example of good sportsmanship, Creech was awarded the Premier Equestrian Sportsmanship Award by Heidi Zorn, President of Premier Equestrian, and Classical Dressage Master Walter Zettl, while at the show.

“I think the secret to being a good sport is to be true to yourself and to your horse,” Creech said. “You need to make sure your horse is happy and remember that things can’t always go your way. You also need to learn from your mistakes, but, most importantly, enjoy the journey. You also need to remember to connect with the people around you because you can’t do it alone.”

Despite a few baubles in the Grand Prix class, Creech enjoyed her journey with Devon L during the show. “He is an 11-year-old Hanoverian owned by Leatherdale Farms in Minnesota,” Creech said. “He tends to get a little excited in his environment but he is growing up and was a very good boy this weekend.”

Creech, who broke and trained Devon L, is a longtime friend of Classical Dressage Master Walter Zettl, who was on hand at the show. “I have taken lessons from Walter and he is the kindest and greatest teacher out there,” she said. “While I was very happy to win the Premier Equestrian Sportsmanship Award I was also thrilled to get to see Walter this weekend.”

Sponsored by Premier Equestrian, the Premier Sportsmanship Award is awarded to a rider who displays a high level of sportsmanship during a show. Thanks to being a great sport, Creech rode away with a pair of German-designed Roeckl gloves from Premier Equestrian.

“It was wonderful to meet Diane and award her with the Premier Sportsmanship Award and it was great to see her reconnect with Walter,” said Heidi Zorn, President of Premier Equestrian. “Walter also lives in Canada and was recently inducted into the Toronto CADORA Dressage Association Hall of Fame. He has been a longtime advisor to Premier Equestrian and we appreciate his knowledge and the fact that he has directed us on our products over the years. Walter is considered a major contributor to the evolution of the sport of dressage and we were thrilled to see him at the show.”