Equine Canada has named Viva's Salieri W the "Horse of the Month" for August and Monica Houweling of Delta, BC, Athlete of the Month for August 2011.
During her third consecutive appearance at the FEI North American Junior & Young Rider Championships, held July 27–31, 2011, at the Kentucky Horse Park, in Lexington, KY, Houweling earned scores that kept her at the top of the leaderboard.
Head of the nominating committee, Angela Booth Malleau, explained that while Houweling’s achievements took place at the end of July, the committee felt compelled to award this to her for August: “We cannot undervalue the achievements of our junior and young riders for the sake of a few days. They are the future of Canadian dressage, and we need to encourage and celebrate them.”
Houweling, 18, kicked off the competition on July 27 by scoring 65.054% in the Junior Team test riding Stentano, the 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding she co-owns with her mother, Linda Houweling.
On Thursday, July 28, Houweling and Stentano won a bronze medal with their score of 66.605 in the individual Test. On the last day of competition in the Freestyle, the pair continued to top their previous day’s performance and earned 67.700% for a silver medal finish.
“We had record breaking temperatures and severe humidity to acclimatize to in such a short time and Stentano struggled with that especially in our team test so we had to really keep a close eye on him over the remainder of the show especially in our warm up,” said Houweling, who has been riding Stentano for five years. “But then not only was it the heat that we had to face but then a thunderstorm that interrupted our freestyle so that was probably one of the most stressful experiences of my competition career thus far. I still don't know how to quite describe the feeling of signaling for my music to start and then being told to dismount right then and there in the ring and to return back to the barn.”
“I feel so honoured to be chosen as theEquestrian Athlete of the month for August. I have always dreamed of this but I never knew it would actually come true, so I just want to thank Red Scarf Equestrian so much for supporting riders and especially believing in the youth of the sport.”
Viva's Salieri W, Horse of the Month August 2011
Guided by Tom Dvorak, Viva's Salieri W, a ten-year-old Hanoverian stallion (sired by Viva Voltaire) owned by Augustin Walch and Christine Eppinger, has been nominated by Dressage Canada to the 2011 Pan American Games team.
During the selection trials, Dvorak, who won the team silver medal at the 2007 Games, and Viva’s Salieri W earned 71.771% in the Prix St. Georges test and 70.351% in the Intermediaire I at Caledon Gold Dressage Show, held in Caledon, ON August 5–7.
Two weeks later, at the Cornerstone Summer Classic Gold Dressage Show in Palgrave, ON, Viva's Salieri W, once again topped the score board with 67.632% in Prix St. Georges and 70.375 % in the Intermediaire I for a final ranking score of 69.947% for the two trials.
“It is important for us to stress that our breeding operation cannot be successful without the riders and trainers that bring along our horses,” said Augustin Walch, who owns and operates W. Charlot Farms along with his wife, Christine Eppinger. “While we try to do everything we can to ensure the young horses can develop properly during the first three years of their lives, our success really depends on the riders and trainers that purchase the horses from us.
“We are very fortunate that Tom and Elllen Dvorak took on Salieri as a four-year-old and brought him along so skilfully and carefully. Thanks to Tom and Ellen, Salieri has excelled at every level that he competed at so far.”
Viva's Salieri W is currently attending training camp in Gardiner, New York, September 25 to October 11 in preparation for the dressage portion of the Pan American Games, which will be held from October 16 – 19, 2011 at the Guadalajara Country Club in Guadalajara, MEX.
Photo © Diana DeRosa for Dressagedaily.com
Related Links
Eurodressage Coverage of the 2011 Pan American Games
Canadian Teams Announced for 2011 North American Junior/Young Riders Championships