Two time North American Young Rider Dressage Champion, nineteen year old Louise Labrucherie from Santa Rosa, CA, has a new horse for the 1999 NAYRC selection trials.
The nine-year-old Picone will be her companion through the selection trials, and not her trusty mount Artiste. "We found him two months ago in Nurnberg, Germany. A friend of my trainer, Gerhard Politz, had him at his barn. The owner was pregnant with her 2nd child and decided to sell him," Louise commented.
Picone is a chestnut Hanoverian by Prince Orac xx out of Wodena (by Wolfsburg).
"He is a tremendously talented horse that took my breath away when I first saw him in Germany. There was no doubt in my mind what horse
I wanted at the end of our one-week trip. I saw close to 35 horses but none compared with him. He is a very sensitive, hot horse but seems to have a very level head and rarely spooks. He has a very kind nature and has already gotten very attached to me. He whinnies every time he sees me walk down the barn or out to his paddock."
Louise and Picone's first Prix St. Georges attempt was only recently at a local show in Pleasanton, CA. The combination placed second out of six with a score of 67.446%; right behind Chelsey Sibley.