For 22-year old Portuguese dressage rider Maria Moura Caetano the real times in her equestrian life have kicked in. Achieving a fluent transition to Grand Prix level, Caetano took no breather before moving to the big time. With her 15-year old Bavarian Diamant (by Donnerhall) she got her feet wet at Grand Prix at the 2008 Sunshine Tour and only eight months later the apex of her year followed when she won the national Portuguese Grand Prix champion's title in Lisbon.
Trained by her father Paulo Caetano under the supervision of the German trainer Dolf Dietram Keller, Maria belongs to an insurgence of super talented Portuguese dressage riders that are going to put their country in the spotlight. Former young rider Boaventura Freire and current young riders Maria Paes do Amaral and Mafalda Galiza Mendes are helping to pave the way.
One of the principle ways to rise to the top is by having high quality horses at one's disposal. While Boaventura Freire is investing in super talented youngsters at the German elite auctions, Maria Caetano has secured this step in her career by working tightly together with PSI Hof Kasselmann in Germany.
Caetano acquired her current Grand Prix horse Diamant in the winter of 2008 just before the 2008 Sunshine Tour started and right after she sold White Cedar, the horse that brought her first glory.
The now 14-year old Hanoverian White Cedar was instrumental to her career. The grey gelding (by Woodstock x Acapulco) led her to gold in the 2006 and 2007 Portuguese Young Rider Championships and they represented their country at the 2006 World Cup Young Riders Final in Frankfurt, Germany and at 2006 and 2007 European Young Riders Championships. Soon afterwards White Cedar, a former PSI auction horse, got sold.
"White Cedar was at the height of his career at that time and we were able to fetch a good price, so we decided to sell him then," Caetano told Eurodressage. "I'm really grateful to Mr. Kasselmann and Dr. Möller who support me. When I go to Germany I always try to visit Hof Kasselmann, where I always learn a lot and meet kind people. I'm very proud to have the chance to share my experiences with the Kasselmann family, Dr. Möller and Stefanie Kerner."
Her first competition horse was Maravilha, a home bred Lusitano x Arab cross, which she showed for three years up to junior riders' level. White Cedar followed and with careful and rigorous training the grey gelding turned into an outstanding schoolmaster.
"I started with him in the ring on 59 % and I finished to win the St. Georges with 70%. This horse made a fantastic evolution. He wasn't easy to train and prepare, but he transformed into a champion."
Caetano grew up on a farm owned and manager by her father, a breeder of Lusitanos, a dressage lover, and a bullfighter as main profession. Maria sat on a horse for the first time at age 4 and entered the show ring when she was 12. "I always wanted to be a dressage rider," said Maria. "My father has been the most important supporter and he taught me respect for the horse." Her dedication to dressage and her talent caught the interest of Portuguese dressage enthusiasts and she got the opportunity to ride in clinics with Lisa Wilcox, Kyra Kyrklund, and Dolf Dietram Keller.
Caetano considers Kyra's clinic extremely helpful. "Kyra is a fantastic trainer and a very nice person. Many good techniques I use at home as well as at competitions were a result of her clinics. I feel fortunate to be able to ride with her here in Portugal."
Maria finished her Masters degree in Business Administration last month and did an internship in the Volkswagen Group subsidiary Autoeuropa. While she is wrapping up her master's dissertation, she trains five horses a day: her Grand Prix horse Diamant, Rive Gauche (a 5-year old Royal Diamond offspring), Relevancy (a 6-year old Relevant offspring), Aramis (a 4-year old Lusitano) and Util (an 8-year old Lusitano stallion owned by the Caetano stud).
"Util is my other hope for the future in Grand Prix," Caetano confessed. "In every breed you have good horses and bad horses. As a rider you have to adapt yourself to the physical capacities and potential of your horse."
With her college studies almost finished, a huge amount of time will free up for horses. Maria has planned to compete four horses at various levels and is mainly training Diamant for the 2009 European Championships. "I already have the qualifications and I'm the number one in the Portuguese ranking," she explained.
Caetano is in it for the long term and hopes to become a better rider each day. "I always want to learn more about dressage and continue developing my techniques," she revealed. Competitionwise, she strives to be at the top. "I want to try to be one of the top Portuguese riders at the European Championships, World Equestrian Games and Olympics. They are the goals I'm working for with Diamant and Util."
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