USEF Network

Riders From The Oaks of Lake City Shine at Recent Shows

RELEASE: October 1, 2008
AUTHOR/ADMINISTRATOR: By Jon Jackson

Riders from The Oaks of Lake City’s Equestrian Center are already putting the new community in the limelight. Last week, The Oak’s equestrian member and young rider, Hannah Lisec and the five-year-old Oldenburg, Gladiator HU, swept all four of their classes at the Fall Classic Dressage Horse Shows in the Park in Newberry, FL.

Lisec’s dressage scores ranged from 68-76%. Along with winning all of her classes, Lisec topped two divisions, winning both the First Level Championship and Junior High-Point and the Training Level Championship and Junior High-Point. This was only Gladiator’s second horse show.

Shelley Van den Neste, Manager and Riding Director of The Oaks Equestrian Center, also had a winning weekend at the Fall Classic Dressage show. Van den Neste rode Horan’s Marquis de Matcho, an 11-year-old Hanoverian gelding to the win the intermediare I with a score of 65.5%, and then returned to the ring to win the intermediare freestyle with a 64.5%.

The Oaks Equestrian Center member Brooke Horan owns both horses. Horan was thrilled by the horses’ success. A delighted Horan, enthused, “My horses have never been in the physical or mental state they are in today. My move to Florida has brought an incredible change in the few months they have been at this wonderful training facility.”

The same weekend in nearby Georgia, a second Oaks Equestrian Center member was in top form. Young rider Julie Norman riding Clever Appeal, a six-year-old Thoroughbred, placed third in the ddvanced division event at Poplar Place in Hamilton. David and Karen O’Connor worked with Clever Appeal prior to his being sent to The Oaks facility. Van den Neste shared that the O’Connors felt The Oaks equestrian facility, with its varied jump courses and the covered arena, would be an ideal place for Norman to train. Clever Appeal proved them right at the Poplar Place Event.

The Oaks of Lake City is a residential community designed to enhance the equestrian lifestyle. The community is home to The Oaks Equestrian Center, the inaugural O’Connor Signature Equestrian Facility. The community and its equestrian center cater to a variety of equestrian disciplines.

A 33-stall barn, a 122’ x 225’ covered riding arena, a 60-foot covered round pen with world-class footing, 15 miles of looped trails and a David O’Connor designed 11-acre cross-country jumping course are among the elements that make up the equestrian facility. The 1,222-acre community offers a beautiful natural environment that appeals to equestrians and nature lovers alike. This past weekend’s results proved the pristine equestrian facility is an ideal environment to develop top horses. For more information visit www.theoakslakecity.com.