Colleen Haveman and Warello Win FEI Intermediaire I on Opening Day of Dressage by the Bay
RELEASE: July 30, 2009
AUTHOR/ADMINISTRATOR: By Lauren Fisher
Wednesday, July 29, marked the opening day of competition for Dressage by the Bay Series I during the fourth and final week of the 2009 Horse Shows by the Bay Equestrian Festival. Horse Sports by the Bay, Inc., has been awarded the opportunity to host the 2010 Great American Insurance Group/United States Dressage Federation Region 2 Dressage Championships, which will be held September 9-12, 2010, at Flintfields Horse Park. The honor of hosting this event was awarded based on prior performance producing quality dressage shows, and this year's Dressage by the Bay Series will continue that excellence.
Held at the beautiful Flintfields Horse Park in Traverse City, MI, the competition got under way this morning with the FEI Prix St. Georges, FEI Intermediaire I, and FEI Grand Prix de Dressage classes, generously sponsored by Hampton Green Farm. The classes were judged by Anita Owen, and Traverse City resident Colleen Haveman rode to the win in the FEI Intermediaire I in the morning aboard her 15-year-old Hanoverian gelding Warello (Werther x Carolin). Haveman has owned Warello just over a year and the pair scored a 65.790% for the test. "It went very well," she smiled. "I thought that the tempi changes were good, the threes, and the twos. Our trot work was better and our half passes and shoulder in were good. He has had a little bit of trouble staying straight for the shoulder in on center line, so I was happy with that."
"He is pretty consistent," Haveman continued. "We have been getting anywhere between 65% and 70% pretty much all season, so I am really happy with that. I just worked with Michelle Gibson on Fourth of July weekend, and we were working on his canter pirouettes, working on getting more bend in them and keeping them a little bigger. We are also working on our extended trots because he likes to get flat. He will do it and he looks pretty, but I would like to get more cadence to it."
Haveman has been training with Michelle Gibson and has taken lessons with Kim Barteau as well. Her goal is to start training more frequently and move up to competing at the grand prix level. "Everything is getting better in schooling, and he is a really nice horse because when somebody helps me figure out how to fix things, he is really receptive. At home, things consistently get better when we get help," she noted.
Haveman rides out of Orchard View Stable, about 20 minutes from Traverse City, and has competed at Dressage by the Bay since its start. She also has two students with her this year and is very happy that they are doing well.
"I have been here every year, and I think it is great to have a good dressage show so close to home," Haveman acknowledged. "They have a lot of good sponsors here and a lot of nice places to shop as far as the vending goes. The footing is excellent, they have good judging, and it is a very pretty place to be."
"My students are doing really well here this year, which is exciting," Haveman added. "They are having good rides and my young horse is hopefully going to make it in the ring this weekend. He is just four, so we will see how it goes."
The FEI Prix St. Georges and FEI Grand Prix de Dressage classes were also held in the Vankampen Ring this morning. Anna Marek rode Amy Awerbuch's eight-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Unico G (Negro x Kleora) to the win in the FEI Prix St. Georges. The pair scored a 70.527% for their test to take top honors.
In the FEI Grand Prix de Dressage, Alicia Lee and Indurain scored a 60.639% to take the top honors in the Adult Amateur division. Indurain is a 13-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding (Cannon x Lenka), owned by Lee, who is from Oxford, MI. Kelly Burke Hayne showed Rantaro to a score of 66.383% at the top of the Open division. Rantaro is a thirteen-year-old Holsteiner gelding (Rantaras x High Voltage MMP), owned by Kelly Burke Hayne of Hamburg, MI.
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