Other Sports

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Rider hitting her stride in dressage

Loewen's move from hunter jumper already looking like a good fit

By: Allan Besson

Posted: 08/5/2010 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

After eight years of showing hunter jumper, 17-year-old Sarah Loewen, made a switch last year to dressage, and for her and her 12-year-old Dutch warm-blood gelding Ricardo, it seems to be a good fit.

Last weekend, Loewen and Ricardo competed as part of the junior Ontario dressage team that finished .0486 out of the bronze medal at the 2010 North American Junior and Young Rider Championships (July 28-Aug. 1), at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. She and Ricardo had the highest score for their team with 65.68 per cent, finishing seventh overall in the junior team dressage test.

"I changed because I wanted to move up to the international level," said Loewen, who will be going into Grade 12 in the Sports Centre for Excellence program at Vincent Massey Collegiate in September. "I love the finesse and precision of dressage."

The fact she was beginning to find hunter jumper a little nerve-wracking was also a factor in her decision to switch.

"I was also afraid about doing the five-foot jumps," she said. "The jumps become trickier as you go higher, and it becomes more dangerous."

In the junior individual dressage, Loewen and her Ricardo scored 65.21 per cent, and finished tied for 10th.

Samara Heinrichs and her 10-year-old Dutch warm-blood gelding Merlin led Team Canada West (Alberta and Manitoba combined) to a fifth-place finish in junior show jumping with a total of 55 faults over two rounds. Heinrichs, the sole Manitoban on the team, turned in the top result with only eight faults over the two rounds (eight in the first and zero in the second).

In addition, she was also the second-highest-placed Canadian in the individual young rider show jumping, with a 19th-place finish overall.

A score of 608.5 in reining placed Team Manitoba in sixth place, as Megan Robinson and her horse Breanna Kid, were Manitoba's highest-placed individual pair, scoring 206.5 for 10th place.

Other riders on that team are: Christine Simpson (Winnipeg), and Pick Plays Rocketman; Kelsey Wiens (Winnipeg), and Poster Boy Solano; Kylie Wasiuta (Winnipeg) and Smart Boom.

"It was a blast," said Heinrichs, 20, of the competition. "A really good experience. It is a huge level of competition for people 21 and under, and this was my first time at FEI competition," which is the organization that governs the Olympics and the World Equestrian Games.

Heinrichs' team was forced to compete a rider short in the second round when one of the Saskatchewan horses (Quinlan) miscalculated one of the jumps on the first round, hitting the bar and cutting his heel.

"That was unfortunate," she said, indicating they might have finished higher. "It was hard to come back from that."

Heinrichs said she bought Merlin in the Czech Republic in January, but didn't receive him until March. Considering they had only six months to bond before the Young Riders, she says they are a perfect fit. "He is a fantastic horse. There are not that many horses you can do that with. Most riders wouldn't even try it."

allan.besson@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition August 5, 2010 C4

(You must be logged in to post your reaction)

Your reaction?

More Other Sports

Undock

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010; View the changes. New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.