Greetings, friends, from Sprieser Sporthorse! The leaves are changing, the temps are (mercifully!) dropping, and the ribbons are pouring in for Team Sprieser as we finish up the 2016 season with a great showing at the USDF Region 1 Finals and Dressage at Devon. Read all about it in our e-newsletter!
Devon and I, we go way back.
We go back to 2005, where I did win the Young Rider freestyle on a very, very big score, after nearly getting my rear end dumped in the ring at least once in the Team and Individual Tests. Then there was 2006, when Billy ran backwards almost all the way from X to the ingate at A (comment at the end of the test from Anne Gribbons: that I was “tactful, brave, and not influential.” Love it.)
In 2009, Ella completely froze and shut down in a fourth level test, earning a whopping 48 percent, and Cleo bit her lip panicking in her stall when I took Ella out to show her and I scratched. And in 2010, Fender’s stall flooded to the point of standing in fetlock-deep water, and the footing was so horrendous due to weather that I took him home without ever even riding.
So Devon and I have not always been friends.
Read the rest at The Chronicle of the Horse!
THREE MONTHS BEFORE: Natasha, one of your assistant trainers, asks if she can join her family on a vacation for a chunk of time that includes Dressage at Devon. It’s not great timing, but you’re well staffed at home, so missing one person won’t be a disaster.
TEN DAYS BEFORE: One of your working students decides to quit and, having apparently been raised by wolves, also decides that you’re not owed the courtesy of two weeks’ notice, and she’s leaving the day before you head to PA. That leaves you with three people to care for 17 horses. (The response of those three people, by the way? “No problem. We got this.” Love them.)
THE SUNDAY BEFORE: Get a phone call from the man in your life, where he tells you that he’s running a 102* fever and feels like he’s been hit by a bus. Take everything with zinc in it in your medicine cabinet.
TWO WEEKS BEFORE: Out of curiosity, when was the last time you practiced the Grand Prix Special? (June, 2015). Do you know the Grand Prix Special? (Nope.)
Read the rest at The Chronicle of the Horse!
He’s back! Join us in Marshall, VA for another fantastic clinic with US Olympian, trainer of US Olympians and phenomenal teacher Michael Barisone. He’ll be here October 29-30, and auditing is available for $35/day if prepaid by 10/27, or $40/day at the door. Enjoy professional, Jr/YR and amateur riders from the lower levels to Grand Prix. Lunch is provided, and an RSVP is appreciated, even if you’re not prepaying (so we know how much food to make!)
Email Lauren to learn more.
My coach, Michael Barisone, is a Big Deal Guy.
We’d met in passing a few times, but never had more than a superficial “Hi, how are you, nice ride,” conversation until I was at Gladstone a few years ago for one of the USEF Talent Search type things. I had Ella and Midgey, both on the brink of Grand Prix. I was 24 or 25, taking clinics here and there with whoever was around, all good people, but there was no single thread to my training, and I was deeply, terribly lost in the weeds.
I was sitting ringside, licking my wounds after two not-remotely-productive lessons, and Michael approached me. “Hi Lauren. Those are two nice horses you’ve got there,” he said. I thanked him, and he asked, “Do you, you know, have a plan for what you’re doing with them?” Not really, no, I said. “Well, who’s your coach?” he asked. I told him that I clinic with X and Y, and I rode in a lesson with Z last month, and blah blah blah.
And he said something I’ll never forget: “Look, I don’t know you, and you don’t know me. But you’re a talented rider with nice horses, and you need a person. And if you want, I’ll be your person. I’ll show up whenever you need me. I’ll be kind to your amateur ladies, and I won’t try and steal your horses or your clients. And I’ll be your guy.”
No one had ever said that to me before, and he’s made good on every promise. I’m writing this from the Regional Finals, where I had a tough school on Ella on Thursday morning, and texted Michael that everything was horrible and I was quitting, and he texted me back right away that it was all going to be fine, then gave me 24 hours to shake it off before calling me up to tell me that everything is going to be fine, to give me a few things to think about in my next schooling ride, to tell me it was OK that I have these little freakouts (I’m very consistent), and that he loved me.
He’s my guy.
Read the rest at The Chronicle of the Horse!
We’re so excited to welcome US Olympian Michael Barisone this weekend! Here’s the schedule:
SATURDAY
10:00 Lauren Sprieser & Ellegria, 15 yr Westfalen mare, Grand Prix
10:45 Jean Loonam & Red Hot Chili Pepper, 10 yr Hanoverian gelding, First Level
11:30 Lauren Sprieser & Danny Ocean, 8 yr KWPN gelding, Prix St. Georges
12:15 Lunch
12:45 Lauren Sprieser & Johnny Road, 7 yr GOV gelding, Third Level
1:30 Kristin Hickey & Capital Call, 12 yr KWPN gelding, Prix St. Georges
2:15 Lauren Sprieser & Fiero, 9 yr GOV gelding, Intermediate I
3:00 Liza Broadbent & Victorious, 14 yr KWPN gelding, Prix St. Georges
3:45 Amelia Hellman & Brighton, 9 yr Swedish gelding, Third Level
4:30 Rebecca Polan & Call My Agent HU, 6 yr RPSI mare, First Level
5:15 Judy Sprieser & Stratocaster, 10 yr GOV gelding, Third Level
SUNDAY
7:30 Lauren Sprieser & Ellegria, 15 yr Westfalen mare, Grand Prix
8:15 Natasha Sprengers-Levine & Hurricane, 4 yr KWPN Gelding, Training Level
9:00 Lauren Sprieser & Danny Ocean, 8 yr KWPN gelding, Prix St. Georges
9:45 Liza Broadbent & Victorious, 14 yr KWPN gelding, Prix St. Georges
10:30 Lauren Sprieser & Johnny Road, 7 yr GOV gelding, Third Level
11:15 Rebecca Polan & Call My Agent HU, 6 yr RPSI mare, First Level
12 Lunch
12:30 Lauren Sprieser & Fiero, 9 yr GOV gelding, Intermediate I
1:15 Kristin Hickey & Capital Call, 12 yr KWPN gelding, Prix St. Georges
2:00 Amelia Hellman & Asta Lindebjerg, 6 yr Danish mare, Third Level
2:45 Judy Sprieser & Lyra, 12 yr Holsteiner mare, Third Level
Auditing is $40/day, and lunch is provided. Please email Lauren to RSVP!
Read all about our competition successes at Dressage at Lexington, and about our September 3-4 clinic with US Olympian and trainer of Olympians Michael Barisone, in our July newsletter! And to sign up to audit the clinic, email Lauren.
For all intents and purposes, there’s three reasons I show a horse. One is to win, or at least to do as well as I possibly can. This is the end goal, when I’m ready, when the horse is ready, when we together as a pair have the experience to do what I want to do, and an end game in mind. The second is to increase the value of the horse—horses need competition scores to prove their worth, or for sport predicates or breeding achievements. And the third is to help a horse (or me!) gain experience. I take my baby horses to shows as kids not because I’m expecting to be World Champion of Training Level, but to give them a taste of their future. And I take them out later, when they’re more finished but not yet Finished, so that I know what they’re like to ride in the ring as adults.
As a trainer of horses, I’m always thinking about The Plan for any of the horses in my care that I’m developing. Of course I want them all to become the best they can be in the long run, short run achievements be damned, so I don’t tend to compete them much at First and Second and Third and Fourth Levels. But I also know that the reality of this business is that I might need to sell something at any time, and so when they’re ready to do so, I build them upper-level show records, so they’re as valuable as I can make them.
Read the rest at The Chronicle of the Horse!
A lot goes into a winning competition ride. Years of great training for the horse and for the rider; smart preparation leading up to the show, including conditioning and fitness work; tack and equipment that helps both horse and human perform their best; and a great strategy to manage two brains—and lots of emotions—on the day.
And the cherry on top is a beautiful grooming protocol. At my farm, the secret to a glowing horse begins internally, with a world-class feeding program supervised by the brilliant Lindsey Williamson of Tribute Equine Nutrition. We feed Essential K, Kalm Performer, Kalm Ultra and Kalm N EZ, depending on any given horse’s nutritional needs. All have a terrific balance of healthy fats to promote a glowing coat, and amino acids to support a healthy topline. We work our horses well, and give them lots of turnout and quality forage as well.
Our day-to-day grooming protocol is simple, and it helps keep our horses’ coats, manes and tails in good condition, so buffing them up on show day is a much simpler task. Our barn is full of Shapley’s grooming products, and at home we use their Magic Sheen daily in our horses’ tails, and then shake out, rather than brush daily; a few shavings never killed anyone, and the Magic Sheen keeps the tails detangled without risking pulling out precious hairs. We use Hi Shine shampoo on the really dirty and/or sweaty ones, because it’s gentle for daily use, even on fickle-skinned creatures like Princess Ellegria, whose hair and skin really enjoy parting ways with her body, particularly in the summertime. But we also love their new Medi-Care shampoo for the sensitive, balding creatures too, as we also love apple cider vinegar, to help adjust the pH levels on the skin and cut down on crud.
Read the rest at The Chronicle of The Horse!
With the official naming of my wonderful, brilliant friend Ali Brock to the U.S. Olympic Dressage Team for the Rio Games (along with Steffen Peters, Laura Graves and Kasey Perry-Glass), our mutual coach, Michael Barisone, joins a very small club: Olympians themselves who’ve coached a rider to the Olympics as well. It’s a huge achievement, and I’m just bursting with joy for Ali, Michael, and the rest of the wonderful folks involved in this exceptional team.
But there’s another player in this story, one whose name probably won’t get mentioned in any of the press. His name is Michael Poulin, and he needs mention because Ali’s achievement makes Mr. Poulin a two-time member of an even smaller club: Olympians who’ve produced Olympians who’ve produced Olympians. Michael Poulin was a longtime coach to both Michael Barisone, Ali’s coach, as well as Lendon Gray, who coached Courtney King-Dye, member of the 2008 Olympic Dressage Team. If there are others out there in American dressage who’ve achieved such a tremendous honor, I don’t know them.
Read the rest at The Chronicle of the Horse!