Judy and East Wind (Eastie)
Age: 48
Horse(s) Name, Breed, Age: East Wind V ++, Arabian, 8
Dressage Experience/Current Level/Goals: Retraining my head (and aging body) from Western Pleasure to Dressage for the past 5 or so years; feelin’ pretty good about 1st level and moving toward 2nd (the horse is doing way more/better than I!), would love to have a Arab Sport Horse National title on Eastie
Trainer/Barn Affiliation if any: Rachel Saavedra/Leap of Faith Farms
Judy and Eastie at AA Champs
Recent Achievements/Of Special Note: Competed in RAAC last year and got 4th in the Novice Division! Also, last year I qualified for CDS Champs which was one of my goals. Eastie and I have 3 Regional Top Fives in Arab Sport Horse shows (both in-hand and under saddle), and he has qualified for Sport Horse Nationals every year we’ve showed him since he was 4.
At what point in your life did you realize you were “A Horse-Crazy-Person”? Mid-life horse lover, or did you become involved in horses at a young age? Horse crazy since first ride on Tilden Park ponies around age 3. Certifiable horse lunatic by 12 when even getting bucked off didn’t stop me from riding bareback at a gallop through the Oakland hills with the horse in just a halter and lead rope. (If we fell off then, we didn’t tell anybody ’cause we knew it was our own darn fault!)
What is the most important lesson your horse has taught you? To be fair, balanced, and patient. And to stamp my foot if my treats don’t come fast enough.
Why or how did you pick Dressage as your riding sport? I really wanted more tools in my riding tool box. I wanted to understand how to influence the horse and ride more harmoniously.
Judy and Eastie again
What is the most important atribute you value in your equine Dressage partner? Kind/Forward/Safe(ish)? Willing, happy to see me and happy to do the job, and a bit of personality to make it all more interesting! .
What was your most memorable “ah-ha” riding moment or breakthrough? When you’re learning a new sport in your 40′s, it’s pretty much an “ah-ha” moment every time you ride, except for the times when you’re yelling “AAAAAAAAAA” as you get bucked off. The most memorable breakthrough has been fixing my asymmetry so that I can help Eastie be straighter. Sometimes I was so crooked in the saddle that I couldn’t turn him left! Thankfully, I am becoming more balanced and that really helps Eastie be balanced and do his job.
What do you wish you would have understood earlier in your riding life that you appreciate now? That I should have started dressage on those ponies at Tilden Park when I was three!
Who is your favorite clinician/trainer and why? I’m having the time of my life riding with Rachel; every lesson builds on the last. She’s a teacher’s teacher, and both her information and her teaching style are the very best. I feel quite fortunate to work with her and it’s been an absolute joy to have her ride Eastie. I also feel very lucky to have had wonderful instruction from Stacy Zwergel when I was first introduced to dressage. She worked with Eastie for a couple of years after we brought him home and put a good foundation on him. Rachel and Stacy have been so patient with both of us!
What is the most common correction you hear from your trainer/clinician when you ride? “Your left shoulder is 6 inches higher than the right!” (I am considering a tie-down type thing or velcroing the inside of my upper arm to my torso or maybe staples…)
What is your favorite Dressage memmory? Every time I see Rachel extend Robello’s canter. Gives me goosebumps.
What advice/guidance would you give to a newcomer to the Dressage sport? I think Dressage looks persnickety to the outsider and at the lower levels it might not look all that exciting, but the skills you acquire for the time you put in are well worth all the effort. Plus, I love the intensity and passion in both the horses and riders!
What is your favorite Dressage book or publication? I’ll read anything with a horse on the cover, but currently I find Dressage Today to be really informative and fun to read. I really love getting the CDS newsletter and looking for friends’ names in it, too. It’s become a favorite past time to look up everybody’s scores in the show results.
What other interest, achievement or activity do you have that might surprise your fellow EB CDS Members? I danced professionally, both ballet and modern, from San Francisco to New York. With all my training years put in, I danced for about 27 years. I hold a Master’s Degree in Creative Writing and I’ve published both poetry and fiction.
