Lauren Sammis is looking to the future, which looks bright after Dressage at Stone Tavern, held Aug. 31-Sept. 3 in Allentown, N.J.

Sammis started showing Sagacious HF for the owners–Al and Judy Guden of Hyperion Farm in Wellington, Fla.–last winter. Sagacious HF is a black, 16.2-hand, Dutch-bred son of Welt Hit 2 and Judith, a Cocktail mare.

Sammis is aiming him for the Pan American Games selection trials this winter in Florida. They look to be on track after earning a Prix St. Georges win (69.50%) at Dressage at Stone Tavern.

With the Pan Am team goal in mind, Sammis has been training with Robert Dover, Todd Flettrich, Ashley Holzer and Nancy Polozker. “This horse is an incredible success,” said the professional trainer who recently moved from her home in Virginia back to her native New Jersey. “He has won all but four of his classes so far. In those others he was second in three,” she said.

“He has great conformation that enables him to do whatever you ask. And he likes to perform in front of crowds. He thinks he has his own entourage at shows,” she said with a smile.

Originally slated to go through a 100-day stallion test, Sagacious was disqualified at Day 45 because the judges found his vocal chords were not parallel. So he was gelded, but not before he sired a colt, Wayfarer HF, now 3, who will compete in the FEI 5- and 6-year-old classes.

Sammis also rode her own horse, Time Out, to a win in first level, test 1 (72.59%). She bought the bay, Dutch Warmblood in February to resell. “Timmy,” a son of Garibaldi, was showing for just the second time since he came to her Sammis Sales LLC barn in Bedminster, N.J.

“He is rock solid,” said Sammis. “Despite the nasty weather that day, he was delightful to ride and never looks at anything.”


Splashing And Winning
The remnants of Hurricane Ernesto curtailed a day of classes during the Dressage at Stone Tavern show. The storm, with its dangerous high winds, along with torrential rains, soaked the four rings at the Horse Park of New Jersey.

Power to the show was lost during Saturday afternoon, shortly after show manager Kathy Moffitt announced that Saturday’s classes would be rescheduled to run on Sunday.

Some riders, like trainer Gabriel Armando, turned that last day of classes into a learning experience for their horses. “We stayed because the horses have to get used to [bad weather conditions] which left puddles in the ring,” said the Argentine-born man who rode “R” Newsmaker to a 66.21-percent victory in the first open second level, test 2 class, and then another blue in the second class of the same test, with a 66.75 percent.

A part of the family that produced the great grand prix jumper, Gem Twist, ” ‘Roddy’ looked at the puddles Sunday but his test was good and solid,” said Armando, 40, who operates his business at Diamond Creek Farm in Ringoes, N.J. “He is developing and I was happy with what he did,” said Armando, who left his former job as an investment banker to turn professional trainer when he decided to stay in this country.

Armando began training Roddy, a 9-year-old, 16.2-hand Holsteiner son of Riverman, when the bay gelding came to him in 2002. Owner Sarinne Dascalu bred her mare of the Good Twist line, Special News, with Riverman to produce Roddy.

“In the beginning he was a difficult horse but he began to be more obedient and submissive. Now he is giving 100 percent because he wants to do it,” said Armando, a national champion dressage rider in his South American homeland and a Pan American Games veteran. “He performs as well or better in the ring as he does at home. I think he has fun at shows and really enjoys them.”

Beth Sproule-Hansen, of Warwick, N.Y., accomplished a lot on her homebreds, and one of her latest, Datchi, notched a 67.77-percent victory in first level, test 1.

Datchi is by the Canadian-born woman’s stallion, DiVinci, and out of Buttercup, a Thoroughbred mare owned by Sproule-Hansen. Both are in her breeding program at her Warwick, N.Y., farm. Now Sproule-Hansen is training the 16.3-hand, gray gelding for owner Rosemary Baker to ride in the adult amateur classes.

“We have been campaigning so much this year he is probably eligible for a year-end award” in the all-breeds category, said Sproule-Hansen. After spending many years buying young horses, from foals to unbroken 2-year-olds, she started her breeding program 10 years ago.

“That is my way of getting very good horses at a price I can afford. And I prefer to start horses, ones that have not been worked with others. That’s why I like a young one,” said Sproule-Hansen.

She bought the stallion DiVinci as a foal. He passed his kur, then his 100-day test. So next she purchased some very nice mares to cross with him. Sproule-Hansen has won U.S. Dressage Federation bronze, silver and gold medals, all on horses she raised and trained.

Fancy Freestyles
On the other end of the age spectrum there is Kwikzilver, 14, a 16.2-hand gray Dutch-bred son of Voltaire and Rurgana. “He wanted to be a dressage horse rather than a jumper,” quipped his trainer and rider, AnaMarie Espinoza, 39, of Farmingdale, N.J.

“He was caught a little off guard by the puddles [in the main arena Sunday], but other than that, he was very relaxed,” said the Ecua-dorian-born Espinoza. She and Kwikzilver won the Intermediaire I test with a 64.50 percent, and then placed third (59.00%) in the Prix St. Georges, where she said she felt “I was a little off in the changes.”

Espinoza picked out Kwikzilver as a 5-year-old for owner Susanna Klayman and imported him from Holland nine years ago. “I saw him in the crossties of a barn, standing there quietly, and I fell in love with him,” said Espinoza.

The pair was invited by her homeland to represent Ecuador at the 2007 Pan American Games in Brazil, “So we are building up our freestyle,” she said. Until the Games, she and the gelding have a busy schedule to tune them up for international competition. They are planning to go to the Region 1 championships, as well as to Dressage at Devon (Pa.)

Danielle Toscano of Kennett Square, Pa., has her freestyles down pat, taking first and second in the BLM/GAIG-qualifying freestyle test of choice. She rode Virginia Gregory’s Olster to second (68.33%), then netted the blue ribbon with a 69.58 percent on her own Pablo, who was reserve champion (66.38%) at second level. Olster went home with a reserve championship tricolor for his efforts at fourth level (61.52%).

Olster, a Russian Trakehner, had been evented and jumped in Russia before being imported here six years ago. He also won open fourth level, tests 2 and 3, with a 61.52 percent. He polished off the weekend with a blue in Prix St. Georges with a 63.00 percent.

“He is the first one [Russian-bred] I’ve had,” said Toscano of the dark bay, 13-year-old, 16.1-hand son of Sabo and Otinel. “He is very athletic and easy to ride,” said Toscano who has been riding him since December. “I felt it was an honor to ride him. He can take the pressure and likes to work and compete.”

Nancy Degutis