PrintRobyn Fisher finished her weekend at Twin Rivers Horse Trials, March 4-6 in Paso Robles, Calif., with three victories--one at advanced, one at preliminary and one at novice.
For her advanced partner, Le Samurai, the blue ribbon followed a long absence from competition. The Holsteiner/Thoroughbred-cross hadn't competed at advanced since finishing 10th at last May's Saumur CCI*** (France). Although the pair qualified to compete at the 2004 FEI World Cup Final (France), Le Samurai was misdiagnosed with two front suspensory injuries last summer.
"We ultrasounded him to make sure he was ready to go back to work [after his rest following Saumur], and the vet said he injured both front suspensories equally. So we gave him more time off. But when we had another vet look at the scans a few months later, he said there had been zero damage to either leg; the first vet was seeing shadows on the machine," said Fisher. "Those were expensive shadows."
So a well-rested Le Samurai, 10, grabbed the lead in dressage (27.9) at Twin Rivers. "He's a very flashy mover and steady. And [judge] Jack Le Goff liked him," she said simply.
When Fisher set out on cross-country, she realized her watch was broken, so she had to ride the course by feel.
"It was the first time I'd ridden this course, and it had been a long time since I'd ridden at speed, so we ran intermediate speed," she said, although she posted the second-fastest time (6:22). Only Leigh Mesher was faster, finishing in 6:04 on the veteran My Beau.
Fisher appreciated the advanced course Derek di Grazia created for the 500-acre ranch in central California. "I really liked the water--there was a trakehner, then a rollback to jump into the water, then a jump out and back in again, so you had to be on your toes," she said.
None of the advanced competitors mastered the show jumping course. Fisher and Stephanie Cooper, who finished fourth, each kept the rails up but incurred time faults, and no one jumped clear.
"It was huge! It's been so long since I've gone advanced. I walked into the ring and was like, 'Oh, my god!' It rode very forward, so as long as you were forward, you were OK," Fisher said.
Fisher planned to compete Le Samurai at the North Georgia CIC*** and then the Rolex Kentucky CCI**** in April. While she spends five weeks on the East Coast, coach Yves Sauvignon will compete her preliminary winner, Lady Calido.
Wendy Webster, who bred Le Samurai (Sabotage--Heilali) and sold him to Fisher six years ago, also sold her Lady Calido. The German-bred Holsteiner, imported in 2000, served as one of Webster's broodmares until Fisher bought her.
"I had seen her a couple of years ago and fell in love with her," said Fisher. "At the time, I didn't have the money to buy her, but I told Wendy to call me after she had her foal to see if things had changed. I was able to get her last year, and I'm really glad I did."
The mare won the dressage (34.5) and finished on that score, as did her novice winner, Kypris. It was the first event for the Arabian-Andalusian, owned by Toni Wright.
A Keeper
When Gina Miles traveled to Europe to train for the FEI World Cup Final in 2003, she brought back a special souvenir--Philippa, a Holsteiner/Russian Thoroughbred-cross she found in Germany.
For her advanced partner, Le Samurai, the blue ribbon followed a long absence from competition. The Holsteiner/Thoroughbred-cross hadn't competed at advanced since finishing 10th at last May's Saumur CCI*** (France). Although the pair qualified to compete at the 2004 FEI World Cup Final (France), Le Samurai was misdiagnosed with two front suspensory injuries last summer.
"We ultrasounded him to make sure he was ready to go back to work [after his rest following Saumur], and the vet said he injured both front suspensories equally. So we gave him more time off. But when we had another vet look at the scans a few months later, he said there had been zero damage to either leg; the first vet was seeing shadows on the machine," said Fisher. "Those were expensive shadows."
So a well-rested Le Samurai, 10, grabbed the lead in dressage (27.9) at Twin Rivers. "He's a very flashy mover and steady. And [judge] Jack Le Goff liked him," she said simply.
When Fisher set out on cross-country, she realized her watch was broken, so she had to ride the course by feel.
"It was the first time I'd ridden this course, and it had been a long time since I'd ridden at speed, so we ran intermediate speed," she said, although she posted the second-fastest time (6:22). Only Leigh Mesher was faster, finishing in 6:04 on the veteran My Beau.
Fisher appreciated the advanced course Derek di Grazia created for the 500-acre ranch in central California. "I really liked the water--there was a trakehner, then a rollback to jump into the water, then a jump out and back in again, so you had to be on your toes," she said.
None of the advanced competitors mastered the show jumping course. Fisher and Stephanie Cooper, who finished fourth, each kept the rails up but incurred time faults, and no one jumped clear.
"It was huge! It's been so long since I've gone advanced. I walked into the ring and was like, 'Oh, my god!' It rode very forward, so as long as you were forward, you were OK," Fisher said.
Fisher planned to compete Le Samurai at the North Georgia CIC*** and then the Rolex Kentucky CCI**** in April. While she spends five weeks on the East Coast, coach Yves Sauvignon will compete her preliminary winner, Lady Calido.
Wendy Webster, who bred Le Samurai (Sabotage--Heilali) and sold him to Fisher six years ago, also sold her Lady Calido. The German-bred Holsteiner, imported in 2000, served as one of Webster's broodmares until Fisher bought her.
"I had seen her a couple of years ago and fell in love with her," said Fisher. "At the time, I didn't have the money to buy her, but I told Wendy to call me after she had her foal to see if things had changed. I was able to get her last year, and I'm really glad I did."
The mare won the dressage (34.5) and finished on that score, as did her novice winner, Kypris. It was the first event for the Arabian-Andalusian, owned by Toni Wright.
A Keeper
When Gina Miles traveled to Europe to train for the FEI World Cup Final in 2003, she brought back a special souvenir--Philippa, a Holsteiner/Russian Thoroughbred-cross she found in Germany.
