Last year around this time, I was reflecting on the 2022 competition season and feeling like my 9-year-old German Riding Pony, Dubai’s Dream, had done a remarkable job learning to have confidence and step up to the plate in the show arena. As I pondered 2023, I concluded it was time to set a mighty competitive goal—something less young-horse-driven than “fewer show ring shenanigans.” Instead, I decided to aim high and focus my entire ’23 competition season on preparing him for a trip to the U.S. Dressage Finals. 

At that point, he still had little show-ring mileage. He was a victim of the no-competition COVID year, and I had not been campaigning him hard since. So needless to say, I knew there were a few real-life experiences that would help him to cope with the high-pressure environment, if we were lucky enough to qualify for the finals in Kentucky. 

“Dubai” has always been a very sound-sensitive horse, and I decided to address this head-on by adding a musical freestyle to his repertoire. I spent last winter diligently schooling him with all kinds of music playing, slowly raising the volume from a barely there iPhone to one of those absurdly big party speakers that Amazon describes as “painfully loud.” (These months of training were incredibly interesting and structured, and I plan to circle back in detail in a future post!) My hope was that once he embraced noise/music as being “safe,” he would no longer be alarmed when he heard freestyle music coming from other loud, noisy things.

Dubai did object to freestyle life during the first outing of the season. He was downright shocked that the music he heard at home had followed him to the show! 

However, my choreography was good enough (thanks to my designer/coach Susanne Hamilton) and my music was incredible (thanks to the stellar Ruth Hogan Poulson) that we scored respectably, even with some tension. He simply was expecting a normal test, and the fact that the music piped in was clearly disconcerting to him.

As the summer wore on, we continued to school with music on at home. Mostly, just while in ordinary training, so that he would not anticipate the choreography. I’m fairly certain that our whole community knows my freestyle music by heart after this summer; I may have accidentally pointed the “painfully loud” speaker toward the neighbors’ house more often than a good neighbor should.

Each competition was focused on helping him see new things and have new experiences. His confidence grew by leaps and bounds as we tackled new things—our first competition in an indoor (rare in our region), and several shows in challenging weather—and he handled them. We went to new places, he saw new things, and at each event he became more confident that his music was safe—even fun—to ride to. 

Things began to feel exciting mid-summer, when for the first time in my career, I sat on the very top of the USDF leaderboard for the third level open freestyle division. I had my suspicions it would not last, but by golly, did we all get a kick out of the weeks I was on top! (There may have been champagne…)

At the summer shows, no matter what judge was officiating, the marks were high, and the comments about the “harmony and trust between horse and rider” were consistent. We also developed a little fan club as the season wore on, and the support was MUCH appreciated! It speaks volumes to the expertise of both Ruth and Susanne; they did a stellar job providing me with an amazing test to ride, and the judges and spectators appreciated it. 

While all of this freestyle fun was going on, we also qualified for the Great American Insurance Group/USDF Region 8 Championships (New York) at third level and successfully dipped our toes into the fourth level tests. While freestyle riding is tremendously fun—the most fun I have ever had, possibly—I am quite diligent about doing traditional tests as well, and I wanted him to stay sharp and accurate in the normal test format. I was very happy to get the fourth level scores I needed for my USDF Silver Medal with Distinction, and even happier to have Dubai confidently stepping into a new level. 

By the time regionals rolled around, I was beginning to see the fruits of the “noise training” I had been so dedicated to all season. While warming up for the third level open championship, there was a boisterous freestyle class taking place adjacent to our warm-up. This would have been a huge issue in previous seasons—to the point that Dubai’s confidence and poise would have been blown. However, on this day he simply carried on as normal, his cheerful demeanor and focus firmly intact. I was so proud! 

Of course, the highlight of the weekend was taking third in an extremely competitive third level freestyle class, and with that, punching my ticket to the U.S. Dressage Finals. The championship classes at Region 8 are just so large and so competitive, and there is a ton of pressure. (Plus, we absorb some of the northern Region 1 competitors, which makes the competition even more fierce!) Having a goal to “go to finals” sometimes is more a dream than a reality, so to say I was thrilled is a colossal understatement. To add to the excitement, shortly before heading to Kentucky, I found out that I would also be competing in the third level open championship, so I was doubly pumped. 

Going to finals was the icing on the cake. I was just SO excited and thrilled to go, and I could not stop shouting about how completely psyched I was. Dubai was pumped too, because he’s a good sport like that and gets adequate compensation in carrots. I felt confident that no matter what we encountered at the big show, he would handle it gracefully. 

The whole experience was so fun! Dubai was a total rock star and handled the 18-hour trip like a pro. At the Kentucky Horse Park, he marched into the indoor Alltech Arena like he owned the place—he did not bat an eye at the lit-up scoreboards, and he did not care that there was construction outside. In the third level open finals I wasn’t sure what our chances were for a ribbon—it was a big, competitive class—so when he had the best test of his year and took seventh, I literally could not stop screaming with happiness. 

Almost as big of a victory was the fact that, for the duration of our test, there were construction sounds coming from the Rolex Stadium next door. There were sounds like metal being sawed up by a rusty blade, then dumped into a dumpster after being sent down a flight of stairs (I no idea what was actually happening, but this paints a picture of the screeching and crashing)—and Dubai did not care. So the whole winter of sound training, and a whole summer of exposing him anything possible, all paid off in that one test. 

The third level freestyle finals class was large and stacked with high-scoring competitors, but I wasn’t worried. I was planning to ride my tail off and leave nothing behind. It was definitely  a “go big or go home” class, and I was suspicious that even on a perfect day I might not be better than fourth or fifth. I anticipated the competition would be fierce, and fierce it was: After hours of competition, the top five placings were separated by mere decimals—and we took third, which I was beyond delighted with. Throughout all his tests he was relaxed and trusting, focused and sharp. I was so proud.

I was beyond lucky to have a wonderful group of family and friends travel to Kentucky to be the best cheerihng squad ever. Dubai proved himself to be a very wonderful and capable competitor, and he was just a joy to ride. 

There are a lot of moments/seasons/years as a horse professional that are very unglamorous (at best), so to have a season where the stars all aligned so nicely was very rewarding. (Let’s be real: The stars have nothing to do with it. It was a little luck, and a lot of hard work!) To be able to share this with the family who has been behind me since day one, which was decades ago, was really special. 

And even though she was not there in person, my trainer Susanne was able to warm us up daily through the wonders of technology. It was amazing to have her along for the ride. She has been my person for over 20 years, and my moments of success have so much to do with her. It takes a team to do any sport successfully, and I have the best one out there! 

When you have been doing this for as long as I have you realize that success is not just yours; it belongs to everyone who has helped along the way, so this was a big win for everyone who has stood behind me through thick and thin. I am truly humbled, grateful and blessed to have such amazing support. This was a stellar way to wrap up the 2023 season, and while I will certainly relish the wins, I am even more appreciative for each wonderful person, and my very special Dubai who made the journey so much fun.

I’m Sara Bradley, a full-time dressage trainer and rider. Most of my time is spent educating a delightful variety of horses and riders at my facility, Waterford Equestrian Center in Waterford, Maine. Evidently, one of my life skills is helping horses (and riders!) to overcome their fears and gain confidence an joy for the sport. 

When I’m not busy juggling the day-to-day activities at my farm, I enjoy activities like trail running over actual mountains and running marathons. (Life in the slow lane is not my style!) I enjoy many dressage adventures with my German Riding Pony, Dubai’s Dream, and you can follow this journey on Instagram @dubais_dream.