The Rider
The Horse
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Olivier as a foal

Olivier

Fun in the snow.  Winter 2004

The Horse

Olivier was born April 24th, 1996, some time in the wee hours of the morning. Elisabeth remembers her mother calling to the house. "My mom called up to me and told me Rowillie (Olivier's dam) was foaling and that I should come down. I stumbled around in the dark to find my shoes, and then ran to the barn as fast as my little 12-year-old legs would carry me. I will never forget going into the barn, and my mom proclaiming he had, 'expensive markings'- four white socks and a blaze."

Even as a young horse, Olivier hinted at what a superstar he would later become. In 1997, as a yearling, he was given the distinction of being the highest rated Dutch Warmblood in North America for his age group. The head inspector at the time, Gert van der Veen, recommended he be kept as a stallion prospect.

In 2000, Olivier participated in the 100-Day-Testing for breeding stallions in California, and received the highest scores of any stallion for movement in the long test, with 8s or higher across the board. In 2002 he went to train for six months with Pierre St. Jacques, winning at his first-ever competition in Florida. In November 2003, Elisabeth took over the ride on Olivier from her mother, and they have been together ever since.

In 2004, Olivier and Elisabeth competed at 3rd and 4th level, and were nearly undefeated with scores nearing 72%. They finished in the top 15 out of all horses in the United States competing at 3rd level, with just 4 qualifying shows (the minimum required). They also debuted at 4th level with a 66%. In 2005, the pair debuted at Prix St. Georges, sweeping the Young Rider classes at the Youth Dressage Festival- winning all four components of the Championship (the written test, the equitation test and two dressage tests). They received a 70% from judge Carol Lavell, with the comment, "What a wonderful future you have."

In the fall of 2005, Elisabeth and Olivier participated in two schooling shows at Gleneden Dressage, for practice at the higher FEI levels. From "S" judge Margaret Freeman, they received a 65% in their first Intermediare I, and less than a month later at the Halloween show (Olivier was dressed as a My-Little-Pony), received a 63% from international competitor Courtney King, in a test they made up called "Almost There"- the Grand Prix without the one tempis. Since then, Olivier's piaffe, passage and one-tempis have all been confirmed, and he made his debut at Intermediare II and Grand Prix in 2006.  See the News page to learn just how well his career is going!

In the summer of 2005, Elisabeth rode Olivier in a clinic with Michael Poulin. She asked Mr. Poulin if he would ride Olivier, so she could see him go. As Michael dismounted, he looked at Elisabeth and said, "Do you love this horse?" She said, "Yes!" He replied, "Good, you should. He's something special." Whether it's Lendon Gray, or Conrad Schumacher, or Steffen Peters, or Ingrid Klimke saying it... the general consensus is that he is one SPECIAL horse.

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