The
Rider
The Horse
Support Team
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Olivier as a foal |
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Olivier |
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Competing in Europe 2006 |
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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.
The rest, as they say, is history. Olivier
went on to become the 2006 and 2007 National Champion in the
Brentina Cup division, as well as earning the title of USDF
Intermediare II Horse of the Year. In 2008 Elisabeth earned
her Gold Medal with Olivier and together they completed all of the
requirements to compete for a spot on the Olympic Team. They
finished 19th overall in the selection process.
With their sights set on the 2010 World
Equestrian Games and 2012 London Olympics, Elisabeth and Olivier are
well on their way, earning three times already in 2009 over 70% in
the Grand Prix. Up coming competitions will include a tour of
the CDIs in the Northeast (Saugerties, NEDA and Devon) in addition
to competing in Florida for the 2010 winter circuit.
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