Elisabeth, Olivier and Versace travelled to Florida immediately
after Devon and have been training for the upcoming season.
Both horses are in superb shape, mentally and physically.
We will report here with results from upcoming competitions.
October 3rd, 2007
John Hall and
Freedom Health welcomed aboard as sponsors for the 2007-2008
season!
We are proud to announce that Elisabeth and Olivier have secured
another major sponsorship deal, this time with
Freedom Health and specifically the product sponsorship of their
fabulous gastro-intestinal health supplement-
Succeed. We
calculated that Olivier has travelled over 15,000 miles this year,
in addition to a heavy breeding and showing schedule.
Succeed is
designed to help horses digest their grain in the most efficient
way, and helps to prevent ulcers and many of the other problems
which are often seen in top performance horses. Olivier has
been on Succeed since July, and we wouldn't be happier with the
results. In addition to having Olivier on
Succeed, we've
started all of our young horses, broodmares and other stallions on
the product and hope to see the same fantastic results.
October 1st, 2007
Elisabeth and Olivier are now fully qualified for the 2008
Olympic Selection trials in California! Based on their
excellent performance this weekend at Dressage at Devon in the Grand
Prix (65.4%) they now have a 66.4% average and have fulfilled all of
the requirements to compete in the selection trials next year.
The qualifying period runs through June, 2007, so Elisabeth and
Olivier will have a number of chances to increase their average.
In the past, a rider with a 66% would be ranked around 7th, 8th or
9th place out of the top 12. Needless to say, we are very
proud of Elisabeth and Olivier for qualifying in their first
season at Grand Prix!
September 20th, 2007
Elisabeth and Olivier had a fabulous weekend at the NEDA CDI,
finishing fourth both days in a very competitive Grand Prix and
Grand Prix Special class. They earned over a 67% in the Grand
Prix, and nearly a 69% in the Freestyle. These scores put them
well on the way to qualifying for the Olympic Selection trials in
San Juan Capistrano next June. The top 12 horse and rider
combinations in the country will go on to compete for spots on the
Beijing Olympic Team.
Final Results
Grand Prix (total of 15 competitors)
1st place- Ashley Holzer and Popart- 70.708%
2nd place- Michael Barisone and Neruda- 69.292%
3rd place- George Williams and Rocher- 67.750% 4th place- Elisabeth Austin and Olivier- 67.583%
5th place- Jackie Brooks and Gran Gesto- 66.250%
6th place- Leslie Morse and Tip Top 962- 65.625%
7th place- Karin Offield and Lingh- 64.708%
8th place- Jane Hannigan and Maksymilian- 64.625%
Grand Prix Freestyle (total of 8 competitors)
1st place- Ashley Holzer and Popart- 73.550%
2nd place- Jane Hannigan and Maksymilian- 69.900%
3rd place- George Williams and Rocher- 69.200% 4th place- Elisabeth Austin and Olivier- 68.800%
5th place- Karin Offield and Lingh- 67.950%
6th place- Jackie Brooks and Gran Gesto- 67.250%
7th place- Cindy Ishoy and Proton- 67.100%
8th place- Pierre St. Jacques and Lucky Tiger- 67.00%
September 6th, 2007
Great news from the United States Dressage Federation!
Elisabeth and Olivier are currently standing in the #1 position for
Horse of the Year at the Intermediate II level, and #10 for Grand
Prix horse of the year.
August 19th, 2007
Elisabeth and Olivier win first World Cup Qualifier!
Grand Prix Freestyle:
1st- Elisabeth Austin and Olivier
2nd- Lars Petersen and Sucess
3rd Cesar Parra and Ecu 8
4th- Katherine Bateson-Chandler and Ranier
5th- Susan Dutta and Gumshoes DC
6th- Jennifer Baumert and Weltgraf
We are also proud to report that Elisabeth won the jog
competition for best dressed!
July 23rd, 2007
Elisabeth and Olivier took a clean sweep of the Grand Prix and Grand
Prix Special classes this weekend at King Oak Farm, earning scores
between 70.4 and 73.1%. Olivier was overall high score on
Saturday, and FEI high score on Sunday. Their performances
earned a multitude of 8s and 9s, as well as rave reviews from both
the judges and spectators. The duo's next competition is in
three weeks where they will show in their first CDI in Saugerties at
Hits on the Hudson.
July 12th, 2007
The still nameless Olivier foal born last week unfortunately
developed a meconium impaction (fairly common in foals), which could
not be resolved so the choice was made to send him to surgery.
Elisabeth paid for the operation herself, and so far mom and baby
are doing great. He certainly is a fighter, and already has
quite the little attitude! We are cautiously optimistic that
he will make a full recovery.
A few more photos:
July 4th, 2007
A star is born.
Today the first Olivier foal belonging to Elisabeth and her mother
was born. A beautiful colt out of the Grand Prix mare, Fellina,
we have the highest hopes for this bright young colt.
Elisabeth and Olivier are currently enjoying some much needed R&R at
home in Vermont. While Fizzy is enjoying a lot of hacking and
hand grazing, Elisabeth is busy starting five young horses under
saddle, as well as riding two additional young horses. In
total, four of the youngsters she is currently riding are Olivier
relatives! One of the youngsters is a three-year-old filly who
is Olivier's daughter. Of course, Elisabeth thinks she is the
nicest one... not that she's biased or anything. :-)
June 19th, 2007
2007 Brentina
Cup Champions
Scoring a 67% the first day and a 71%
the second day, Elisabeth Austin and Olivier were a convincing 7%
points ahead of their closest competitor in the final, and secured
the Brentina Cup Championship for the second year in a row.
June 10th, 2007
Elisabeth and Olivier have just received word that they have the
highest qualifying score for the Brentina Cup again this year.
Their average ends up being a 70.29%.June 4th, 2007
CDI Raleigh, Raleigh, NC
Olivier won the qualifier for the Brentina Cup with a 72.+% and
was the high scoring FEI horse of the show.
March 2nd, 2007
Dressage in Florida.
Elisabeth and Olivier are based at Stillpoint Farm in
Wellington for the competition season.
The pair were invited to take part in the Developing Rider
Clinic with Debbie McDonald on February 20-22, 2007. Elisabeth was
delighted with the insightful and inspiring help she received from
Debbie.
On March 1st, Olivier and Elisabeth competed in the
Intermediare-2 at the Palm Beach Derby. They finished second, with
the respectable score of 67.927%, only two tenths of one percent
behind the winner. Had they not halted one letter too early, they
would have won the class.
On March 3rd, Elisabeth and Olivier competed in their first Grand
Prix in the USA and won the class with a score of +66%.
Please consider making a donation to help this talented pair
represent the United States in international competition.
Elisabeth and Olivier Grand
Prix Special Germany 2006
November 23rd, 2006
The return flight took Elisabeth,
Olivier and Sadie to Miami. It was uneventful and all three
felt like old hands at international travel.
To say that the time in Germany studying with Klaus Balkenhol was
invaluable would be an understatement.
Elisabeth says,"I am so lucky to have been able to do this and I
would not have been able to without the help of all the people who
believe in Olivier and me".
Complete details of the experience are available on her
blog,
Elisabeth & Olivier
at
Dressage at Saratoga
Olivier during a photo
shoot- Spring 2006
September 30th, 2006-Elisabeth's online journal chronicling her
experiences at Balkenhol-Hof is now available:
http://stardoozer.blogspot.com/
September 17th, 2006- PayPal Link now works! Thank you to
those who have already made a donation so far. The costs of
campaigning and maintaining an international horse are extremely
high, and for Elisabeth and Olivier to succeed, this is going to
need to be a group effort on so many levels. Please consider
making a donation, which is your own way to join in the dream.
September 12th 2006- Elisabeth is finalizing her plans to leave for
Klaus Balkenhol's stable in Germany on September 24th, 2006.
Olivier will be flown over by the
Dutta Corperation.
The owner of the company, Tim Dutta, has agreed to give Elisabeth a
substantial discount on flying Olivier, in order to help her afford
the flight! Please visit the website for the
Dutta Corperation
by clicking here.
September
11th 2006- Outstanding news! Kate Athanas-Wilson of
Dutchess Saddle & Bridle has just become Elisabeth and Olivier's
newest sponsor! Kate is an Albion representative, and has just
made a huge impact on Olivier's equipment by donating a brand new
Albion KB double bridle, girth and browband. Additionally,
Kate is also sponsoring the team with a SADDLE. Elisabeth rode
in a borrowed Albion for all of the Brentina Cup qualifiers and the
finals, so it will be great to have an actual fitted saddle
for Fizzy! Kate is not only a master saddle fitter, she also
does super repair work, and is a dealer for both Albion and Duett
Saddlery. Please visit her website for more information by
clicking
here.
September
5th 2006- Elisabeth is extremely excited to announce her newest
sponsor, Nutrena. Olivier has done extremely well on their XTN
feed, and Elisabeth is proud to have the company as a sponsor.
For more information on XTN and Nutrena products, please visit their
website by clicking here.
August 23rd 2006- Plans are well underway for Elisabeth and Olivier
to spend the fall training in Germany with Klaus Balkenhol and then
the winter in Florida. Please consider making a donation
through the PayPal account Elisabeth recently set up- every little
bit counts! Click the following link to make a donation:
July 20th 2006- We would like to thank Molly Webster of her very
generous donation this month- which will help Elisabeth and Olivier
make the trip to Germany this fall! Thank you, Molly!
June 26th 2006- Elisabeth and Olivier have been invited to Germany
to train with US Team Coach, Klaus Balkenhol! Mr. Balkenhol
has requested that Elisabeth and Olivier go over in the fall,
following the World Equestrian Games. He would like them to
train with him in Germany, as well as get international experience.
A trip such as this one is going to cost upwards of $20,000, so the
support of sponsors is going to really determine whether or not this
trip can happen.
Congratulations to Elisabeth and
Olivier!
2006 Brentina Cup
Champions!
Final score: 70.39%
Well, it's official.
Elisabeth and Olivier have returned home from their first ever
trip to the United States Equestrian Team Headquarters with a
Championship win! Olivier performed like a superstar, and
from a panel of five international judges, scored an average of
70.39%- even higher than his qualifying average! Elisabeth
said, "He performed like he had done it a thousand times before.
Even in that big, daunting arena with people everywhere, he was
just amazing. From the vet-jog to the competition to the
awards ceremony I was simply speechless on his performance.
He knows when to light up, he knows when he needs to behave, and
most importantly, he loves every minute of it."
June 5th 2006-
Thank you to our newest sponsor -
Saratoga
Horseworks! Thanks
to them, Fizzy will now be outfitted in beautiful fly sheets,
dress sheets and coolers! Please visit their website to learn
more about their beautiful custom made horse apparel.
June 2nd 2006- Guess who's the #1 Qualifier
in the country for the Brentina Cup! We just received word from Jennifer Keeler
at the United States Equestrian Federation that Fizzy and I are
ranked #1 in the COUNTRY for the Brentina Cup for the final standings!
We are also the youngest horse/rider combination trying. I am
so excited and proud of my boy! Watch for an article on Dressage
Daily in the coming days with a spotlight on the Brentina Cup!
May 30th 2006- Second Qualifying score: 67.9%
Fizzy gave me another superstar weekend, with a pair of 67%s.
This means we are definitely invited to Gladstone for the
Brentina Cup.
May 22nd 2006- First Qualifying score: 68.6%!
So, Fizzy and I just did our first Brentina Cup qualifier and
won both days! The first day I went for a conservative, but happy
test. This is Fizzy's first year at this level, and to me, it
is not worth it to overface him and go for too much in the ring
our first show. It was our first time making the piaffe/passage/one-tempis
in competition, so I wanted to keep him happy in everything.
He was a very good boy and despite a few mistakes on my part,
we won with a 62.8%. The second day I asked for more and he gave
it to me, and we finished on a very, very good score of 68.6%!
We had a lot of 8s, including on our piaffe, passage, extensions
and half-passes. Unless I made a mistake, everything we did got
a 7 or 8. I am so happy!
May 13th 2006- Elisabeth and Fizzy are just one week away from
their first Brentina Cup qualifier! Their first show will be
in Westbrook, Connecticut. If you're interested in coming to
watch, please contact us! We would love to have visitors.
April 14th 2006- We are extremely excited to announce that Tina
Noyes of Red Mare Design has offered to sponsor Elisabeth and
Olivier by redesigning the website! We've been considering hiring
someone to do a revamp for some time, however, it is quite expensive.
Tina's offer came at the perfect time, and after viewing her
work, we were sold! To learn more about Red Mare Design, please
click here.
April 1st 2006- Elisabeth and Olivier did a small photo shoot
yesterday, as Vermont temperatures soared into the 70s. It was
only their second time getting to ride outside this year, and
they were both glad to be out of the indoor! To see the photos,
please click here.
March 2006- Elisabeth and Olivier attended a clinic with world-renowned
Young Horse Trainer and FEI Competitor, Ulf Moller. Additional
clinic participants were Jessica Rizzi, Leslie Hanlin, Debbie
Wiedemeyer and Lauren Sprieser. The clinic was held at Lendon
Gray's farm, Gleneden, in Bedford, New York. Elisabeth was very
pleased with the clinic, as it was Fizzy's first time away from
home as a "confirmed" Grand Prix horse. He was perfect, exhibiting
the same super one tempis and piaffe/passage tour he's been
perfecting at home all winter!
Elisabeth and Olivier Grand
Prix Special Germany 2006
September
5th 2006- Elisabeth is extremely excited to announce her newest
sponsor, Nutrena. Olivier has done extremely well on their XTN
feed, and Elisabeth is proud to have the company as a sponsor.
For more information on XTN and Nutrena products, please visit their
website by clicking 