A Long Time Coming: Fait Accompli

By Debbie Dysart

Hanoverians are our YourDressage Breed of the Month for March!  This breed originated in Germany, and is one of the oldest and most numerous of the Warmblood breeds.  Hanoverians are known for their good temperament, athleticism, beauty, and grace. Dressage enthusiasts who ride Hanoverians have the opportunity to earn special awards through the Adequan®/USDF All-Breeds Awards as The American Hanoverian Society is a Participating Organization. 

We recently asked our social media followers to share stories of what makes this breed so special to them.  Here, rider Debbie Dysart shares how she wanted a Hanoverian since she was 12 years old, and how the 34 year wait was worth it when she purchased Fait Accompli in 2017! 

I have loved horses ever since I can remember. My father bought me my first horse when I was twelve. We boarded my horse at a local stable where I rode hunter/jumpers. Soon after arriving at my new stable, a new trainer came in who knew dressage. I had never even heard of dressage, much less seen a well-bred, highly trained horse perform it. My trainer had the most fabulous horse named Mac, who not only could do dressage, but could bow. He carried himself so beautifully and powerfully. I had never seen a horse more beautiful and well trained. From that day on, I wanted to learn dressage, and I soon came to believe that the most beautiful dressage horse to own was a Hanoverian.

At that time, I didn’t have any money and Hanoverians were hard to come by in the Midwest back in 1983. But that did not stop me from wanting one and imagining that one day, I would have one and ride it in dressage competitions. I knew it was going to take a lot of money to buy one, pay for training, board, veterinary care, farrier, showing, etc. When I went away to college, I knew I had to find a profession that would give me the freedom to fulfill my dreams of one day owning a Hanoverian. Anyone who knew me, knew this is what I wanted. Every friend and family member would have to endure listening to my dream of dressage and one day owning a Hanoverian. I finally found a way to make my dream a reality by working 10 hours a day for 20 years with my husband to build a successful law firm and invest in real estate.

At the age of 45, 34 years after I first saw a dressage horse, I was finally in a position to fulfill my dream. I found a local trainer and told her my dream of buying a dressage horse. She must have thought I was crazy, since I was 45 years old and hadn’t ridden a horse since I was 18 and had never ridden dressage before. She agreed to help me find a horse and after three months of searching, she found “the one”…Fait Accompli!  He was a devilishly handsome, dark bay who had been imported from Germany and, as luck would have it, happened to be a Hanoverian. He was only five years old but had great training by Steffi Mosbey and a solid foundation in the basics.

The minute I saw him I knew he was the one. He was tall, dark, and handsome! He was everything I pictured my dream horse to be.  To top it off, he had a good mind.  His bloodlines are Fidertanz and Rubinstein, which makes him the perfect horse for me, a 45-year-old adult amateur dressage novice. He has all the qualities of a fine Hanoverian…rideability, excellent conformation and appearance, movement, and health. He is sound minded and a willing partner to practice the art of dressage. He likes to explore and investigate anything that scares him. If he sees something that frightens him, the first thing he does is moves towards it to see what it is. Sometimes, he will do a small hop if it startles him, but then he quickly regains his composure to further explore the object. This is how he has gotten his nickname, “Bunny”….well, that and he also has really big ears! His barn name is Fritz.

From the time I purchased him in 2017 until now, we have worked together to nurture our partnership. We were on a journey to find the right trainer. Fortunately for us both, we found Mari Jebens in November of 2019. Since then, we have grown from Training Level to Third Level. He is truly a joy to ride because he is such a willing partner. He is awesome in the connection, and he tries his best to understand what I am asking him to do. He has been a fabulous and patient teacher for me while I try to learn the finer movements in dressage. He is also quite the character and loves to interact with everyone at the barn.

His name, Fait Accompli, fits so well with what finding him means to me. In French, it means, “an accomplished fact”. He is my dream accomplished. He is everything and more that I have ever dreamed of, and he was worth the 34 year wait to get this most precious boy. 

.