We are celebrating the honorable Holsteiner as our March Breed of the Month on YourDressage!
Did you know that dressage riders who choose a Holsteiner as their dressage mount are eligible for special awards through the Adequan®/USDF All-Breeds Awards program, as the Holsteiner Verband-North American Breeding District is a participating organization?
Here, a rider from Region 1 tells us all about River Run Roscoe, the Grand Prix Holsteiner who helped her – and two other riders – chase their dreams and accomplish their goals. From competing at the Great American Insurance Group/USDF Regional Championships to earning various USDF Rider Medals, Roscoe happily takes on any feat.
By Jennifer Mutchler
In 2015, I placed an “in search of” post on Facebook. I had several young horses at the time, but nothing at the FEI level, and I really wanted to work on earning my USDF Gold Medal. Jane Hannigan answered with an amazing opportunity in River Run Roscoe!
Roscoe, a 1997 Holsteiner gelding by Riverman and out of a Cosmos mare, was bred by Beverly Dudley of Maine. Roscoe’s owner, Lexi Rice, didn’t have time to show and was looking to find him a new partner. He just happened to be in Massachusetts near my hometown, and I just happened to be visiting my family. My mom brought me to see him – a trip reminiscent of my childhood years! It was love at first sight for me, with Roscoe tolerating my Grand Prix ambitions. We got my mom’s seal of approval, and Roscoe came to Virginia to live with me.
I spent the rest of the winter solidifying our partnership, and debuted at Intermediate 1 in May 2016. Despite an error, we earned the first score towards my Gold Medal. By August, I was cantering down centerline at Grand Prix… my lifelong dream had come true! That weekend, I earned another score toward my Gold Medal.
It took a few more shows to earn my final score, but I’ll never forget the feeling of walking up to the secretary’s booth and seeing the results! The first person I called was my mom. She was thrilled and wished she was there to celebrate the moment with me. I remember pulling into the farm, jumping out of the truck with my blue ribbon, and hugging my husband. What an incredible feeling to have achieved my life-long goal, all thanks to the amazing Roscoe!
Roscoe was fit and sound, so I decided to lease him out. Julie Brownson also dreamed of earning her USDF Silver and Gold Medals, and she did just that in no time aboard Roscoe! She even put together a wonderful Intermediate Freestyle, which I had the pleasure of watching her earn a score of 74%, and winning her class.
When Roscoe returned from his lease, I decided I wanted to show him at Grand Prix for one more season, and we qualified for the Great American Insurance Group/USDF Regional Dressage Championships. Unfortunately, you cannot carry a whip in the championship classes, which Roscoe figured out very quickly! He piaffed very well, but his passage was almost nonexistent, so we did not qualify for the US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan® that day. Still, it was an amazing privilege to show him at the highest level of dressage!
After that, Roscoe went out on another lease to Marsha Hartford-Sapp in Florida. She had earned her USDF Silver Medal on a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Mustang! Though talented, her Mustang was ill-suited for Grand Prix, and Marsha wanted to earn her Gold Medal. She and Roscoe danced down centerline at the Global Dressage Festival, easily earning her Gold Medal, as well as her Gold Freestyle Bar! Even better was that Roscoe’s breeder, Beverly Dudley, wintered in Florida that year and was able to meet up with Marsha and watch Roscoe compete!
Marsha then handed Roscoe’s reins over to two of her students, Ashley Mancuso and Allyssia Martin, who, in turn, earned their Silver Medals. Ashley subsequently earned her Gold Medal! By then, Roscoe was 24 years old, an amazing testament to his breeding and the wonderful care and good training he received throughout his entire life.
Unfortunately for Marsha, in 2022, Roscoe decided he couldn’t tolerate the Florida summers anymore, so she gave me the extraordinary gift of having him back in my life!
I couldn’t resist going down centerline one more time at Intermediate 1 that summer. At 25 years old, he still easily earned a score of 60%. Since then, Roscoe has been the ultimate professor to my students. Many of them have felt the piaffe for the first time ever, or gotten the chance to do some one-tempis aboard this incredibly generous gelding!
Words cannot adequately express what a blessing this horse has been to me and how much I’ve enjoyed sharing him with others. Roscoe is truly a once-in-a-lifetime horse!
