Pony power! We are celebrating ponies of all breeds on YourDressage through the month of June!
Did you know dressage riders who choose ponies as their mounts are eligible for many Adequan®/USDF All-Breeds Awards, as there are several pony organizations on our Participating Organization list?
Here, a young rider from Region 8 set her eyes on competing in the FEI Ponies, but with riders aging out of the division at 16 years old, she wasn’t sure she’d have the opportunity – until a German Riding Pony mare took her all the way.
By Caroline Grosso
My name is Caroline Grosso, and I am a 19-year-old dressage rider. At 11 years old, I met Divine, a 2009 German Riding Pony mare. My elation in the days leading up to that fateful pickup day in October 2016, on the car ride to pick her up, and in the car on our way home, felt hard to contain. I now had the opportunity to partner with a kind and fun potential FEI pony, which had been a dream of mine since I entered the realm of dressage as an eight-year-old.
We had some work to do first, as Divine had been primarily a broodmare for her first seven years of life, and my 11-year-old self’s experience extended as far as Introductory Level Test C. But with professional guidance and the support of my parents, I kept this goal in my back pocket.
Our first year together included many learning curves. That winter, it often took four times cantering around the arena to get a trot transition, and understanding how to ride her on the bit for longer than a fleeting moment felt like a lofty goal. We participated in our first Dressage4Kids TEAM (Training, Education, And Mentoring) clinic with Lendon Gray in the spring of 2017. My inexperience was promptly exposed when I did not know how to ride a three-loop serpentine nor where a 20-meter circle at E extends to, and Lendon had to bring out bright orange cones to mark the geometry.
Regardless, with the guidance of Jeff Lindberg and Lendon, we had made good progress that winter, so we competed at the Introductory and Training Levels in 2017. Our tests often included unintentional detours, whether that was me going off course or Divine spooking at brightly colored clothing tents. Despite these challenges, my heart felt warm, acknowledging how hard Divine tried for me every time she stepped into the competition ring and thinking about our future potential.
Over the next couple of years, Divine and I continued to move up a level each competition season. We moved to Maine in 2020 for two months to participate in Lendon’s Summer and Fall Intensive Training program, also presented by Dressage4Kids. It was truly a dream come true for me – in addition to learning how to train dressage and be an independent horsewoman, I also learned a great deal about equine health.
I feel so privileged to have experienced such a program with Lendon’s wisdom and mentorship, alongside twelve other incredibly talented young horsewomen. Lendon, who saw my tears of frustration from tough rides and cries of enthusiasm after major breakthroughs in our training, encouraged me to aim for FEI Ponies the next year – it was our last chance to compete at that level before I aged out of it as a 16-year-old.
That winter, we diligently trained with Molly Maloney, who had been coaching us, and had immensely helped Divine and me over the past few years. Although the progress was not linear, I could grasp the idea of competing FEI Ponies more and more with each ride. May of 2021 was our FEI Pony debut, and by July, we had earned all of our qualifying scores for the US Dressage Festival of Champions.
In addition to the excitement of competing at this level, we had new breakthroughs in our partnership; Divine was no longer fazed by the feeling of torrential rain on her skin as we rode through a test nor by the sight of the brightly colored vendor tents. In late August that year, my parents, Divine, and I drove the sixteen hours to Illinois to compete at Lamplight.
We checked on Divine every four hours of the trip. Each time, she was happily eating, taking in the views of each state we traveled through until we arrived at 9 PM. Divine stepped off the trailer and walked around the dark, quiet facility like she had lived there.
Come competition days, I sat by the ring, watching the other divisions for hours, amazed by the talent of the country’s top horse and rider combinations, and felt humbled by how animals and people can come together to create such harmony. Thursday was Divine and I’s first test, and the feeling of unity as we stepped into the competition arena is still indescribable.
Each time I gave an aid for the next movement, one of her ears flicked towards me, signifying she had received my message. Stepping as one, we moved through the test with equanimity. Even after mistakes, my pointer finger would scratch Divine’s neck to say, “Don’t worry,” and immediately, I would feel a release of tension in the reins. In addition to the smile I could not rid my face of for the entirety of the test, the two of us were privately smiling together.
Walking out of the arena to see a new personal best on the scoreboard was satisfying, but even more rewarding was feeling so well understood by my four-legged teammate with whom I had developed an unspoken language.
That week, my heart beamed with so much gratitude for Divine and the five years she had given me. I also owe so many thanks to the incredible village that stood beside us: our trainers Jennie Meyer, Molly Maloney, Jeff Lindberg, Emily Gershberg Wyman, and Lendon Gray, who built our skill set and encouraged me to keep trying; the equine health professionals who continue to keep Divine physically at her best; and my parents, who never failed to support our potential.
Divine is currently at our farm in upstate New York, and I still question how I ended up with a teammate so loving, compassionate, and giving. She has inspired me to emulate those qualities in myself and taught me the trust, time, and patience required to build a strong relationship, both with horses and with people. Divine and the happiness she has given me over the years will forever hold a special place in my heart.
