Meet the L Graduate with Distinction – Shareen Purcell

Tell us a little about yourself (your location, awards/other certifications you hold, etc):

I’ve lived in the East Bay Area of San Francisco most of my life and in Hayward for 23 years. In my almost 40 years of dressage (and USDF membership), I have earned nearly every award. I have all six USDF Rider Medals and Freestyle Bars, earned on horses I have exclusively raised and trained myself! I have USDF Year-End championships at all levels, and USDF All-Breeds Awards from the Appaloosa Sport Horse Association and Swedish Warmblood Association of North America. I attended and earned a degree from the Brookside Equestrian Park, previously known as the Pacific Horse Center (PHC). I rode in the dressage, hunter jumper, and western programs to obtain as much knowledge as possible.

What made you decide to participate in the USDF L Education Program? How long did it take to complete the program, start to finish?

I participated in the L Program in one of its first few years. Because I never had much money nor took regular lessons like riders “normally” do, I completed every education program I was eligible for, including the seminars and training programs available, in addition to the L Program. At that time, I was able to complete the whole program and take the test in under a year – I was very lucky to have a program near me.

Do you plan to further your dressage education and to continue to apply what you learned in the program to become a licensed official?

I always want to learn more. I might do something else, like become a Technical Delegate, at some point.

Do you serve as a judge for schooling shows in your capacity as an L Graduate? If so, on average, how many per year?  

I have judged schooling shows on and off in the almost 40 years since I graduated. I usually judge two to four schooling shows each year. I really love judging, helping, and sharing my knowledge with others. I love schooling shows because we can curate the event and make it as much of a learning experience as possible for those who ride. 

What impact did the program have on your dressage knowledge?

When I went through the program, it was pre-computer days. In one training session, I remember Peter Lert asking us if there would be any interest in a magazine specifically about dressage, which would later become Dressage Today. So, the material was learned from books, rented videos, and whatever seminars and such I could attend, which is also why I attended PHC. Going through the L Program was a huge addition to my knowledge base. I don’t think younger people who have grown up with unlimited information available at the tips of their fingers understand just how different the world was when it came to getting information and knowledge.

Name three things you took away from the program that you think every rider should know.

Hmm… three things I took away from the program? Boy, it’s been a loooooong time. 

1.) All judges have different perspectives about what is correct to some extent. 

2.)  Judges look at the directives to guide their comments and what they look for. 

3.) When judging, always try to make your remarks informative and precede every final comment with something good!

Have you served in any other official capacity with USDF (council/committee member, council/committee chair, PM/GM delegate, board member/Regional Director, etc.)? Please describe.

I have not served in any other capacity with USDF.

Tell us about your horse(s).

I got my first horse from a horse camp when I was 17. Bimbo (shown as Bymbeaux, hehe) was the loudest Appaloosa you ever saw – a red roan blanket with big spots. When he was about 12, I decided we wanted to do dressage, and I think we started at Third Level. The only help I ever had was bringing in Dennis Callin (from PHC) for clinics once or twice a year. 

I distinctly remember talking with him about doing FEI, but he didn’t think Bimbo could do the tempi changes. So I showed him my two-tempis. By today’s standards, they were not “correct,” but he did all of the movements and could out-tempi change, half pass, and pirouette anyone. He stayed sound and improved throughout his life, so what is “correct?” He never had an extended trot or passage (cute piaffe, though). We tried Grand Prix, but our training wasn’t refined enough, so we settled into performing the I-1 and freestyles. 

I found out he was mostly blind by 17 and had gone completely blind at 23. He showed I-1 until the age of 28, and I only stopped because of a tragedy in my life (the loss of my two mares, Zuri and Zena). When I lost him at 31, he was completely sound, still doing all the I-1 work, trail riding, and looked great.

To produce Zuri, I borrowed a friend’s Thoroughbred mare and bred her to Zorn, a Swedish Warmblood stallion. I brought her up to Grand Prix, primarily on my own, and bred her to Bon Vivant, producing the next generation in Zena. I tragically lost Zuri to colic.

If I hadn’t still had Bimbo after all of this, I think I would have left horses forever. After a year or so, I started looking again, and found what I wasn’t looking for – a green-broke 8-year-old broodmare who had had 3 foals. She was straight Swedish Warmblood, had bloodlines very similar to Zuri, and was incredibly talented. Sambuca (I called her Sora) was a hot, unfit, talented mare. I bred her to Freestyle (by Florestan) twice in the first three years that I owned her, while simultaneously taking her from “hot mess” to Prix St. Georges. 

By then, I also had her two daughters, Quilla and Quinn (Quintessential), and it was getting hard to ride three horses. I started leasing her out, and she became an amazing schoolmaster who could teach all of the moves, piaffe forever, and play a super safe, kick-butt trail horse. I lost her in 2023 to what was probably a mass blocking her esophagus at 25, but she was still sound and doing all of the work.

I have been bringing Quilla and Quinn up to FEI, as with all my horses, living in a herd, barefoot, and on a minimal budget. Quilla and Quinn have competed up to Grand Prix. At my age, riding four FEI rides a day is getting harder and harder. Both horses are super safe, great on trails, and super schoolmasters. 

At almost 60 now, as amazing as they are, I am not breeding or riding any more babies. I figure these girls should be doing all of the moves, sound, and wonderful for me at 70, and I’ll get to perform my Century Club ride on one of them. 

Contact:

Email: shareenp@comcast.net 
Phone: (510) 727-1571
Website/social media: https://shareenp8.wixsite.com/attainabledressage