CDS Honors Club

By Connie Davenport

This article earned first place in the 2023 GMO Newsletter Awards for general interest articles for GMOs with 500 or more members. It appeared in the February 2023 California Dressage Society newsletter, Dressage Letters.

When CDS was formed in 1967, it is telling that the main emphasis of the beautifully named Dressage Letters was educational articles augmented by fun chapter and show reports, calendar of events and want ads. There was a friendly exchange of ideas and an enormous interest on building on and improving on individual achievements – without rancor, and always with was an emphasis – always, always, always – on making dressage more accessible. Approachability was paramount. And…Dressage Letters applauded shows and individual accomplishments from the beginning – there were so few shows that each event included a written report in addition to the results. True confessions – for most of the readers, it was the results that were read first.

As I understand, the CDS Honors Club is to honor people whose competitive endeavors gained them recognition on the international stage. These people inspire and guide the riders who desperately struggle to learn the basics and nuances of the sport of dressage. This admiration is as true today as it was in 1967, and when credit for current achievements is given, we need to acknowledge those pioneers who fearlessly delved into these intricacies, subtleties and just plain difficulties of mastering dressage. We honor two of them as the first inductees – Kyra Downton and Hilda Gurney.

KYRA DOWNTON

Their backgrounds could not have been more disparate. Kyra was Russian born but her family moved to Shanghai for safety, as I understand it, during WWI. Her life there included horses, development of artistic skills and somewhere along there she learned to cook, brilliantly…there wasn’t much that she could not do.

Kyra’s attachment to horses can be traced to her cavalry father with adventures from age three. “Picture a little three-year-old girl in a white party dress placed on a big white horse by some Russian Cavalry officers. Then visualize a fast gallop along a narrow, mountainous road with soldiers dashing madly after the runaway. That is my first recollection of riding.” (quoted from interview in The Country Almanac in 1986.) Shanghai had an active racing and jumping equestrian community and Kyra participated gladly. An unusual background it was and it included two years in internment by the Japanese during WWII.

After WWII was over, Kyra married American Army officer Franklyn Downton and they settled in Atherton, CA on what can only be described as an estate – the acreage stretched from Atherton Avenue through to the next street – an almost unimaginable luxury of usable, horse friendly property even at that time. As an aside, the San Francisco Peninsula Chapter of CDS held several shows at Kyra’s in the 1970’s, as there was ample warm-up, two dressage courts and sufficient trailer parking. As she had in Shanghai, Kyra competed her thoroughbreds in hunter/jumper shows and even rode to hounds. She was courageous and comfortable on a horse so it is not surprising that she took on dressage as a challenge after discovering the discipline at a Pebble Beach competition, organized by Dick Collins (another of the early supporters of dressage), reportedly sometime in the 1950’s or thereabouts.

To conquer this new (to her) discipline of dressage, and given her international life style, Kyra went to Europe for training. She purchased the Holsteiner Kadett and imported him to California, long before flying horses became a commonplace thing to do. She worked with the most famous, important dressage luminaries in Europe and, to our everlasting gratitude, brought them to her home and shared them with the fledgling dressage community. The list included but was not limited to, Colonel Alois Podhajsky, Waldemar Seunig, Gunnar Anderson, Hans Moeller, Josef Neckermann.

In 1967, the year CDS was formed, Kyra and Kadett were Individual Gold and Team silver medalists at the Pan Am Games. The following year, they participated in the Olympic Games. Kyra was the highest scoring of the USA Team participants but because she concluded that they performed below their normal standard, Kyra looked for an outlet for her disappointment. This was art – it is the wood sculptures that we remember most, as they captured the essence of (mainly) the animal kingdom. For years, her art was displayed and sold in prominent boutiques. And it wasn’t just horse sculptures – a dolphin graced the side of her pool and one never knew what might pop up around the property, making an interesting challenge for our horses’ attention spans.

If Kyra was disappointed in the Olympic outcome, the California dressage community did not suffer any diminution of her interest and support as she continued to offer her estate for clinics for adults and pony clubs. And in 1973, she admonished whoever designed the US Dressage tests in a letter to the Editor of Dressage Letters. In part.. ”American tests are quite chopped up with one movement at times having no relation to the next, awkward transitions, and collected movements asked for at lower levels.” And…”Dressage is definitely not a national sport. Why not take German tests, as the Europeans do, and have them translated so we can be as successful as the Europeans using these fluid tests.” Kyra wanted the sport of dressage to be more logical, comfortable, and accessible. She encouraged and supported education and access to tools that help the rider grow more comfortable and successful in communicating with his/her horse – a horse that in those early years was rarely bred for or raised in a dressage environment.

Kyra was kind and generous at a time when CDS members were eager for role models. I was pretty much star struck when I met her and fully expected to be intimidated but, despite her regal bearing (I don’t think she could help that!), I was comfortable riding in clinics with her and especially felt welcomed when the clinics were at her property. Kyra was truly unforgettable from the time she was at age three on a run away horse in Russia until she brought international dressage to California and shared it with all of us.

Kyra has been honored as a USDF Hall of Fame inductee – it is now with pleasure that CDS honors her memory with her inauguration as a member of the first CDS Honors Club 2023.

SHE WHO NEEDS NO INTRODUCTION

Hilda Gurney, by comparison has a background that is less exotic than Kyra’s, although living and conquering the horse world as a Californian sounded pretty exotic to those of us who were immersed in the East Coast and, to a certain extent, Mid-Western versions of horse sport.

As early as 1968, Hilda was acknowledged by then President Susan Davidge as an integral part of the successful formation of CDS. President Davidge cited Hilda’s leading role in projects such as: LA Chapter formation and growth – including management of the first LA Chapter show, parties at her home (“Tuesday Night at the Movies”), presentation of organizational programs (“Suppling the Horse with Longeing”, “Rhythm-Riding to Music”).

For those of you who wonder where Hilda’s almost uncanny teaching skills originated, be aware that she holds a BA in Biology from Cal State with a California teaching credential. Hilda taught special education classes for 14 years – teaching is her training and what appears to be her passion and the success of many of her students acknowledges this reality.

Hilda was the CDS representative to the American Dressage Institute in those early years and she chaired a two-week (!) seminar with the ADI faculty members Hans Moeller, Michael Handler and Franz Rochowansky.

Need a demonstration rider? Hilda stepped up (rode up?) in 1968 for the CDS organized Colonel Alosi Podhajsky forum and then future forums headed by Dr. H.L.M. Van Schaik, Col. Bengt Ljungquist, Col. Gustaf Nyblaeus and Wolfgang Niggli. She continued to participate in these forums after then AHSA took over the management – AHSA co-opting, we might note, the responsibility for the educational innovation of CDS. During these glorious years, Hilda participated in forums lead by Edgar Hotz, Maria Gunther, Jaap Pot, Volker Moritz, Wolfgang Michaelis, Kyra Kyrklund, Eric Lette and many other luminaries. If there was an educational opportunity, Hilda participated and brought her students to learn, demonstrate, and grow in their knowledge of dressage.

Long before USDF organized its outstanding Instructor program, in 1975 the CDS Board set up a format for Instructors’ Symposiums and appointed Hilda Gurney as the head instructor. The objective? Train the instructor’s eye. Hilda frequently participated in CDS Annual Meetings, sharing her knowledge with lucky demonstration riders.

We began these remarks with Hilda’s impact on California dressage specifically her staunch support of the fledgling California Dressage Society and her unwavering insistence on correct education for everyone. But it is her competitive success that insures the presentation of this Hall of Fame honor.

[During the Let’s Ride Dressage Symposium] I was brought to tears, when Hilda Gurney was presented with the CDS Honors Club Award. During the presentation of her award, the audience was asked the following questions: Have you ever attended a clinic with Hilda Gurney? Have you ever taken a lesson with Hilda Gurney? Have you ever been judged by Hilda Gurney? Have you ever been in the warm up arena with Hilda Gurney? The crowd erupted in applause and cheers, because we realized that almost all of us could say yes! She is truly a legend!

Robin Davidson

Hilda’s name graces the history lines of many of the CDS Championship trophies with, at last count, 23 different horses. Before the current day version of the CDS Championship show, Hilda participated in and dominated the original CDS Annual shows and was no stranger to national awards. For example, in 1969 Hilda won the National Three-Day Event Advanced Division Championship AND the AHSA Western American Perpetual Second and Third Level Championships BOTH with Flag’s Elf. That same year, Flag’s Elf earned the CDS Second Level Championship and, not missing a beat, was the CDS Champion in the Hunter Division. Yes, hunter classes were necessary for financial success of the early CDS Annual shows. Didit, the “real” dressage horse for whom Flag’s Elf so ably substituted in 1969 returned to conquer Fourth Level in 1970.

All of you, I know, are aware of Keen– the horse that helped put his rider and US dressage on the international map – an achievement made all the more special because Keen was American born and bred. If you did not have the pleasure of seeing him live… all that you have heard is true. He was bigger than life. In 1975 Keen and Hilda won the Team Gold and Silver Individual medals at the Pan American Games. The following year, Keen and Hilda lead the US to a team bronze at the Bromont Olympic games. Hilda retired the USET’s National Open Dressage Championship trophy by winning her third consecutive title in 1977. That same year she was named Martini and Rossi Horsewoman of the Year by the AHSA (USEF). Keen continued to excel: in 1978 he was on the US team for the World Championships held at Goodwood. Hilda and Keen placed 9th in the Grand Prix, 7th in the Special and 7th overall at these Championships.

Another haul east to earn a team slot for another major event (we have lost count of the number of trips)— the 1979 Pan American Games in Puerto Rico where Keen won the individual and team gold medals. Ten years later Hilda donated to CDS her Pan American gold medal in memory of Keen. It is awarded annually at the Championship Show to the horse/rider combination that earns the highest combined score for Grand Prix and a freestyle.

After suffering a debilitating condition that kept him out of competition for several years, Keen miraculously recovered so that Hilda could compete in her second Olympic Games — this time in L.A. in front of her “hometown fans”. Being the highest scoring American horse and rider, they were named the AHSA and USET Grand Prix Champions for 1984. All told, they won the USET National Grand Prix Championship six times.

Hilda additionally won a Pan American Games Silver Medal on Chrysos in 1983 and she represented the North American League at the 1991 World Cup on Willy theGreat. She has won CDS Horse of the Year on a number of horses, including but not necessarily limited to: Chronos, Condor, Willy the Great, Lavinia, Leonidas, Cabriolet. If all that is not enough, Hilda’s Keenridge facility was one of the earlier proponents and supporters of US dressage breeding programs. Hilda and Keen demonstrated that dressage was within reach on the horses that were available as European importation was in its infancy and not a viable option for most at that time. As for the breeding programs, although started…well, it takes years. We had Hilda and Keen to inspire us. We were not deluded that a Keen clone was out there waiting for us and indeed, most of us would not have been able to unwrap and showcase his talents – but we could participate in or observe the same shows, the same clinics that increasingly became part of the calendar. Dressage as a training tool to develop a happier, more comfortable horse and rider interaction seemed validated.

Truly, Hilda is an American treasure and CDS has benefitted from her enthusiasm, knowledge and unbridled energy. CDS’s early years, especially, would have been less dynamic and growth much slower without her unwavering support.

Both Hilda and Keen are USDF Hall of Fame honorees. It is long overdue for CDS to name Hilda Gurney to the inaugural CDS Honors Club 2023 class. Thank you Hilda!