Tag: United States Lipizzan Federation

The stunning Lipizzan! We are celebrating them as our September Breed of the Month on YourDressage! Dressage riders who choose Lipizzans as their mounts are...

The stunning Lipizzan! We are celebrating them as our September Breed of the Month on YourDressage! Dressage riders who choose Lipizzans as their mounts are eligible...

There are certain memories from my childhood that stand out. From my earliest moments in life, I remember being totally obsessed with horses. By the time I came along, my parents had started to build a farm in South Carolina with some acreage, raised cows, and procured a couple of pasture puff horses that were mostly feral. I rode every chance I could. My mind was constantly daydreaming of a certain racing Arabian black stallion (thanks Walter Farley) and numerous dancing grey Lipizzaners in formation from Miracle of the White Stallions!

As we built our partnership, we accumulated a number of accomplishments, but I would have to say our greatest accomplishment was obtaining all six USDF Rider Medals and USDF Freestyle Bars together - all before I turned 21. We are one of only a small number of US riders to accomplish this feat in general, let alone an even smaller group to do so at such a young age and all on one horse.

Back in 2008, a Florida breeder of Lipizzans for 40 years welcomed a bay colt into their Lipizzan family. He was the only non-gray Lipizzan foal born to this breeder, and he was promptly named Chester. Tradition requires male Lipizzans be named in a certain way for the registry, so Chester’s fancy name was Siglavy Presciana II-II (Siglavy Aga x Presciana II).   He was backed at five-and-a-half-years-old, and when I met him in 2015 at 7, he was a recently-gelded, sassy, but beautifully started 15.1 hand powerhouse.  It was love at first sight, and I had to buy him.

The stunning Lipizzan! We are celebrating them as our September Breed of the Month on YourDressage! For our USDF Flashback this week we take...