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20 SIDELINES JULY 2011 FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE H O R S E S H O W

On Course with Katherine Schmidt

By Jan Westmark-Allan

Katherine Schmidt recently graduated to the ranks of “adult” rider, taking with her fond memories of her pony and junior rider career. Katherine rides at Andre Dignelli’s Heritage Farm in Katonak, New York, and said it was the perfect place to fnish out her junior career.

“There are many reasons to love riding at Heritage but what I fnd most appealing is the intoxicating feeling of dedication. Everyone there eats, sleeps and breathes horses. When you are surrounded by a group of such hard-working individuals, it pushes you to become dedicated and motivated as well. I really admire the teamwork, meticulous care, training, and management that runs the farm on a day to day basis,” she said.

Katherine, who lives in Ridgefeld Connecticut made the decision to defer college for a year to focus on riding in the Big Equitation classes, a decision she is pleased with.” Whether I decide to make horses my life or my hobby after college is something that I am still unsure of, but it is my goal to have horses in my life forever. They have created so much happiness for me that I cannot imagine not having them in my future.”

Sidelines: How did you start your riding career?

KS: I rode before I could walk. My mother has ridden her whole life up until a few years ago, and she had my sisters and me riding around in the backyard from the beginning. From there, the three of us started to take real riding lessons and I never stopped.

Sidelines: Did you have a favorite pony during your pony days?

KS: My favorite was my large pony, Dapper Dan’s Royal Arrival, or Willy as we called him. He got me started competing on the A circuit. In 2004, he was USEF Zone 1 Reserve Champion Large Children’s Pony Hunter and 4th in the Large Greens the following year. There were many project ponies that I rode as well. I loved watching them progress and I still see them out showing today.  After selling Willy, I showed my younger sister’s medium pony until I found a horse to buy.

Sidelines: Did you have any challenging ponies along the way?

KS: Willy was such a cheeky pony. His favorite trick to pull was the infamous “drive by.” If I missed a distance, he would always make sure I knew it loud and clear by ducking out to the left side of the jump. It was always to the left. At the end of our two years together, I got really good at keeping Willy on the right side of the fence and avoided jumping up his neck at the long distance, which was always the kiss of death. Another pony that still lives in my backyard has launched me to the ground more than any other horse or pony. Her name is Powder Puff and she is a very sassy chestnut small pony. One day, I was riding her around on the lawn hopping over makeshift jumps built out of swimming noodles and watering cans. After landing off of one of the frst few jumps, she decided to immediately dive for the grass. The next thing I knew, my saddle and I had gone over her head. The girth was so loose that her desperate lunge toward the grass had sent me plunging

face frst onto the lawn, seat still in the saddle and feet still in the irons. Because of Powder Puff’s trickery that day, I have been sure to check my girth before getting on ever since.  

Sidelines : You ride at Heritage Farm with Andre Dignelli, Patricia Griffth and Laena Romond, do you train with anyone else?

KS: I have also been riding with Darren Graziano for almost six years. I have spent countless hours riding various horses with him over the years. I truly appreciate all the advice he has given me and the knowledge I have learned on the easy horses, diffcult horses, young horses and all the horses in between.

Sidelines: Do you own any horses?

KS: I own one horse, Leo, a 13-year-old Westphalian who my parents purchased in 2006. I showed him in the Children’s Hunters and three-foot medals for a year before moving up to the 3’6” equitation. My younger sister, Chloe, now rides Leo and competes in the equitation. We were lucky to fnd such a useful horse that got both my sister and me started in the equitation.

Sidelines: What would you consider the highlight of your riding career?

KS: Qualifying and competing in the ASPCA Maclay Finals, USEF Medal Finals and USEF Talent Search Finals for the last three years are defnitely some of the highlights of my career. I also qualifed and showed at the Washington Equitation Finals last year. Being able to compete in a national level fnal is a victory in itself and I am proud to say I have been able to do so for the last few years. I also fnished 2nd in the 2010 New England Equitation Finals, 4th in the 2010 Zone 2 Maclay Regionals, 5th in the 2010 USHJA Hunterdon Cup Equitation Classic, 8th in the 2010 George Morris Excellence in Equitation Classic and I fnished 14th on the USA Equitation Computer Ranking List in 2010. I also ribboned in the equitation at Devon in 2009 and 2010 as well as competed successfully in the junior hunters and junior jumpers over the past few years.

Katherine and Powder Puff, a pony that taught her to tighten her girth! Photo by Chloe Schmidt