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30 SIDELINES APRIL 2013
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
that time, I was a rider coming from a hunter/jumper background,
and I had ridden Training level dressage work for a few years but
had never ventured beyond that. I had told Colleen that I would
be so happy to fnd a horse who could take me to Second level.
I took the risk and it turned out to have paid off in a big way.
With his teeth done, a full round of ulcer medication, and a good
saddle ft, as well as love and consistent training, Kenny turned
out to be above and beyond the dressage horse I wanted back in
2007. We began taking lessons with Maryal Barnett, a USEF ‘S’
dressage judge, not long after Kenny came home. Maryal, looking
back on those frst lessons now, said that she was at times almost
unsure of what to do with us because Kenny was so wild. In 2008,
we showed Training Level and Kenny helped me earn my USDF
Training Level Rider Award that frst summer showing.
In 2008 and 2009, we showed First and Second level, and in
2010, we moved up to Third Level. In that year, Kenny helped
me earn my USDF Bronze medal. The following year, in 2011,
we showed Fourth Level and won the Rood and Riddle/USEF
Thoroughbred in Sport Keen Award for Open Dressage. This
award honors Thoroughbred ex-racehorses in dressage and is
named for Hilda Gurney’s famous Thoroughbred Keen, who was
her Olympic horse. This past summer, we won that same award
for the second time in a row for showing at Fourth Level and riding
our debut rides at Prix St. Georges.
Locally, we also won the Dressage at Waterloo Series Finale
Third Level adult amateur Reserve Champion in 2010 and the
Series Finale Fourth Level adult amateur Champion in 2011 and
2012. My little Thoroughbred who wouldn’t stop bucking also won
me the scores to complete the USDF L Judges program, which I
graduated from in September of last year. This upcoming summer
of 2013, we will once again attempt Prix St. Georges and I have
great hopes we will earn the USDF Silver medal.
All of this, of course, didn’t come without struggle and diffculty.
Many of my friends who have watched us from the beginning
remember Kenny’s frst few years at shows where bucking
throughout the test was the norm. Or the Dressage at Waterloo
series championship where the crowd applauded our Fourth Level
adult amateur champion award and Kenny bucked and bolted.
And then there was the test in 2008 where the judge wrote, and I
quote, “Maybe your horse needs a different career.”
I would encourage anyone interested in an off the track
Thoroughbred that these horses aren’t horses that you can just
ride once a week and have a go at dressage with. They take a lot
of work, and there are a lot of failed rides. But the good rides are
good. And of course, there is never a dull moment with Kenny.
When we had a clinic with Jan Ebeling (2012 Olympic rider
of Rafalca fame) in November of this past year, he said we had
things to work on, but they were fxable. Further, Jan said that we
should not only be able to show Prix St. Georges in the spring but
that if we fxed our issues we should be able to score in the mid-
60’s. Not too bad for a horse that New Vocations warned might
only be a pasture pet forever!
About the writer: Shari Wolke lives in Okemos, Michigan, and is an adjunct
instructor at Olivet College in Olivet, Michigan. There she teaches courses in Writing
and Rhetoric. She recently graduated from the USDF L Program, and is also a USDF
Bronze medalist. She judges and shows throughout Michigan.
In the ribbons: with his racing (and bucking) days behind him,
Kenny has a new job – dressage star.
Shari Wolke and her rescued Thoroughbred Lord Kenmer,
known as Kenny.