38 SIDELINES FEBRUARY 2014
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
Continued on page 40
By Lauren R. Giannini
When Sirtaki suffered what appeared to be a career-ending
injury in 2009, his adult amateur FEI-level owner-rider, Jeanne
Van Nuys-Hitt, did not give up. The small animal veterinarian
put her scientific mind to work alongside her passion for horses
to seek answers. She found them, thanks to the University of
Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Veterinary Center. Technological
advances and the power of love resulted in a miraculous recovery.
In February 2013 Sirtaki returned to competition, scoring 71
percent to win his Prix St. Georges class at his very first show, the
Global Dressage Festival National Show #4 in Wellington, Florida.
In fact, Sirtaki and Jeanne posted the highest PSG score of the
entire show.
“It was Sirtaki’s first test coming back from injury and it was
absolutely the thrill of a lifetime! I was overwhelmed with joy –
for Sirtaki to put in such a solid performance was beyond all my
e
Dressage
expectations,” Jeanne said. “He just kept getting better. During
the spring and summer, we won almost all of the Amateur Owner
Intermediare 1 classes we entered. We also qualified and showed
successfully in the small tour at Dressage at Devon.”
At the NEDA Fall Dressage Festival in Saugerties, Sirtaki
and Jeanne won the ABIG/USDF AA Intermediare 1 Region 8
Championship on a score of 70 percent, which qualified them for
the inaugural U.S. Dressage Finals at Kentucky Horse Park where
they placed third nationally in the AA I-1. “For an amateur, riding at
the U.S. Dressage Finals was both an honor and a thrill,” admitted
Jeanne. “Riding in the Alltech Arena for my national championship
class and placing third was like riding in the Olympics. The arena
was spectacular with all the stadium seating, flowers, flags and
even TV cameras.”
Portrait of a champion.
Photo by Kerry Hitt
Sirtaki
Comes
Back A
Champion
