42 SIDELINES FEBRUARY 2014
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
By Sue Weakley
Canadian grand prix dressage rider Diane Creech will be very
busy during the 2014 show season in Wellington, Florida. With five
horses owned by Doug and Louise Leatherdale of Leatherdale
Farms competing at various levels, Diane will ride an array of tests
on a palette of colorful horses this winter - her fourth season in
Wellington.
Diane, of Caistor Centre, Ontario, is no stranger to the highest
levels of dressage competition. She contributed to the Canadian
team’s silver medal at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio
de Janeiro, Brazil, and was named the alternate for Canada’s
Olympic team in 2012. Now, with impressive recent results on
her grand prix horse Devon L and a number of promising horses
coming up through the ranks, Diane is poised for a strong season.
She and Devon L, a 13-year-old chestnut Hanoverian gelding,
made headlines in November, 2013 when they won the $20,000
Royal Invitational Dressage Cup at the Royal Horse Show in
Toronto, Ontario. Diane and Devon L started the competition with
a second place finish behind David Marcus and Chrevi’s Capital
in the grand prix. In the grand prix freestyle, Diane and Devon L
e
Dressage
took it up a notch, earning a score of 75.417 percent that secured
the win of the coveted Canadian prize.
Diane is hoping to use the winter show season to rack up some
qualifying scores on Devon L for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian
Games 2014 in Normandy, France. “This year is an important
year as far as preparation for the Games,” she said. “That’s our
main goal: to be on the World Equestrian Games team.” After their
successful 2013 season, which included top finishes in several
North American CDI competitions, they will be key contenders for
a position on Canada’s team.
Not only will she ride the handsome chestnut Devon L during
the Wellington season, but she also has a gray, a black and two
bays in her rainbow horse lineup. “I have a few really good young
horses coming up,” Diane said. “Florida is a perfect place to bring
the young ones. The shows are just around the corner.”
The gray, Robbie W, is a 10-year-old Oldenburg gelding by
Rubin Royale. “I’m also going to start him in the national grand
prix this winter,” Creech said. “He’s a really honest, wonderful,
spectacular horse.” She laughed and added that Robbie is very
chatty and always greets her with a nicker. “He talks a lot. When I
have a conversation with him, he will always talk back. It’s fun to
have him around because he really communicates.”
The black is Hallmark 3, a nine-year-old Hanoverian by the
Leatherdales’ late stallion His Highness. “He did the small tour
for two years,” Diane said. “He is starting to do all the grand prix
work and I think he’s almost ready. He’s a year younger than the
other two, so I think I’m going to give him another year’s time to
get stronger.”
Diane and Hallmark 3’s 2013 season was highlighted by small
tour wins at the Angelstone International CDI3* in Rockwood,
Diane Creech:
Ready to Rock
We l l i n g t o n
Diane and Devon L’s extensions help them claim first in the
Grand Prix Freestyle at the $20,000 Royal Invitational Dressage
Cup.
Photo by Ben Radvanyi
Diane and Devon L at the jog during the 2012 London Olympics.
Photo by SusanJStickle.com
