30 SIDELINES JUNE 2014
FORHORSEPEOPLE • ABOUTHORSEPEOPLE
hard trainingwill slowly taper.
The San Diego Chapter of California Dressage Society was
so supportive. Unbeknownst to me, they arranged an additional
rose ribbonandpresentedmewitha chapter jacket with theback
saying “2014CenturyRider.”
This has truly been a thrill for me. But for the opportunity to
qualify for the Century Club, I would never have taken Estate
to this – or any – show, and would never have experienced this
magical ride. I’m sogladwedid!
Larry is 72 and Estate is 28. Their Century Club ride took
placeonFebruary8, 2014 inSanDiego,California. Inaddition
togetting their highest scoreever, Larryalso receivedanine
for Rider Position. CongratulationsLawrence andEstate.
About thewriter: Larryandhiswife, Sarah, have lived inEscondido,California (30
miles north of San Diego) for the past 25+ years. Since retiring in 2010, Larry has
becomea full-timeamateur equestrian, riding5-6daysaweek. Theyhave two sons,
and three grandchildren. An avid skier, Larry gets up to themountains for aweek or
more eachwinter.
e
NeverTooOld
By LawrenceCampbell
An attorney in corporate practice, I began to ride in 1996 at the
urgingofmywife, SarahFischer, whohad longbeen interested in
dressage. I found it to be a wonderful way to release the stress-
es of work and travel, and soon became serious inmy efforts to
learnand improve.My first horsewasawonderful Arabian, but he
wasn’t good at dressage.
Egaliet was imported fromHolland in 1997, and acquired soon
after by Sarah as her ride. In registering him, she changed his
name to “Estate.” Estate is a direct son of AMOR, one of the five
founding stallions of the current Dutch Warmblood breedline. In
2002, my skills had developed to where I could ride Estate, and
Sarah moved to another horse. We began to show in 2004 and
continued through 2009. The highest markwe ever receivedwas
a 64.
At the end of 2009, I retired as an attorney and began a new
career as a full-time “amateur equestrian.” I began riding Estate
five days a week. He continued to be a wonderful teacher and
made it quite clear, in spiteof advancingage, heneededhis daily
ride—whichwere full lessons, not just trail rides.
Last spring I realized we might be able to do a Century Ride
if Estate continued to retain his health. This, however, proved to
be a challenge. Estate got a bad case of laminitis and foundered
inMay, and came close to having his career end. With help from
his vet and farrier, he slowly recovered. In a demonstration of his
toughness, after the first 30 days of handwalking only on his “re-
built” foot, hemade it clear hewanted to get back towork...which
hedidwitha revised re-built hoof surroundinghisweakenedhoof
structure. In the fall, hesuddenlydroppedweight—another scare
—but soon recoveredand regainedbothweight and lostmuscle.
Our Century Club ride was part of the first Chapter show of
the year in San Diego. Estate was both amped and excited, but
unlike any time before, he listened and was responsive to aids.
Somehow he was a different horse – for the better. We did a
practice ride on Friday, and he was very forward and listening,
while showing all the nervous energy of his old self. We chose
to take him home for the evening and returned on Saturday. The
warm-upwaswithout incident, and it continued tobe clear hewas
working at a different level.
The test ride was trulymagical. Estate seemed to know it was
his last show andwas at his best. At one point in the early canter
(movement 8) along thewall between K and E, he did a change,
and after 2 strides (they were great 2-tempis) changed back to
the correct lead. Not sure why, but my suspicion was he wanted
to show us he could still do more advanced moves. (The judge
noted: “Pop changeb/4E, good quality.”)
In the end, what started as a “just have fun” ride turned into a
magical moment for us both. The ride was unlike any I’ve ever
experienced. Asnoted, Estatewaswell aheadofmy leg, listening
andvery responsive.Asa result, thescore (72.568)wasby far the
highest I’ve ever received.
In fact, it was a clean sweep.Wewon the class, andwonHigh
Point for theshow forAATraining thruLevel Four! I can’t thinkof a
betterway for Estate toendhisactivedressageand show career.
I’ll continue to ride him as long as he’s healthy, but his days of
Larry andEstate
Photo courtesy of LawrenceCampbell
TheDressageFoundation’sCenturyClub is a program designed to honor senior dressage riders and their senior horses. To become amember,
theages of the horse and ridermust add up to at least 100 years and theymust ride any level dressage test before a judge or dressage
professional. Formore information on theDressageFoundation, please visit
AMagical CenturyClubRide
