SIGN IN YOUR ACCOUNT TO HAVE ACCESS TO DIFFERENT FEATURES

FORGOT YOUR PASSWORD?

FORGOT YOUR DETAILS?

AAH, WAIT, I REMEMBER NOW!

Sidelines MagazineSidelines Magazine

  • LOGIN
  • Home
  • Current Issue
  • Subscriptions
    • Flipbook
    • Subscribe Options
    • Order Individual & Back Issues
  • Podcast
  • Marketplace
    • Business Ads
    • Directories
      • Barns, Farms, Trainers & Clubs
      • Equestrian Services
      • Real Estate
      • Stallions
      • Tack & Feed Stores
    • Classifieds
    • Horse Trailers for Sale
  • Advertise
  • Blogs
    • Show World
    • What’s Happenin’
  • Partners
  • Contacts
    • Contacts
    • Employment
0
Monday, April 09 2018 / Published in General

Rosie Simoes: Winning With Your Best Friend

Rosie Julian-Simoes and Rankrado

By Doris Degner-Foster

Portraits by Isabel J. Kurek

Rosie Julian-Simoes liked the first horse she tried on a buying trip to Holland so much that it was hard to consider other horses. Never mind that Rosie is just aging out of Young Riders at age 22, and that horse was a 13-year-old stallion — he was the one for her.

“Of course, it’s a risk buying a stallion but my mother has had experience with stallions in the past, and was part of a breeding program,” Rosie said. “She felt confident bringing him in and I felt confident knowing that we had the team around us to take care of him.”

A 2004 Grand Prix Licensed German Sport Horse Stallion, Rankrado’s good manners and talent made him the obvious choice for Rosie, plus the fact that the two really clicked when she rode him. “He can act like a stallion at times,” Rosie said. “But I never feel he puts me in danger in any way.”

Rosie has a good connection with Rankrado (nicknamed Blocky) and takes him out to graze and rides him on the buckle hacking around the barn. She is glad to have the opportunity to work with a stallion at her young age, feeling that she can benefit from that experience in her riding career.

Rosie, with Rankrado in Wellington, Florida, is a USDF gold, silver and bronze medalist

Family Business

Rosie is a USDF bronze, silver and gold medalist based in Barrington Hills, Illinois, at Flying Dutchman Farm with her mother, Julie A. Julian, also a USDF bronze, silver and gold medalist, who has trained many riders and horses to the FEI levels.

Although Rosie’s mom is her trainer, they don’t have many of the typical mother-daughter issues. “When I’m at the barn I don’t see her as my mom … I see her as my trainer,” Rosie said. “We definitely have a professional relationship, and we leave personal stuff out of the barn; we focus on the horses when we’re with them.”

That way of thinking developed over time as Rosie took on the role of working student in her mother’s business as a teen. Her job was to make sure everything ran smoothly behind the scenes while Julie was teaching or riding. They work well together as a team, which has developed into a mutual respect for each other.

“Our business at Flying Dutchman Farm is pretty small. It’s an 18-stall barn, and we typically have just 15 horses in the stable so that we have a few stalls for trailer-in lessons,” Rosie said. “We have two large fields for retirement or young horses so in total we usually have about 20 to 25 horses. It’s not too large of an operation but just enough for us to be able to handle. Because it’s a small barn, everybody in the barn is in some kind of training program.”

In the Beginning

Rosie began riding ponies as a kid in a relaxed, fun way. Not a daringly bold child, the jumpers weren’t for her. “One of my earliest memories of riding was when I was probably 4 years old, and we used to go out on trail rides,” Rosie remembered. “The whole barn would go, and we would pack a picnic. I remember sitting out in the woods after we’d tied up our horses and eating a sandwich with my pony.”

Rosie and Rankrado taking home the GAIG/USDF Region2 Intermediare 1 Open Championship with a 70.239%
Photo by John Borys Photography

That low-pressure, fun beginning worked well for Rosie and at age 10, she won the Region 2 Championships in the First Level freestyle with a score of over a 70 percent on a small Welsh Cob pony named Major. “I got be on the cover of USDF magazine with George Williams, since he won the Grand Prix freestyle,” Rosie remembered. “Then at my first North American Championships, I went to the USDF building for a meeting and there was a poster of that cover there. That was

Rankrado, a 2004 Grand Prix Licensed German Sport Horse Stallion, was the first horse Rosie tried on a buying trip to Holland.

pretty special … I should have gotten a selfie with it!”

That success and others like it in local shows and regional competitions led to her competing her mother’s horse Proteus, an 18-hand Danish Warmblood they’d owned since he was just turning 3 years old. Rosie began riding him when he was 5 and she was 13. In spite of his size, he was extremely gentle and she frequently rode him bareback around the farm and galloped him between competitions.

She competed Proteus at the North American Junior and Young Rider Championships as a junior and twice as a young rider with steady improvement, earning top 10 placings as she solidified her relationship with the Danish Warmblood. “Everything slowly built with our career together. There were a lot of steps that just made sense,” Rosie said of riding him to the Intermediaire 1 level. “It was nice to just develop as a rider with him.”

However, it was disappointing that they had to retire Proteus because of soundness issues. “The plan was to go into the U25 Grand Prix division, but we made the decision to let him just step back and rest, even though he was young,” Rosie said. “He had too many physical problems to be able to compete in the grand prix even though he understood the movements.”

Rosie and Rankrado, at Majestic Farm in Ohio, are joined by three members of the Rankrado LLC. From the left, Melissa Hovey, Julie Julian and Kaycee Coles.
Photo courtesy of Rosie Simoes

Developing Skills

Although the decision was made to retire Proteus, Rosie was at a good point in her career since she’d taken every opportunity to develop her skill set. In addition to competing with Proteus in the North American Junior Young Rider Championships, she was also a member of the USDF Youth Programs Advisory Subcommittee, Lendon Gray’sEmerging Dressage Athlete program and Dressage4Kids.

In 2015, Rosie was chosen to travel to and observe the European Dressage Championships with the Dressage Foundation’s International Dream Program, where she and three other young riders traveled to the European Championships in Aachen, Germany. “We were not only able to watch the competition, but we also spoke with top professionals,” Rosie remembered.

In fall 2016, Rosie participated in a rider exchange program with three other young professional riders to travel to the Hannoveraner Verband in Verden, Germany, from mid-September to mid-November, during the “Golden Autumn,” for several auctions. The young riders became part of the team of rider-grooms who worked with the Hannoveraner Verband. Part of the program included excursions to surrounding landmarks like the State Stud in Celle and the Horse Museum in Verden and visits to local breeders.

“When I was there, my mother came over for the last auction. Then we went from Germany to Holland with my mother’s friend Charlotte Bayley to meet up with Jan Brower, who helped us find Rankrado. It was a such a great experience,” Rosie said. “We started in Germany and we looked at a few horses with Jan. Although they were lovely, they didn’t seem like the right fit, so we continued to Holland. Rankrado was the first horse we tried there and it made it tough to look at other horses.”

Once they were home in Illinois, Rosie worked hard developing her relationship with the stallion. During the winter season in Wellington, she does all the grooming, mucking out of his stall and hand walking him, which strengthens their bond out of the saddle. She feeds him his favorite treat of a banana and he has a little stuffed horse that he likes to groom when Rosie is grooming him. “I think there are so many small moments throughout the day, whether it’s scratching him or feeding him a banana,” Rosie said. “It’s the culmination of all those moments beyond the riding that make our relationship meaningful.”

Giving Back

In addition to her mother’s coaching, Rosie is in training with David Marcus of Marcus Fyffe Dressage while wintering in Wellington and is helping with Lendon Gray’s Winter Intensive Program and its offshoot, Dressage4Kids. “I’ve been in Dressage4Kids since 2011 when I did my first clinic with Lendon. Since she has opened so many doors, not just for me but for so many young riders, I try to find as many opportunities as I can to give back,” Rosie said.

Being successful in competition is not Rosie’s only long-term goal. “I’d like to have some kind of training operation that’s well running, with a great group of clients and horses that I can continue to bring up the levels,” Rosie said. “But, at the end of the day, it’s about the time spent with the horses. Of course you’re going to remember winning and the great feeling that comes with it, but horses have so much more to offer us. Horses can be such wonderful friends, and when you have that bond and a great show, it’s like you’re winning with your best friend.”

Photos by Isabel J. Kurek, unless otherwise noted

 

Double D Trailers Info

Tagged under: Doris Degner-Foster, Dressage4Kids, isabel j. kurek, Rosie Simoes

What you can read next

Pony Tails: Day 2 From Pony Finals
Hunters Claim Center Stage During Opening Day of Alltech National Horse Show
Ben Maher and Cella Capture $100,000 Fidelity Investments® CSI 2* Grand Prix

Download Sidelines Digital now from your favorite app store!

Sidelines Magazine - Apple store   Sidelines Magazine - Google Play store   Sidelines Magazine - Amazon store
Update iOS app. Re-download Google Play and Amazon app.

Follow on Instagram!

sidelines_magazine

Sidelines Magazine
It's finally Spring🌷🌻☀️! Get your barn s It's finally Spring🌷🌻☀️! Get your barn set up with a Pyranha SprayMaster Misting System. 
✅Provides whole barn insect control! 
✅Easy to install with basic tools!
✅Electric pump & programmable automatic timer!

Get yours today!
@pyranhalife

#pyranhalife #madeintheusa #pyranha #equestrian #horselife #horselifestyle #barncare
Marie Meyers has been around the world because of Marie Meyers has been around the world because of dressage, but it’s her farm in Moorpark, California, that has captured her heart. The farm and the business that thrives there represent Marie’s lifelong journey—a journey made up of good friends, spectacular horses and relationships made to last.

Marie was raised in Southern California, and spent her childhood playing just about every sport under the sun, but she didn’t discover riding until she was 14 years old. “I loved animals so much, so I started taking lessons. I did jumping at first, but I was very bad at that, for sure!” Marie laughed.

After some time, Marie moved on to take lessons at Foxfield Riding Academy and began riding dressage. “I fell into dressage by accident,” Marie said, “At the beginning, I thought it was extremely boring, but then I got hooked. By the time I graduated from high school, I had plans to travel to England to work for Franz Rochowansky, a former head of the Spanish Riding School.”

In 1988, Marie’s hard work paid off, and the pair was selected as alternates for the 1988 Summer Olympic Games. “They didn’t take the alternates that year, so we didn’t go to Seoul, but the experience, the training and the European Tour afterwards set me up for the 1990 World Equestrian Games in Stockholm, Sweden,” Marie said.

In addition to having success representing her country, Marie was busy with her life—marriage, a business, teaching lessons and clinics. 

Learn more about Marie in this month's edition of Sidelines Magazine. Click the link in our bio for more 🦄

📸Photos by Lindsey Long Equine Photography, www.lindseylong.com

#dressage #equestrian #horse #horses #horsesofinstagram #dressagehorse #equestrianlife #showjumping #horseriding #equine #pony #pferd #instahorse #dressur #horselove #eventing #equestrianstyle #cheval #dressagerider #horselife #horselover #pferde #love #riding #jumping #pferdeliebe #horseofinstagram #horsebackriding #paard #dressurpferd
We are starting a ‼️new series‼️ here on o We are starting a ‼️new series‼️ here on our socials where we share some of the lovely stallions, and their breeders featured in each month's magazine. Our first feature on this #STUDSunday is...

 ✨ALVESTA OWAIN✨
Thistledown Arctic Lore x Alvesta Fairy Lustre
13.1hh, Welsh section B
Stud Fee $750 (plus collection)
AI only and EVA negative
Fairfield, VA

Contact Cheryl Maye at (703) 431-9096 for more information
https://www.mayeshowponies.com/more-info/stallions

You can find ALL of the stallions featured towards the back of the magazine in the equestrian gallery. Keep a look out EVERY Sunday for a new handsome STUD muffin🧁 and don't forget to subscribe to get your very own edition of Sidelines Magazine, the magazine for horse people, about horse people 🦄

📸  SAS Equestrian
‼️ROB JACOBS COLUMN‼️ The purpose of this ‼️ROB JACOBS COLUMN‼️

The purpose of this month’s column is to help the young equestrians of our sport develop and maintain healthy friendships within the industry. Cultivating healthy relationships with other members within the industry is not as easy as one may think. As a young equestrian, it may be difficult navigating friendships at the barn and at horse shows. Typically, kids have friendships within the barn they ride at but also friendships with others from different barns in their area. 

Initially, it may seem as though making other friends in the sport would be easy and ideal; after all, there is the common interest of horses. However, because of the natural therapeutic benefits of horses, the sport has a history of attracting all types of people, with a wide range of personalities. This can be both an advantage and a drawback. We are now in an era that acknowledges the growing need to discuss and manage one’s mental health. 

One thing I have learned is that we are likely to notice mental health challenges at an age younger than most people may think. Some of the friendship dynamics I have observed over the years have caused me to pause and really think about the future of our sport. Without looking for a source to blame for the cause of this, i.e. social media, parents, school, teachers, etc., I think if all adults involved worked to encourage, affirm, love, and respect our youth, the likelihood of them developing authentic friendships with their peers may increase.

Both humans and horses were designed to have connected relationships. These relationships allow a greater sense of security when one experiences challenges in life. Cultivating the quality and authenticity of these relationships requires intentional work. 

Thank you Rob for providing your helpful insight on developing healthy relationships. Check out his tips in his column you can find in the link in our bio.
Never miss a story by subscribing to Sidelines Magazine🦄 

Photo by Blenheim Equisports

#horse #horses #horsesofinstagram #equestrian #horseriding #equine #hunterjumper #equestrianlife #horselove #dressage #sidelinesmagzine
Load More... Follow on Instagram

From Our Classifieds Ads

  • Dandy Products
    Padding and Flooring Specialists Over 30 Years of Experience Keeping your Equine Athletes Safer www.dandyproducts.net 513-625-3000 • dandypro@aol.com

    [Read more]

  • Allison Pras - Piney Glen Equine Rehabilitation
    Full Service Rehab Stable Heated barn, excellent footing Cameras, horse gym, Treadmill Laser, shockwave and more Colts Neck, NJ - 561-512-4022 Allison Pras - pineyglen1@aol.com Piney Glen is a full service Equine Rehabilitation stable that offers the best of care with A fully heated barn for the winter months,

    [Read more]

Sidelines Articles by Email

Subscribe to Sidelines Magazine Articles by Email

RSS Sidelines Blogs: What’s Happenin’

  • Get More for Your Money with an Adjustable-Rate Mortgage
  • Longines Global Champions Tour of New York Returns to Governors Island
  • A Paris Horse Adventure: Saut Hermes 2022

RSS Sidelines Blogs: Show World

  • Will Coleman Retains Yanmar America CCI4*-S Lead in Dramatic Show Jumping at Setters’ Run Farm Carolina International
  • First edition of the World Sport Horse Sales was a hit with $410.000 for the most expensive horse
  • Liz Halliday-Sharp Takes Third Victory in $50,000 Grand-Prix Eventing Festival at Bruce’s Field

Category

Recent Posts

  • April 2023 – Table of Contents

    Subscribe for just $9.95 or Order Individual Is...
  • Building a Bond With a New Horse

    By Margie Sugarman I just bought a new horse. I...
  • Developing Healthy Relationships With Your Barnmates

    By Rob Jacobs The purpose of this month’s colum...
  • The Value of Self-Coaching

    By Liz Halliday-Sharp The sport of eventing is ...
  • Unbridled With Annette Longenecker

    By Britney Grover  Annette Longenecker wasn’t j...

Copyright © 1987 - 2021 Sidelines Magazine
Privacy Policy · Returns & Refunds Policy · Hosting by Lucian Web Service
· Login

TOP
Get the Sidelines Scoop — your weekly look behind the scenes.Sign me up!