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Wednesday, August 12 2020 / Published in Sidelines Feature

Deborah Ettenger: A Special Horse Changes Lives

By Doris Degner-Foster

Deborah Ettenger knows firsthand how the power of horses can help people, as she dealt with both physical and mental challenges. When her late husband was battling cancer and subsequently passed away, Deborah credits horses and riding with helping her persevere. “Going to the barn and focusing on me and the horse got me through it,” she said. “I learned to never give up; to try and stay positive.”

However, riding presented challenges on its own. After a serious fall, Deborah had decided to quit riding and sold her horse, but she couldn’t stay away from the barn and was soon leasing another horse. The experienced horse that she leased gave her the confidence she needed, and in 2018 she was ready to be a horse owner again.

Deborah searched for a horse that would help her maintain her self-confidence, and found a horse that exceeded her expectations. That special horse also helped to change her son’s life. 

Early Equine Influence

Deborah’s son Devon was diagnosed at age 10 with Asperger Syndrome, a mild form of autism that is characterized by an inability to understand how to interact socially and also may include clumsy and uncoordinated motor movements, in addition to problems with processing thoughts. 

At about the time of that diagnosis, a skiing accident tore Devon’s anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his knee. Surgical repairs had to be postponed because the surgery could damage the growth plates in his bones. Until those repairs could be made, a type of exercise was needed that would avoid any side to side movement of his knee.

“Since I had a horse, I asked the doctor about riding and was told it would be a good form of exercise for him, so he started riding and taking lessons,” Deborah remembered. “He liked the activity and the interaction with horses so much that we soon got him a horse he named Got Milk.”

Devon made good progress in his lessons and was soon competing in the local schooling shows near their home in Centennial, Colorado. “Riding seemed to help him with his thought processes and it appeared that the movement of the horse helped him make more connections to what was going on around him,” Deborah said. “It was not only physical but mental therapy for him.”

When he outgrew Got Milk, Devon moved on to other interests and became very involved with the Boy Scouts, achieving Eagle Scout rank. He graduated from high school and although he has some limitations, he works in a job that he enjoys. 

Finding That Special Horse

Deborah had ridden successfully in amateur owner hunter competition before her serious fall. After taking some time off and starting back slowly with the experienced horse she’d leased, Deborah had regained her confidence, and it helped that she scaled down to the lower jumps in the stirrup hunter division when she returned to showing. At that point, she was ready to be a horse owner again but she needed a special horse that could help her maintain that confidence. 

The Colorado Horse Park near her home has shows during several weeks of the summer, as well as during the spring and fall, and Deborah wanted a horse that could be competitive in that type of company. She and her trainer, Karen Cranham of Cobblestone Riding Club in Parker, Colorado, had kept in touch with Mindy Coretz of Tulsa, Oklahoma, whom they met when she came to the Colorado Horse Park. They reached out to her and made plans to go to Oklahoma to try some horses at Mindy’s farm. 

After riding a few horses, Deborah rode a beautiful dapple grey Zweibrucker mare named Casina. Mindy explained that the mare was available only for lease since her rider had gone away to college and the family loved the mare and wasn’t interested in selling her. “I said that I really was afraid of leasing because I knew just from being on her that I would fall in love with her,” Deborah said. “Mindy called the owners and spoke on my behalf. She said that we would be the perfect place for Casina to go, and they changed their minds and sold her to us.”

Deborah had come full circle moving away from riding then back again, so she decided to change Casina’s show name to Full Circle. Showing in stirrup hunters in 2019, Deborah won the Colorado Hunter Jumper Association Stirrup Hunter Champion and the USHJA 2’6” Hunter Champion.

A Special Connection

When Devon met Casina, the mare had a strong reaction. Karen was on hand and saw their meeting. She remembered, “It was an immediate bond for sure, she just put her head right in his chest. Devon has such a soft way around the horses; he’s a very soft spoken person and they just go to him. He’s very gentle and Casina just loved him right off the bat.” 

Although Devon hadn’t been interested in riding in over 10 years, he wanted to ride Casina. The mare seemed to adore him and packed him around happily. “I was concerned that she might not like being ridden by more of a beginner,” Deborah said, “but she didn’t care. She was absolutely fine with him.” 

Devon began jumping lessons on Casina and improved physically from riding with better muscle control and stronger legs, and also mentally as he could follow more complex directions. With his increased concentration levels, he is able to jump courses without going off course.

There was another benefit to coming back to the barn for Devon. “Since returning to riding, he seems to have an improvement in his overall well-being,” Deborah said. “He just adores 

Casina and smiles and grins from ear to ear when he sees her, rides her and spends time with her. We kid him that he has to stop smiling all the way around the ring in his lessons!”

Proving that horses can change lives, Devon says Casina makes him feel good and gives him incredible amounts of confidence, and that he loves her and trusts her totally. Plans are underway for Devon to show at schooling shows in Colorado.

Devon is truly in his element with Casina and Karen, who is also Devon’s trainer, said, “He doesn’t feel any pressure, and he doesn’t get nervous. He’s just out there doing his thing.”

Photos by White Fence Equine Photography

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Tagged under: equestrian, horses heal, overcoming, success-story

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Breeding season is underway at Iron Spring Farm! W Breeding season is underway at Iron Spring Farm! We're proud to offer exceptional modern Sporthorse stallions, with wonderful temperaments and quality gaits to North American breeders.
 
Among our stallions are Cum Laude and Kaiman. Cum Laude (Apache x Weltmeyer) is a winning FEI horse and sire of quality dressage horses, breed show champions, and offspring scoring 9.0s on gaits.
 
Kaiman (Dark Pleasure x Gribaldi) earned high scores at his stallion testing and in the young horse classes. He's also the sire of a Licensed Oldenburg stallion. Kaiman's first North American foal crop is arriving now and they are gorgeous!
 
If you're looking for top international bloodlines please check out our 2023 stallion collection, now available fresh, frozen, and by the dose.

Among our stallions are Cum Laude and Kaiman. Cum Laude (Apache x Weltmeyer) is a winning FEI horse and sire of quality dressage horses, breed show champions, and offspring scoring 9.0s on gaits.

Breeding season is underway at Iron Spring Farm! We're proud to offer exceptional modern Sporthorse stallions, with wonderful temperaments and quality gaits to North American breeders.

https://www.ironspringfarm.com/biolink/

@iron_spring_farm 

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❗️George Williams column❗️ The FEI World ❗️George Williams column❗️
The FEI World Cup Final in Omaha is coming up quickly. That means that it’s starting to heat 
up as the end of the qualifying period for both the Western European League (WEL) and the 
North American League (NAL) nears. I started to write this column before the Amsterdam CDI- W, and I was using the FEI Ranking List from January 15 as a reference. As I sit down to finish 
my column, I’m now looking at the results from Amsterdam. While the list of the top contenders 
for the WEL hasn’t changed, they’re definitely moving around on the ranking list. The WEL has 
three more legs, as they’re referred to: Neumünster February 16–19, Goteborg February 23–26, 
and ’s-Hertogenbosch March 9–12, and they could change things dramatically.
Looking at the top 12 athletes from the WEL as they were ranked on January 15, there are five 
from Germany, three from the Netherlands and one each from Great Britain, Denmark

➡️Read Georges's full column by clicking the link in our bio, and never miss an article by subscribing to Sidelines Magazine 🦄 

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Lisa Goldman-Smolen and Ivaro N strike gold in Gre Lisa Goldman-Smolen and Ivaro N strike gold in Great American $300,000 Grand Prix at HITS Ocala!! 🏆🥇

Crowds filled the stands at the HITS Ocala Grand Prix Ring on Sunday afternoon to watch the world’s top athletes compete in the Great American $300,000 Grand Prix. The day concluded with a thrilling five-horse jump-off featuring athletes 
representing four countries. In the end, it was Lisa Goldman-Smolen (USA) and Ivaro N who produced the only double clear effort of the day, claiming one of the biggest wins of her career. Scott Keach (AUS) and Noble De La Chapelle earned the second-place prize with the fastest 4-fault jump-off, while Aaron Vale (USA) and Obi Wan placed third as the day’s pathfinders.

“I'm still on cloud nine, I still can't believe it – I’ve used up all my luck for the year,” smiled Goldman-Smolen after her win. “I've been knocking on the door a long time in these bigger classes. I am so proud of my horse – he gave every ounce of effort.”

Sunday’s Great American $300,000 Grand Prix marked the conclusion of the 2023 HITS Ocala circuit. HITS CCO Joe Norick concluded, “We are so excited about the new HITS, with 2023 as the launch. New footing, many new arenas here, and a lot of our facilities across America are getting a lot of love and new footing. Our partnerships with Worldly Martin and others across America including our footing leader Bart Poles overseeing our operations – it really makes a big difference for us. Today is about Ocala and these three riders sitting next to me who supported us this entire winter. We want to be a proud destination for our exhibitors and our friends. We know we have to provide them a beautiful showplace to work from that's horseman friendly, and that's our go goal. 

Congratulations to all of the riders, horses, owners, and groom who participated in this prestigious class!!! 🎉
📸 @esi_photography 
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It's #STUDSunday and today's featured stallion is. It's #STUDSunday and today's featured stallion is...

 ✨PF'S DIAMO BLUE✨
Diarado-Diamant de Semilly- Chacco Blue
17.0hh, Oldenburg International Hunter Derby/ Jumper Stallion
An outstanding Pedigree- Chacco Blue and Diamant de Semilly
WBFSH/ Rolex top ranking Jumping Sires 2017 thru 2022
Standing at Ryan Pedigo Sport Horses, in California

For more information, you can contact 
🖥Ryanpedigosporthorses.com
🖥Ryan.p.f@hotmail.com
☎️(714) 357-2714

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 🦄

@ryanpedigosporthorsespf_

#stallion #horse #horses #horsesofinstagram #equestrian #equine #dressage #pferd #equestrianlife #mare #hengst #horseriding #instahorse #cheval #pferde #equinephotography #horselove #dressagehorse #pony #horselover #caballo #foal #quarterhorse #aqha #arabianhorse #sidelinesmagazine
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