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Wednesday, May 18 2016 / Published in Weekly Feature

Alison Firestone Robitaille: An Enduring & Successful Career

Alison and Caprice

Alison and Caprice

By Hilary Winocoor
Portraits by Isabel J. Kurek

Show jumper Alison Firestone Robitaille knows a thing or two about fast horses. She’s competed for the United States in 25 Nations Cups, rode in the famed American Invitational at only 17 and can race her way through a jump-off with speed and style.

While Alison is a show jumper at heart, her equestrian career started at the racetrack. Her parents, Bertram and Diana Firestone, owned, bred and raised racehorses. Genuine Risk raced under her mother’s name and not only won the Kentucky Derby in 1980 but was the first filly to ever finish in the money in all three Triple Crown races. Alison was 3 ½ years old at the time. “I don’t remember much. I’ve seen pictures of myself in the winner’s circle from the Derby,” Alison said.

Alison and Zodiac at Newstead Farm in Grand Prix Village in Wellington, Florida

Alison and Zodiac at Newstead Farm in Grand Prix Village in Wellington, Florida

Alison attended the Foxcroft School in Middleburg, Virginia, a college- preparatory school that allows students to study while also pursuing their passions, and by the time she graduated she was already competing internationally. “I went there from 9th to 12th grade and they were really great about allowing me to go to shows during the school year,” she said.

Alison spent her junior years training with Katie Prudent, which provided her with a solid backbone to excel and compete in the American Invitational as a teenager. She was named the Leading Rider in the Samsung Nations Cup World and was honored by the U.S. Olympic Committee as their Female Equestrian Athlete of the Year in 1997. In the 1998 World Equestrian Games in Rome, Alison was the top-placed U.S. rider.

She went on to represent the USET in the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg. In the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, Alison represented the USET as the first alternate. She was on the winning Nations Cup Team and was third in the Grand Prix in Buenos Aires in 2012.

To date, Alison has been to five World Cup Finals, competed on 25 Nations Cup teams, has won 43 Grand Prix, and she’s not stopping anytime soon. In August 2015, she won the Kentucky Summer Classic Grand Prix.

Sidelines had the opportunity to talk with the enduring and successful show jumper to find out more about her life and her horses.

Cassinja and Alison in the 2015 New Albany Classic Photo by Meg Banks

Cassinja and Alison in the 2015 New Albany Classic
Photo by Meg Banks

How did your riding career start?
I had a pony named Charlie that I rode around the farm for fun. My allergies were really bad when I was younger, and my dad would worry about me being around the horses and the barn. I remember my mom used to sneak me down to see the racehorses and let me go into some of their stalls and pet them. I was fascinated by how soft their coats were and really became obsessed with them and always wanted to go to the barn. I started showing competitively when I was about 10 years old. My first show pony was named Windlea’s Firecracker (aka Freddy).

Where was your first Grand Prix?
My first Grand Prix was in Cleveland on Roco. My first Grand Prix win was in Gijon, Spain, on Gustl P.

Tell us a little about your family.
Ava will be 7 years old next month and Zoe is almost 5. Both of them really enjoy coming to the barn and have a great time riding and grooming their ponies. My husband, Drew, showed as a junior. He still really likes the horses and bringing the girls to the barn, but he doesn’t ride anymore himself. He loves being outdoors and spends a lot of time working on projects at our farm in Middleburg. He enjoys golf while we’re in Florida.

Your parents breed horses; do you have any that are currently competing?
Zodiac, a 12-year-old North American Dutch Warmblood mare. My niece, Christina, was the 2014 USEF National Champion on the Low Amateur Owner Jumpers with her; she’s currently leased to a client of mine, Mary Elizabeth Cordia.

What horses are you showing now?
Caprice, Cassinja, Konstanze and Sensation. I spent the beginning of WEF working with some of my younger horses in the 1.30m – 1.40m classes, moving some of them up along the way into the 1.45m division. I’ll be showing in the spring shows in Lexington, Kentucky; Split Rock; Devon; and our home show in Upperville, which is a CSI**** this year.

Looking back, do you have a favorite horse?
I’ve been so lucky to have worked with so many great horses over the years! It feels impossible for me to really choose a favorite. All of them have been special in their own unique way. That being said, I had a very close bond with Gustl P. His barn name was Gus. He’d follow me without a lead rope at my parents’ farm.

 

About the writer: Hilary Winocoor is a senior journalism major at the University of Central Florida with a passion for horses and writing. She has been riding since the age of six and is lucky enough to have grown up in riding paradise, Wellington, Florida.

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Tagged under: alison firestone robitaille, hilary winocoor, show jumping

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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 🦄 

#horse #horses #horsesofinstagram #equestrian #horseriding #equine #pony #pferd #equestrianlife #horselove #dressage #horselover #instahorse #love #cheval #showjumping #horselife #photography #nature #pferde #horseofinstagram #caballo #riding #horsebackriding #pferdeliebe #caballos #horsepower #horsephotography #instagram #Sidelinesmagazine
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 
#horseshow #horses #horse #horsesofinstagram #equestrian #horseriding #horselove #horsestagram #instagram #showjumping #equestrianlife #equine  #horsebackriding #dressage #horselife #pony #of #horserider #horseshoe #horsemanship #horseshowlife #riding #instahorse #horseaddict #horseofinstagram #sidelinesmagazine
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_

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Annette Longenecker wasn’t just born into horses Annette Longenecker wasn’t just born into horses—in a way, she was born into her career. She grew up in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, where her parents ran a farm. Her mother taught, and her father had a jump business and then created one of the first horse show software programs: Ryegate Show Services, Inc.

Riding all her life, Annette spent many years as a groom and loved it, but knew it wasn’t what she wanted to do as a career. After she finished college, Annette’s father recruited her to help process entries at Ryegate. Since her father, Lloyd Longenecker, founded it in 1981, Ryegate has provided show management and office staff for some of the largest shows in the country. Now, Annette has taken over from her father and directed the company as it focuses on managing memberships and rankings for organizations such as the North American League, WIHS Championships and Equitation, Rolex/USEF Computer Ranking and National Medal Series (THIS NCM and Ariat NAM). Ryegate also provides scoring software for use with video walls, and production teams for hunter and jumper shows.

“Besides running Ryegate Show Services and its various organizations, I can be found in the show office, running a scoreboard or judging jumpers at most shows,” Annette said. “I love getting to wear a few different hats at the show.”

When she’s not busy at a show, Annette lives in Annville, Pennsylvania, with her “fur-baby,” Maggie Mae, and enjoys spending time with her many godchildren. Though she doesn’t currently own any horses, Annette rides when she can at Rolling Acres Farm with Patty Foster, Ashley Foster-Worthington and Mary Lisa Leffler.

Read this month unbridled with Annette Longenecker by clicking the link in our bio. Never miss a story by subscribing to Sidelines Magazine! 🦄
📸Photo by Sheryl Sutherby

#horse #horses #horsesofinstagram #equestrian #horseriding #equine #pony #pferd #equestrianlife #horselove #dressage #horselover #instahorse #love #cheval #showjumping #horselife #photography #nature #pferde #horseofinstagram #caballo #riding #horsebackriding #pferdeliebe #caballos #horsepower #horsephotography #instagram #Sidelinesmagazine
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