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Thursday, January 23 2020 / Published in Weekly Feature

Dressage: Getting to Know George Williams

George served as the president of the United States Dressage Federation for nine years.

By Britney Grover

Portraits by Melissa Fuller

Sidelines is thrilled to introduce George Williams as our new monthly dressage columnist.

George has dedicated his life to dressage as a rider, coach, clinician and volunteer. After beginning his dressage education with Egon von Neindorff in Germany, George followed his mentor, Karl Mikolka, to ride and train with the Tempel Lipizzans for 20 years, including being program director for 13. He then pursued his own competitive goals to ride on a U.S. team and succeeded with Rocher, earning many championships and culminating in fifth place at the 2003 World Cup in Sweden, team bronze at CHIO Aachen in 2005 and USDF Grand Prix and Grand Prix Freestyle Horse of the Year.

Since winding down his competitive career, George has trained many young riders to prestigious finals and served as a board member for various bodies including the US Equestrian Dressage Committee, the US Equestrian Board of Directors and the United States Dressage Federation, where he served as president for nine years.

Now, George travels to teach clinics and is the US Equestrian Dressage Youth Coach and on the FEI Dressage Committee. He shares his interest in watching the youth develop in U.S. dressage with his wife, Roberta, who serves as the USDF FEI Junior/Young Rider Committee Chair. Their daughter, Noel, is a grand prix rider and professional, making dressage a full family affair. When not traveling to competitions or clinics, George and Roberta live in Wellington, Florida, in the winter, in the past have spent their summers in Northeast Ohio and now spend their summers in Charlottesville, Virginia. Sidelines caught up with George to learn more about him, before he begins writing the dressage column next month.

George and Roberta Williams with E-ROS, owned by Maggie Tifft.

How did you first get into horses?

I grew up on a farm in New Hampshire with horses; my parents had horses, my mother, primarily, rode, as well my siblings. I came up initially through 4-H and then Pony Club. From the beginning, horses were an important part of my life, and the Pony Club experience had a big impact on my whole life as a child.

How did you get into dressage — did your mother ride dressage?

Not really; when my mother was younger, she rode a little bit of everything, what I would call English style. She did some foxhunting and things before I was born. Later, when I was a teenager, she focused purely on dressage. It’s sort of an unusual story: Dressage was always part of our riding because we had a blacksmith who was very interested in dressage. I’m not sure how he got introduced to it, but after World War II in the ’50s and ’60s, he had German dressage instructors living at his farm. I always found it fascinating, listening to his stories about dressage. He was a part of the trip our 4-H group took when I was 9 years old, and we went to Boston to watch the performance of the Spanish Riding School in 1964. It made a big impression on me.

What did your early dressage education entail?

I became interested in dressage very early on, and there wasn’t a lot around us where I grew up in New England. There was our blacksmith, and one or two instructors that had dressage backgrounds. In Pony Club, of course we did eventing, and had the dressage segment that we did. As I got older and did more with Pony Club, the dressage was my forte. So after high school, I went to Germany to study and ride at Egon von Neindorff’s stable, then came back and did the working student routine and worked my way up from there.

What are your most meaningful competitive accomplishments?

For me, it was Rocher: That’s the horse I was able to compete internationally on, did the World Cup and was able to be at Aachen with the Nations Cup team. When I was very young, my father was more into skiing and my mother was more into riding; I was 9 during the 1964 Olympics and I thought, Wouldn’t it be fun to be in the Olympics as a skier and also as a rider? So from early on, I had this dream that I wanted to ride in the Olympics — it ended up not happening, but the horse Rocher was the closest I came. We unfortunately had soundness issues on the years of the Olympics, so it didn’t work out. But competing and getting to represent the United States in the World Cup in Gothenburg and also in Aachen was really the highlight for me. It really was my dreams coming true.

George rode and trained with the Tempel Lipizzans for 20 years, and was the program director for 13 years.
Photo courtesy of George Williams

You mentioned Rocher; have there been any other particularly special or influential horses?

She was by far the most influential, because of what I was able to accomplish competition-wise. But very early on, I competed another horse by the name of Rahel, also a mare, that was first and second Level U.S. National Champion in the late ’70s. That gave me my first real taste of competition and wanting to be very competitive. Over the years, there have been many horses that have played an important role in making me who I am today. I don’t know to how many I have said, “You are my favorite.”

You’ve dedicated so much of your life to furthering dressage in the U.S. — why is that so important to you?

I think it probably goes back to my parents in that I feel it’s very important to give back to the sport, or to whatever it is that gives you a lot of pleasure, and dressage has obviously been the focus of my life. Being able to give back to the organizations is important; with being president of the USDF, it went maybe further than I ever thought it would, but I definitely enjoyed it. It’s also a little addicting in the sense that you start to get involved and enjoy it a lot and love watching the sport develop, and seeing how we can help it develop in this country. The state of the sport of dressage has changed dramatically in my lifetime: It has improved immensely, in the quality of the horses and the riding. There’s so much more knowledge and understanding. As a youth coach, I have to give a lot of credit to Pony Club: When I was in Pony Club, you were expected to help the younger members. For me it’s enjoyable to see younger generations coming into the sport and enjoying it, and being able to share my passion for the sport with another generation.

What does it mean to you to see your own daughter, Noel, embrace and excel in dressage?

First, I have to say I’m very proud of her. It’s wonderful to be able to share the interest and love of the sport, but it’s also about sharing the ups and downs. When things are going well and the horses are good, it’s wonderful. But as everyone knows, when you have a lameness issue or a health issue with a horse, it can have its moments where it’s devastating. I’ve been very lucky because my wife is also very involved in the sport, so we as a family live the sport every day.

What are your current roles and positions?

My main position is as the dressage youth coach for US Equestrian. The Discover Dressage USDF/US Equestrian Emerging Athlete Program has really allowed me in my position as youth coach to expand what we’re able to do. Through that, we’re able to do the European Young Rider Tour, which is a tremendous experience for the three riders that we take to Europe. As the youth coach, I sit on some of the US Equestrian Committees. I’m on the Dressage at Devon board, and also on the Virginia Horse Center board.

I’m also on the FEI Dressage Committee; basically, we oversee the rules for dressage and competitions, such as for the World Cup. Internationally they’re just getting used to the e-scribing we’ve had here for a while, and the Tokyo Olympic format in 2020 is going to be quite different from what it’s been before for the Olympics. Those are the types of things that the Dressage Committee is involved in.

Do you have any other hobbies when you have time off?

Unfortunately, not anymore. Growing up we skied, but once I started really competing internationally, I set that aside. We don’t have any other hobbies. It’s all about dressage — my life is my hobby.

Photos by Melissa Fuller, msfullerphotography.com, unless noted otherwise

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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 
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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

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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 🦄

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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

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