Carly Taylor-Smith riding Rosalut to victory in USA Championships 5-year-old preliminary test. © 2015 Ken Braddick/dressage-news.com
By KENNETH J. BRADDICK
WAYNE, Illinois, Aug. 20, 2015–A 25-year-old English transplant rode the American-bred Rosalut NHF bought from an Internet video to win the United States five-year-old preliminary test Thursday.
Carly Taylor-Smith, based in the California beachfront movie community of Malibu 30 miles (48km) from Hollywood, and the Oldenburg gelding (Rosenthal x Salut) scored 8.58, the only one of the 16 combinations that started the class to be awarded eight or better.
Gary Rockwell, speaking for the judges–Lois Yukins and Kristi Wysocki were the other two–described the horse as having “lovely cadence” with 8.7 for the trot, canter that was uphill and balanced for 8.6, submission and general impression each 8.8.
Katie Riley of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey on the Cesar Parra-owned Don Cesar was second on Don Cesar (Desperados x Manhattan) with 7.9 and Marcus Orlob of Stockton, New Jersey on his own Shyriana, a Hanoverian mare, third on 7.8.
Katie Riley on Don Cesar in the USA Championships 5-year-old preliminary competition. © 2015 Ken Braddick/dressage-news.com
Carly Taylor-Smith came to the U.S. in 2009 when her father who is in the oil business moved to Houston, Texas after living in England and Aberdeen, Scotland.
Nikki, her mother, saw a video of Rosalut while the horse was still a weanling, “loved him and bought him.” The horse had been bred by Maggie and George Neider in only their second year of operation at North Hill Farm in Fabius in central New York. Although they intended to focus on breeding American hunters, they hoped for a foal that could go into dressage or hunters.
Carly Taylor-Smith and Rosalut NHF performing in the USA Championships five-year-old preliminary test. © 2015 Ken Braddick/dressage-news.com
Carly was enrolled at the University of Houston to major in graphic arts thinking about a career in movie animation as she had always been good at art as well as track in school. But she took a Young Rider horse to train with Jan Ebeling in Moorpark, California… and decided horses were for her so dropped out of school.
She started riding Rosalut, whom she calls “Luto,” when he was 3 1/2 years old.
“In the show ring,” she said, “he is always with me 100 per cent. Today was the most relaxed I’ve ever had him. He was easy to handle as a baby. He is super, super easy, super, super smart. I’ve never had a horse like him. It’s like he’s done it all his whole life.
“I never have a bad day riding him,” she said. “When he has a bad day it’s still fun. He makes me smile.”
“The first time I rode him it was easy, he had so much balance for his age. He has progressed really well. He is so smart, advanced and mature for his age that sometimes I forget he’s just five.”
Carly wants to take him all the way to Grand Prix, with the World Young Horse Championships in the Netherlands next year as a more immediate goal but the aim is to make him a team horse–for the United States not Great Britain. She can apply for American citizenship next year.
“I love Britain and will always be British at heart,” she said.
“I live in America and love America. How can you not love the USA, especially the weather in California.
“Malibu has this affect on you that keeps you calm. It’s Hollywood… kind of surreal coming from Britain.”
But, she admits not all is perfect–“I miss good fish and chips.”
The timing for development of Rosalut is good, she figures, because he could be doing Prix St. Georges four years from now in time for the Pan American Games in Peru.
Although Carly lives in glamorous Malibu, she is focused on the business she began, an undertaking she described as “daunting” in California with many well known trainers. She devotes herself to riding, training and teaching and when not doing that studies videos, for example, on how Carl Hester works with Charlotte Dujardin.
Carly works with the three-time Spanish Olympian Juan Matute who is based in Wellington, Florida and flies regularly to California for clinics. He was here helping prepare for competition.
Heather Blitz of Medfield, Massachusetts rode the American-bred Ripline, a seven-year-old Danish Warmblood stallion (Hotline x Cavan) to a score of 72.895 per cent to win the U.S. Developing Prix St. Georges.
Heather Blitz and Ripline in the USA Championships Developing Prix St. Georges. © 2015 Ken Braddick/dressage-news.com
Christina Vinios of Wellington, Florida placed second on Folkestone, a nine-year-old Oldenburg gelding, was second on 69.518 per cent James Koford of Lexington, Kentucky on Doctor Wendell MF, a seven-year-old Hanoverian stallion, was third on 69.035 per cent.
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