Article - Jennifer Walker

amateur hour
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No Rider Is an Island
Support system helped an adult amateur to.earn the 2009 Dover Medal
national championship
By Jennifer Walker
T
he USDF/Dover
Saddlery
Adult Amateur Medal, offered
at participating US Equestrian
Federation-licensed/USD
F-recognized dressage shows throughout the
country, is awarded to eligible adult
amateurs earning the highest score
in designated Second Level Test 3
From Western to Pony Club
Growing up in Pennsylvania's Amish
country of Lancaster County, Robbins
began riding at the age of eight.
"We acquired a property to build
an RV park and opened a riding stable;' says Tom Ricks, Robbins's father.
saddle, later switched to English, and
wasn't introduced to dressage until
she joined the Sunny Hills Pony Club
at the age of thirteen and began eventing. Preferring the excitement of the
cross-country phase to the "boring"
dressage arena, she was chagrined to
find that poor dressage·scores were
keeping her out of the ribbons even
when she went clean in cross-country
and stadium. Robbins decided that
she'd better take some dressage lessons.
"She worked and saved to buy
larger, more-challenging mounts;'
Ricks recalls. "When she could drive,
she began eventing and taking lessons
from Jill Hassler [the late mother of
well-known dressage trainer Scott
Hassler-in fact, Robbins and Scott
Hassler were in Pony Club together]. I
accompanied her when I could:'
Dressage: A Hip Choice
SOLID: Kelly Robbins and Lucca show their winningform
classes. At the competition year's end,
the competitor with the highest Dover
Medal-class average earns the title
of Dover Medal national champion
(for more on the program, see "The
USDF !Dover Saddlery Adult Amateur
Medal" on page 18).
Let's meet 2009 national champion
Kelly Robbins, of Carmel, IN.
16
June 2010 • USDF CONNECTION
"As a child I loved horses but never
owned one, though I often rode and
showed for others. From the beginning she was interested in riding, and
we bought a well-broke Morgan pony,
which she rode for several years:'
Like many youngsters, Robbins
did not start out riding dressage. She
learned the rudiments in a Western
Following two hip surgeries at ages
twelve and thirteen to fix problems
that resulted from overly rapid
growth, Robbins spent three years
getting around on crutches. Happily,
though, she was still allowed to ride.
"She followed a daily fitness regimen
to strengthen her hip and leg muscles;' her father says. "She follows this
regimen to this day. She continued to
ride and develop her skills:'
But the young woman's physical issues plagued her into adulthood, and
eventually they forced her into a decision. "At 29 I had my left hip replaced,
and suddenly running fast at big solid
fences wasn't as appealing," Robbins
says. It was then that she turned to
dressage for good.
Married and three months pregnant with her first child, Robbins'
dressage career got off to a great start
when she showed a leased Fourth
Level horse at First Level,
"The experience was great, and
I was hooked on dressage from that
point and never looked back: Robbins
says. "Now, I wish I had really given
dressage a true effort earlier in life:'
The sport prayed a source of
comfort and companionship through
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my birthday in August, I got a 71.63
percent-the
score that put me on top
for the Dover Medal:'
Kaiser says of her student: "I have
really enjoyed teaching Kelly, as she
has incredible dedication to improving her riding and making her lovely
horse better and more athletic:'
ten-year-old Oldenburg gelding,
Lucca. She imported him as a green
three-year-old from the Netherlands
when her trainer in Texas, Austinbased Jeanne Dake, found him for her.
"Lucca was a little crazy at first,
but he has turned out to be the Jerry
Garcia of the equine world-very
laid-back;' Robbins jokes. She adds, "I
owe [Jeanne] a lot: She introduced me
to yoga, found me the perfect horse,
and made dressage exciting, no longer
something I did because I had to:'
Winning Partnership
Robbins' partner for her Dover Medal
classes and championship was her
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a series of moves made for husband
Craig's job. "With every move, I seem
to meet my very best friends at the
barn;' Robbins says. The family lived
in Texas for a time and then landed in
Florida, where Robbins met her next
trainer, now a good friend, Shawn
Filley- Fennessey.
"I was sort of a working student
and got to ride many horses under her
tutelage;' Robbins says.
Relocated once again, this time to
Indiana, it took Robbins three years
to find the right dressage trainer.
She took lessons with various local
instructors before she found Jennifer
Kaiser, an FEI-Ievel competitor and
USDF "L" graduate who's based at her
family's Forrest Hill Farm in Lafayette,
IN. When Kaiser visited Robbins's
boarding barn to teach a lesson, Robbins signed up for one as well and
knew right away that she had found a
match.
"That was last March. It's hard to
believe I hadn't even worked with her
for a whole year yet;' Robbins says
of Kaiser. "My collective marks went
from sixes and sevens to sevens and
eights. As a result, this show season
was so much fun. I even broke the
70-percent mark for the first time. On
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"When she first came to me in the
spring of 2009, she was working so
hard to keep her horse moving;' Kaiser says of Robbins and Lucca. "Cantering was quite a chore! I taught her
how to get him to respect her aids and
move in better self-carriage so that it
would be a more pleasant, successful
partnership for both of them:'
Kaiser has high hopes for the
pair's future. "After all their success
in 2009 at Second and Third Levels,
now I know they will be successful in
2010 at Fourth Level-and soon will
definitely have much success in the
FE1 ring!" she says.
Robbins's father agrees. "Kelly is
very focused, and when she purchased
Lucca she focused on training him
and improving her skills;' Ricks says.
"About three years ago, it became
apparent that she could compete successfully, and she aimed for the Dover
Medal. All the while, she was raising
two very active sons and frequently
entertaining friends and business associates:'
Family Support
With the exception of her father, Robbins is an island in a family of nonhorsey people, although all support her
passion: Ricks refers to Lucca as his
biggest grandchild and enjoys going to
shows with his daughter to act as her
"slave-slash-groom;' as he quips.
"I am immensely proud of Kelly
and her achievement;' he says.
Craig Robbins wisely acknowledges that the horses were in his wife's
life before he came on the scene and
doesn't attempt to oust them.
"I am a stay-at-home mother
with a horse, a horse trailer, able to
take lessons and go to the occasional
show;' says Kelly Robbins. "So I would
call my husband very supportive-he
calls himself 'accounts payable:"
Although neither twelve-year-old
Parker nor seven-year-old Connor is
interested in horses, Robbins's eldest
son sometimes helps his mom, videotaping her lessons-for a fee, of course.
"I am very proud of all of Kelly's
success in 2009;' says Kaiser. "She
deserved to be rewarded for her
tremendous efforts. Thanks to Dover
Saddlery for offering a great program
for the adult amateurs; it's a wonderful way to reward hard work:' •
Jennifer Walker works for a dressage
trainer by day and is a freelance writer
and novelist by night. She resides in
northern California with her family,
dog, cat, and Arabian horse.
The USDF/Dover Saddlery
Adult Amateur Medal
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18 June 2010 • USDF CONNECTION
T
he USDF/Dover Saddlery Adult Amateur
Medal is awarded to the highest-scoring
adult amateur who meets the eligibility requirements and has obtained a score of at least
60 percent in the designated class, which is the
required Second Level Test 3 or applicable test-of-choice class.
Riders who win three Dover Medals in the USDFcompetition year
receive a USDF/Dover National Merit Award. National Merit Award winners qualify for consideration for the annual USDF/Dover Medal national
championship title. The rider with the highest average from his or her
top three Dover Medal scores wins the championship and a $1,000 Dover
Saddlery gift certificate. The reserve national champion wins a $500
Dover Saddlery gift certificate. The national awards are presented during
the awards banquet at the annual Adequan/USDF Annual Convention.
For more information, visit usdf.org. Select "Awards" and then "Performance Awards."