Blues City Dressage Show Beats The Heat July 11-13, 2008 by Nancy Brannon Delta Dressage Association held its Blues City Dressage Show at the Agricenter Show Place Arena, Memphis, Tennessee on July 11-13, 2008. This show used unconventional scheduling in a plan to beat the Memphis July heat: morning classes started early, around 7:00 a.m., and ended by 1:00 p.m. Evening classes started after 5:00 p.m. and ran until approximately 8:00 p.m. This gave horses and riders a break during the hottest part of the day. Delta President Michele Renshaw said, “Entries were down at the Tunica show. But this show is completely full. We hired an extra judge and put in extra times to accommodate all the entries.” The 80 entries kept the two judges busy: Trip Harting, “S” from California and Bev Rogers, “S” from Arizona. The show was dedicated to the memory of Jessica King. Twelve special awards were given out at the show, some included a cash prize as well as trophies and other types of prizes. The musical freestyle rides, a special delight for audiences, were held Saturday night. The show came with gourmet breakfast and lunch food for competitors, and complimentary barbecue during Saturday night’s show. Some of the competitors spoke about their horses and rides during the break from classes on Saturday: Pam Hollis and Michele Renshaw, of Serenity Farm Dressage in Moscow, Tennessee, both showed KONSTANTIN, a 5-year old Warmblood Cross, who has been in training for only four months. Pam rode him in the USDF Introductory B class and he placed first with 61%. Michele rode him in the Open Training I class, where he scored 65%, and in the Open Training II class, where he scored 68% and placed second. “At the Mississippi horse show, he got two firsts and a second,” said Pam. Both riders were extremely pleased with the horse’s show performance, especially Pam since this was her first time back showing after recovering from a serious injury. Pam had good things to say about training with Michele: “All her horses are very calm. She does a beautiful job and has a wonderful temperament.” Michele had three students and five horses at the show: Caren Vandergrift, riding IRONSIDE at Third and Fourth level. Caren owns Magnolia Hill Stable in Brighton, Tennessee. Kitty Junkind rode SAFIRES TRADITION in USDF Introductory B and Training 1 and 2. Marsha Cookesy rode ROSA LADY in First Level 4. Michele showed ECHO’S FIRE, an 11-year old Arabian gelding, in first and second level tests. Many people might like to be referred to as “show stoppers,” but Dianna Rose, 73, has a different perspective. “I’m a show starter,” she said. She was referring to her ride times, which started the show on both Friday and Saturday evenings. She rode her 14-year-old Hanoverian mare, WALK ON, in Fourth Level tests both nights. She has been riding and training the mare for six years, since bringing her from Munich, Germany. Rose owns Flint Ridge Farm in Huntsville, Alabama and has been riding dressage for 15 years. “I used to fox hunt with the Moreland Hounds and rode Western as a girl growing up in California,” she said. Rose is a busy lady, managing a full 31-stall barn and teaching two to four lessons a day, five days a week to her 20 students. She also has a full show schedule. “We start with the Tennessean and show through June, July, August, and September. I go to five A-rated shows a year and host several schooling shows at my barn.” Rose and her husband came to Huntsville in 1969, “the year we went to the moon,” she said. Her husband was working for Rockwell International, a company that built rockets, at the time. “When we came here, we liked it so much that we just stayed.” Her youngest daughter, Heidi Rose Solbrig, accompanied her to the show and rode her 8-year-old Thoroughbred gelding, ANDY MARU, in First level tests 1-4. “I was tickled pink with him. He has a really good attitude,” Heidi commented. Future events on the Delta Dressage calendar include: August 22-24, Ole South USDF show in Murfreesboro; September 6, DDA September Affair; October 11, Cedar Wind USDF show at Cedar Wind Farm; and October 18, DDA Fall Colors. For more details see http://www.DeltaDressage.com.