We have a wonderful pair to feature this month: Kim and her dressage Clydesdale, Gracie!
We asked Kim about her super cool ride and here’s what she had to say:
“Gracie is a 6 year old registered Clydesdale. I’ve owned her since the spring of 2017, but it feels like much longer! I woke up one day and I decided I needed to buy a Clydesdale. It was like I had draft horse fever. I was in love with their look, trainability, and temperament. I’m not always free to ride because I am in vet school so I wanted something very safe and unique.
I actually used to think dressage was incredibly boring. I grew up in the hunter jumper world but throughout college, I began to really appreciate and love it! We had our first rated show only 6 months after we started her under saddle. She always brought a lot of attention at shows and this one was no different. As I was about to enter the ring, a gentleman approached me saying “Horses like this don’t belong here.” What this gentleman said completely surprised me and made me upset throughout our first test. Of course, Gracie was a saint and pulled me through it. We pulled ourselves back together for our second test that day and scored over a 72, winning the class. That has definitely been our proudest win!
Gracie is an awesome dressage mount but she’s an even better therapy horse. We’ve visited over 1000 kids at local schools just this year. The kids adore petting her and she loves the attention. She was so incredibly sweet with all the kids, particularly the special needs kids, that I decided to try to join an animal assisted therapy program. We take the test in a few weeks and I’m very confident she’ll pass with flying colors! After that we’ll be able to visit hospitals, nursing homes, and other places.
I honestly couldn’t pick my favorite thing about Gracie. She’s pretty great at everything! She’s so willing under saddle and she’s one of the sweetest horses I’ve ever met. I’m incredibly lucky and proud to call her my partner!”
We agree with you Kim, she’s fantastic! And horses like her absolutely belong!! Check out Kim and Gracie’s ride for the June Better Dressage Scores show here:
If you’d like to be considered as a featured rider, send us an email at info@betterdressagescores.com
We’d love to hear about you and your horse!