Articles: Horse News

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Wellington, FL - March 17, 2010 - Diamante Farms had a great weekend of competition at the Wellington Classic Dressage Challenge II, held at the Jim Brandon Equestrian Center. Diamante Farms is a dressage training, showing, and boarding facility in Wellington, FL, which is owned by Terri and Dick Kane. The Kane's daughter Devon and Diamante Farms' head trainer Michelle Gibson each showed their young horses over the weekend and each took home victories. The official judges for the weekend included: Axel Steiner "O", Natalie Lamping "I", Lorriane Mac Donald "I", Fran Dearing "S", and Joan Humphrey "S".

Devon Kane showed her Danish gelding Sanchez to victory in Sunday's FEI Test for Five-Year-Olds with a score of 75.200%. Sanchez is turning five this year and Kane is showing the young horse in the FEI classes to qualify for this year's National Championships. This was Sanchez and Kane's second show together, their first just one week prior at the Palm Beach Dressage Derby, where they did very well and moved into fourth place in the national standings.

Sanchez is Blue Hors Romanov out of a Trakehner mare by Camelot. Kane bought Sanchez in Denmark a year ago, but left him in Europe to stay in training there and be gelded. She then travelled to Germany this summer to work with trainer Hubertus Schmidt and brought Sanchez home to Florida this fall.

"He is so fun to ride. He is soft, supple, and very energetic," Kane stated. "He can be naughty, but I love his attitude and look forward to using it for my benefit. He is very smart and fun to train, and I am really enjoying the experience of working with a clean slate and training him from the start. I love earning his confidence and being able to teach him and watch him learn and have fun. He loves to show off, and loves attention, so he is great to have at the shows."

"On Sunday he was very attentive, and not so naughty," Kane continued. "He was steady and listening, and I think he is developing good confidence in the arena. I look forward to being able to ask more from him and really allowing him to show off and feel secure and proud. He is a horse that I love riding every day, and I look forward to training him far into the future."

In addition to her success with Sanchez, Kane showed another young horse named Destiny in this weekend's competition. Destiny is a Danish bred gelding out of Diamond Hit, by a Rubenstein mare. Destiny is turning seven years old this year and Kane is showing him in the USEF Third Level Test 3. On Sunday the pair placed third with a 66.512% and Kane was very happy with his performance.

"Destiny is really fun to ride also, and he is a smaller type, but he is very expressive," Kane noted. "He can be very hot, but he is great to show. He was pretty relaxed on Sunday, and felt so elastic, energetic, and on my aids."

This is Destiny's first year in the ring and Kane acknowledged that he is really stepping up and doing fantastic. "He has not had a score under 65%, and his test is always abundant with 8's. On Sunday, in his second extension, he felt like he was floating and stretching out with his shoulder as far as he could reach; it was perfect rhythm and balance, and I had the instant flashback of riding Douwe in a test."

A dressage rider since age 11, Kane has earned numerous United States Dressage Federation (USDF) Regional Championships from First through FEI Levels, the USDF Bronze Medal and Silver Medal, and finished her Young Rider career with Individual Gold and Team Bronze at the 2007 North American Young Rider Championships with her Dutch gelding Douwe.

"Destiny is very similar to Douwe, and I have so much fun riding and training him," Kane stated. "I got him just before he turned six, and he is the first horse I have trained myself. Michelle has coached me the whole way, but I have put the time in the saddle on him and brought him up through everything. He is doing so well and is really enjoying the shows. I am keeping the training moving forward, and my goal is to have him showing in the small tour next year with hopes of trying for the Pan American Games. For right now, we are focusing on qualifying in Third Level to compete in the Regional Championships this year, and perhaps start the Prix St. Georges this summer."

Kane was not the only rider out Diamante to have success this weekend. The farm's head trainer Michelle Gibson also brought home a blue ribbon with her own young horse, Well Done. Well Done is a four-year-old out of Gibson's stallion, World of Dreams. 'T-bone' as he is known around the barn, came to Gibson at the end of November when she came home from training in Germany. The pair showed in the USEF Test for Four-Year-Olds on Sunday and won the class with an excellent score of 83.800%.

"He was so green when she got him; he had a hard time cantering inside the ring, but he is blossoming so well with her," Kane said of the partnership. "Michelle only had one score under eight on Sunday. He is growing and really developing into an athletic and beautiful horse. He is extremely intelligent and has been very fun for her to train."

"He has so much personality; I joke that he could have his own cartoon," Kane laughed. "He is sensitive and forward moving, and has a great amount of talent in combination with his intellect. It is so exciting to see T-bone growing up, finding himself and his confidence, and having fun with Michelle. It is very special for her to have a World of Dreams baby, and she is truly beginning to love T-bone. I am so excited for their future."

Putting in another top finish for Diamante this weekend were Amy Bock and her horse Walk the Line, who is also by World of Dreams. This was Bock's first young horse class, and her first time to show Walk the Line, whose barn name is Cash. The pair had a wonderful and fluid test competing in the USEF Test for Four-Year-Olds, and came in third place with a score of 79.000%.

"It really seemed evident how much fun both Amy and Cash were having together," Kane commented. "Cash has wonderful natural movement, and is developing wonderfully with Amy. They are planning to qualify for the Four-Year-Old National Championships, and I am sure they will do very well. Cash is very talented, and Amy always puts in a solid effort. She has only had Cash since November, so I am excited to watch how they will continue to become stronger and develop together."

As the manager of Diamante Farms, Kane was excited not only for her own young horses, but for the other horses and riders that all had a successful weekend out of her barn. "It was our weekend for young horses, and we were able to come out in full strength on Sunday," she acknowledged. "Everyone was very proud and happy with their rides and finishes. We are very proud of all the young horses we have at Diamante, and we had fun with all the boys at the show."

Diamante Farms will compete next at the 2010 Winter Equestrian Festival's Dressage Classic CDI 3*, held at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington. For more information, please visit www.diamantefarms.com.