 From
an early age, Doré attended the Detroit Motor City Horse Show in
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, an annual two week hunter/jumper event
which attracted top riders and Olympians from all over the U.S.
and Canada. She had a dream to one day show her own horse there.
That dream was realized at the age of 30 when she acquired her
first show horse, a Canadian hunter named Cover Story, who she
went on to show successfully in the Amateur Owner Division.
After moving
to Scottsdale,
Arizona in 1989, following a five
year hiatus from the show ring, she returned to show jumping,
initially with a leased horse. In late 1991, she found her next
show horse, Nijinsky, a 5 year old thoroughbred who had recently
been retired from the Florida racing circuit. He barely scraped in
at 15-2 hands, but had long legs and an equally long stride. The
pair went on to considerable success in the Amateur Division.
Nijinsky was top Pre-Green Horse of the year in Arizona, the
pair was third in the Amateur Division at the Regional Finals in
Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1992, and at every show, but one, in
California, Arizona
and New Mexico, Nijinsky was Champion and/or Reserve Champion of
every division in which he was shown.
In 1992, Doré moved to
Fayetteville. She switched gears in 1994 and began to study
dressage with a local trainer. In late 1996, quite by accident,
Doré saw a video of some Hanoverian Warmbloods. One of the 2 year
olds caught her eye. Versace was purchased a week later. The
pair showed through 2nd Level, with average scores in
the mid 60’s throughout their career together. Due to repeated
surgeries on a left hock, he was finally retired.
Armed
with a richness of information imparted to her over the years by
her local dressage trainer, as well as her years of experience in
both the hunter-jumper and dressage rings, she agreed to assist
adult novice riders, on a very limited basis. Doré feels that
students need to be given a strong foundation in the basics. Too
often instructors think they should keep information to a minimum
with beginners. Novice riders in any equestrian discipline need
to understand how significantly they effect the movement of their
mounts, and be given positive alternatives to solve problems when
they arise. Through understanding, riders gain confidence.
Through confidence they learn to relax. Through relaxation they
begin to experience meaningful conversations with their horses—the
ultimate goal of the horse-rider partnership. |
