When these equine elite athletes are 20, they're starting to give back. They become our schoolmasters and may teach three amateurs how to ride at the upper level. They also may be a Young Rider horse, starting a young person on her or his career to become a professional trainer.
And, of course, to develop an elite athlete, you must have a good breeding program, good veterinarians, nutritionists and farriers to take a horse to these high levels this rapidly. It takes a whole team to monitor everything that's going on.
Bill Solyntjes is a U.S. Dressage Federation (USDF) bronze, silver and gold medalist, a USDF "S" judge, "R" Sport Horse judge and has been recently invited to join the "L" faculty. He also chairs the USDF test writing committee and is a member of the Sport Horse committee. He has trained and shown several horses to Grand Prix. Based in Hamel, Minn., he operates Brandywine Farm, a dressage training and breeding facility that has produced many year-end award winners both in hand and under saddle.
This article originally appeared in the September 2010 issue of Dressage Today.
