Spotlight on Participants
The 2011 Children of the Americas Dressage Invitational CADI was a huge success!
Please help spread the word! CADI 2012 will be here very soon, and donations to this wonderful venture are always welcome. Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution. No amount is too small -- and every amount makes a big difference! All contributions will be used exclusively for the development, promotion and production of CADI 2011. The Bear Spot Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization.
CADI 2011
Read the article about Bear Spot CADI and winner Ambriel Weatherly published in the Chronicle of the Horse. And check this new article [pdf] on the blog of the Cayman Islands Department of Sports!
Trinidad Express Newspaper (National News of Trinidad and Tobago):
Weatherly to Ride for T&T in Boston
Originally printed July 31, 2011
Young equestrian Ambriel Weatherly, who finished first in the Preliminary Children, FEI World Dressage Challenge 2011, will represent Trinidad and Tobago at The Children of the Americas Dressage Invitational (CADI) in Concord, Massachusetts, USA from August 2-6 through the sponsorship of the Ministry of Sport.
Countries and regions taking part in the competition are USA, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean.
The event brings together grand prix riders and trainers who will train the riders, who are considered the "future of dressage" for their respective countries.
Two days of competition will include riding of the Preliminary Test and a musical item called a Kur, to which Weatherly will ride using specially choreographed movements on a horse to a compilation of Shakira's World Cup song "Waka Waka" and Kes the Band's "Wotless".
The 15-year-old junior equestrian attends St. Joseph's Convent, Port of Spain and has been riding for more than ten years.
She will be accompanied by her coach Margaret "Muffy" Auerbach, who is Trinidad and Tobago's only rider to attend both the Pan Am Games and CAC Games, along with T&T's only FEI judge, Sara McCarthney, who will also attend a Developing Nations Dressage Symposium which offers an intensive and high-level learning experience for judges, coaches and trainers from the FEI Developing Nations of South America, Central America, Bermuda and the Caribbean islands.
That symposium is being hosted on August 5 and 6 at the Bear Spot Farm in Concord.
CADI 2010 and Earlier
Leonard Behrens (2009) Continues His Great Work!
"...In their first international competition, the Children of the Americas Dressage Invitational in Boston, Willo and Leonard took another Reserve Championship with their scores on FEI Children’s test of 73.044% and Freestyle of 76.785%"! (Read more...)
Hope Comes to City to Saddle [Press Release, February 2009]
Children discover hope in many places. In the case of 8-year-old Dorchester youngster Tajarah Clark, hope can be found in the person of Hope Cooper, a 12-year-old equestrian. Through City To Saddle, a non-profit organization that funds and accesses riding programs for underserved urban youngsters, Hope will realize her wish: sharing her special world and love of ponies with Tajarah.
Beginning in March, Tajarah will spend Saturdays learning to ride and care for Hope’s wonderful pony Orion. With guidance and oversight from Hope’s mom, Jane Karol, a highly regarded Grand Prix Dressage rider, instructor and trainer, Hope will mentor Tajarah in the ways of horses and the bond that can form when young girls and ponies come together.
“Hope spoke to me about her desire to teach a City to Saddle child to ride, to share her lifelong experiences caring for, and loving horses and helping another little girl fulfill her pony dreams. Impressed with Hope’s horsemanship talents, and more importantly, her character, I considered this wish nothing less than a wonderful opportunity for City To Saddle, and a very special gift for one of our deserving fledgling riders,” states Barbara Zenker, Founding Director of the City To Saddle program. For Hope’s part, she is nothing less than “excited by the opportunity to share her love of horses and to make a new friend!”
There is a famous quote from Plato stating, "The most effective kind of education is that a child should play amongst lovely things". Surely he foresaw an enchanted Tajarah seated proudly upon the warm, fuzzy back of gentle Orion, guided by the sure hand and kind heart of a lovely girl named Hope! Hope, Tajarah and Orion will begin their partnership next month at Bear Spot Farm in Concord, MA.
I wanted to thank you on behalf of Ashley, Jessica, myself and the CIEF (Cayman Islands Equestrian Federation) for a fabulous experience at CADI 2008. We have never experienced such a dressage show with bonding, friendships, love for the sport, and camaraderie. The whole event was a pleasure to attend and, as a mother, a joy to see my child involved in something so wonderful. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Thank you for considering Ashley as the “Spirit of CADI” this year. It was an honor to receive such an award and I am so proud of her. Again, thank you for this wonderful experience and we are already missing Jake, the other riders and trainers, and your wonderful event. We look forward to attending next year!
I didn't need to ask Jessica how her time at CADI was, I could see on her face and in the way about her that she has had an eye opening experience. She said to her parents that it was beautiful to watch the Freestyles and that she now has a better understanding of what dressage is all about. : ) New enthusiasm for discovering more about her horse and this sport has been created!!
I couldn't thank you and everyone involved enough for providing our riders in the developing nations with this opportunity. It something very special. I wish you continued success and enjoyment with this event.
We're so glad that the CADI 2008 is already on its way! We still can't forget our wonderful time spent at the Barn. We just had our FEI World Dressage Challenge (Group 3) and Adriana did a superb job on her horse Katermo. She won the Preliminary Class with a 70%, earning the highest score of the competition of the Group. We're sure that having been a part of the CADI 2007 has helped her so much in her work. Please say hi to everyone at the Bear Spot Foundation!!!!
With the enthusiasm of the CADI still fresh in her memories, and under the guidance of her new dressage coach, Alejandra González, Maressa earned a 63% on First Level Test 1 and a 63.63% on First Level Test 2 last weekend here in Costa Rica, under FEI (I) Judge César Lopardo-Grana...Maressa is training hard to keep her scores high, in order to qualify for the 2008 CADI. She just turned 14, so she hopes she'll have a chance to see again her friends at Bear Spot Farm, both human and equine!
My daughter Julia McIntyre rode in the Children's Invitational at Bear Spot...We are all still talking about this event — what a great experience it was!
"I can't believe it's past! And on the other hand, we have lived, laughed, grown, loved, and enjoyed beyond words a unique experience, so rich, so sweet, so exhilarating...filled with all the good that can be the only possible outcome when some much work, vision, effort, resources and love is put into it."
"...I would like to convey my most sincere gratitude for your warm welcome, your cooperation , and the special way in which you treated my daughter, Yuval Kissilevich, and other participants. Yuval's goals for next year include qualifing for local competitions, in order to be part of "The Children of the Americas Dressage Invitational."
I would like to express my most sincere wishes that this competition become a tradition."
The experience of being a part of the CADI was such an intense learning experience for Maressa.
...The most thrilling part of the story is that Maressa has presented in competition the Freestyle she prepared for the 2007 CADI, riding an adorable Spanish stallion named Precioso (that belongs to her dressage coach) and scoring way high over the 60s...What a lovely contribution to our country, thanks to the CADI organizers.
It has been a long and wonderful year for Maressa and her horses. We talk about Bear Spot Farm often and remember our great friends there.
Francesca Giachetti was able to win Peru's 2007 FEI World Dressage Challenge (October 30th) on the mare Jaka with a 68.4% score. She only rode Jaka twice before the competition; Jaka is a very strong and overwhelming mare for most riders. Francesca's self-confidence after the CADI put her up to the challenge. She came second in the Regional Group 2 and helped Team Perú come 3rd in the group!! [In the photo: FEI WDC2007-Peru winners: Francesca Giacchetti & Jaka, First Place, Children; Maria Gracia de la Piedra & Roma, Second Place, Advanced; Maggie Batievsky & Aerocondor Jupiter, First Place, Advanced; Monika Von Wedemeyer& Lavall, First Place, PSG]
"...unfortunately Dominique Apellido Rivas could not take part in the FEI Challenge because last Monday he broke his right leg playing football at school. He will be in a cast for the next 6 weeks and 3 months to fully recover and be able to ride again. So... he´ll have to miss all the finals of the season, unfortunately, since Dominique was winning. However, he will still win the Metropolitan Championship with "Constantin," since he is more than 40 points ahead and also ahead to be Champion with his other horse, "Mashallah" in the Children's level but will lose the Champion in the Second Level."
"...Thanks so much for a making a little girl's dream come true... Maressa had not pictured herself riding with someone as famous as Jane, or presenting a Freestyle on a darling, well-mannered and trained horse as Lio. She just can't stop talking about Bear Spot Farm and all of you guys, and has worn her vest all week!"
