Dressage

By Diane Davies-Dixon Correspondent 

Posted on October 14, 2012

• 
  by Carl LaVO

Riding is not just a hobby, but a lifestyle, for Emily Sours, 17, a Council Rock North senior. She lives to ride. And competing in the equestrian sport of dressage is her passion.

Emily was one of the four riders chosen from Region 1 — which includes areas between North Carolina and New Jersey — to compete in the Dressage Championships in Kentucky in July. And recently, she participated in the Devon Horse Show.

Although she came away with no medals, Emily said she “learned a lot” with her horse, Nobel Baron.

“Baron gets very nervous when we compete at Devon — the atmosphere is high energy. We came in fourth out of six the first day with a 61.8 percent. Not bad, but I knew we could have done better. The second day, I thought we would be more successful, but there were a lot of people and Baron was once again not happy.”

Dressage is the development of rider and horse, resulting in a well-balanced and synchronized team. In the early years of training, the sport focuses on horse and rider communication. It teaches horses the willingness to work and remain calm and attentive to their riders, and develops the horses’ athletic abilities.

Emily began asking for riding lessons when she was 2 years old. By the time she was 5, she was on the back of a pony; at 7, she was competing. Now in the Young Rider classification of dressage, she competes with other 16- to 21-year-old riders.

Emily lives in Upper Makefield with her mother, Sandy, who is vice president of a consulting firm, and her father, Michael, who is self-employed. Her brother Tyler, 20, attends college in Philadelphia. Her family suspects her love of horses comes from her late grandfather, who had a passion for riding.

The Sours family leases Noble Baron from Francine Gentile, the owner of Whiskey Lane Farm in Flemington, N.J., and Emily’s trainer since she was 6. The horse is an Oldeberg breed, known for its show jumping ability. The horse has accompanied her to events as far away as Kentucky and Florida.

Back home, Emily has two ponies of her own, Oscar and Fonzi. She bought Fonzi at auction and he now keeps Oscar company.

Emily offers this advice to kids who might want to follow in her hoof prints.

“For the kids who want to ride, I say go for it,” she said. “Riding while growing up is great for kids because it teaches them hard work, determination and the care of animals.

“For kids who want to ride competitively, work hard and be OK with the good and bad shows. Also, have good sportsmanship, because that will take people so far in this sport.

“One final thing is, be willing to sacrifice things in order to compete. I had to miss junior prom because I went to Florida for a horse show, but I wouldn’t have done anything different.”

Emily wants to attend a college with a riding program after graduation from Council Rock. “I’m not sure yet what school that would be, but I like the Boston area and that’s where I see myself riding.”


http://www.phillyburbs.com/my_town/hamptons/dressage-champion/article_8973bc72-6ddf-5c0a-92a5-ad74abb5ff8c.html