Monday, May 28, 2012

Adrienne Lyle & Wizard Freestyle Dressage - CDI Palm Beach, FL


Adrienne Lyle & Wizard Freestyle Dressage - CDI Palm Beach, FL



Adrienne Lyle "Homegrown in the west, hard work and dedication rises to the top"



I was born and raised on Whidbey Island, Washington, on a small cattle farm. My love from horses goes back as far as I can remember. They were always a part of my life- they were always my only passion in life. From the time I was young, we always had several ponies and farm horses around, so I spent my days riding around the trails and on the beaches. I remember heading out early every morning, with a sack lunch packed and a group of friends, and riding our horses all day long and well into the night. Often times, even that wasn’t enough, and we would routinely sneak out of the house in the middle of the night and go for bareback “moonlight rides” up into the big hay field or down to the beach.



 



 


















Lindsey & Adrienne

I originally started out riding western. I enjoyed trail riding and western gaming. Then I switched to English when I joined our local chapter of the United States Pony Club at age 7. I remember showing up for my first dressage lesson with a western saddle on my fat little pony. J I competed in Eventing for several years, as well as Pony Club Mounted Games, but I soon became fascinated with dressage. I would often get “problem horses” given to me to train and I found that, no matter what discipline the horses competed in, they all improved dramatically through dressage work. I began competing at lower level dressage shows around age 13.

 

 

Adrienne Age 9


 



Growing up, my only instruction was occasional group lessons through our Pony Club chapter. Then I took lessons from Trenna Atkins and Carol McArdle, in Washington.



My first real “dressage horse” was a thoroughbred mare who was slightly psychotic and very high strung. I bought her sight-unseen from a lady in California, and it was only after I had owned her for a while that I discovered she used to be owned by a rodeo outfit called “Wild Rides Inc.” who used her as a rodeo bucking horse.But, despite her history, she taught me a lot about riding with tactful feel, and taking everything in stride- whether it was wining, losing, or bolting out of the dressage ring mid-test. When I was 16, I got the chance to compete that mare in the North American Junior Dressage




Miguel



Championships at Paxton Farms, as a member of the United States Pony Club dressage team. I then was able to sell my Thorougbred mare, and I bought a Swedish Warmblood gelding named “Miguel”. With Miguel, we were members of the silver medal team at the 2002 “Cosequin” Junior Dressage Championships, and a member of the bronze medal Region 6 team at the 2004 North American Young Rider’s Championships.



Adrienne & Miguel



As a small child, Adrienne Lyle visited River Grove Farm in Hailey, Idaho, to watch a horse show. Adrienne Lyle's memories of the trip to the home base of future Olympic dressage rider Debbie McDonald are a little hazy, but one experience there made a permanent impression. Lyle's experiences with dressage rider Debbie McDonald have changed her life forever.



 



“I remember being led into the ring on the back of a big, beautiful warmblood, and it was all over after that,” says Adrienne Lyle, recalling that she’d been put on the horse for an awards presentation because “everyone knew what a horse-crazy little girl I was. Lyle was excited to be working with Olympic dressage rider Debbie McDonald. In the summer of 2005, I came to River Grove Farm and Debbie McDonald. At the time I was attending Washington State University, studying Animal Science and Business. After being a working student for the summer, I was offered a full time job at Parry and Peggy Thomas’s River Grove Farm, as part of the River Grove Farm team.


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