Posted - January 17, 2007

SICAB 2006 - The National Breed Championships of the Pure Spanish Horse
Kimberly Van Kampen Boyer
Hampton Green Farm

Hampton Green Farm Brings Family and Friends
Dr. Michael Kohl, Dressage Trainer and USDF Gold Medalist

This year, the Hampton Green Farm touring group consisted of both family and friends, including several dressage professionals who recently have developed a curiosity or interest in the PRE horse. Among them was a long-time Wellington trainer and USDF Gold Medalist, Dr. Michael Kohl who has ridden warm-blood horses exclusively until this year, along with his partner who also competes in Wellington. There was also USDF Technical Delegate and L Judge, Kelly Farmer, and Ginger Henderson, the Director of Equine Studies at Averett College in Virginia.

We all spent several days outside of Sevilla visiting local barns and enjoying Spanish culture, in addition to attending the entire week of the show. Each member of our group found their own points of interest as first-timers at a SICAB. As there are still so few Americans who are able attend this event during the Thanksgiving holiday, we thought that their reflections would best provide a travelogue from the perspective of entrenched American dressage enthusiasts:

“What was so remarkable to me about my experience at SICAB was how gifted the PRE horses are at every age and all genders, and the quality and talent of their movements and gaits as well as the diversity of disciplines they succeed in. I also had the chance to witness the lifestyle of the Spanish people and how important the PRE horse is to their culture. Their devotion and compassion for the horses they ride and breed is truly a classic art passed along generations. In Dressage or Doma Classica, when the PRE horse was well ridden by classical masters like Victor Alvarez, the outcome and performance was far superior and much more exciting than anything I’ve ever witnessed.”