Dressage in the Rockies Profile
Grant Schneidman - Page 1
By Diana Hunt for HorsesDaily.com

Grant and Sharon Schneidman base their Westmanton Stables out of High Prairie Farms Equestrian Center in Parker, Colorado, so they and their horses were right at home for the annual Dressage in the Rockies show. Grant has gone 100 percent into dressage from eventing and regularly is riding three horses at the top FEI levels.

“My greatest weakness as a rider, perhaps, is that some people have more natural talent than I have, but I can ride any type of horse. My strongest point is persistence,” Grant laughed.

Grant rode his long-time partner, 19 year old Pyrok (by Romer), at Grand Prix, Test B. Because of the Dutch gelding’s age and arthritis, Test B is easier for him to handle than the more technical Test A.

“We got him relatively inexpensively in Europe (in 1996) because he could not passage,” Grant said. “In working with another trainer here in the area who had experience in using the Spanish system, we were able to teach him the Spanish walk, then the passage. But after showing him for a while, he started having soundness problems on and off. Because we changed his natural movement and he got more suspension late in life, he got chronic splints. He had surgery and was off for a year and it took me another year to get him back into condition. I’m just pleased we can do this at his age.”

Like two old companions, the 17h chestnut and the six foot tall Grant fit together in size and temperment. The horse seems happy to work for him and it’s obvious he knows his job. He won both classes (with a 61.250 and 63.958) but he had more spark to his extensions in the cool of the morning. He puts in a solid, strong and steady test and now he can beautifully execute the piaffe and passage.