A number of horses owned by Harmony Sporthorses showed their talent at The Palm Beach Dressage Derby, among them was Harmony’s Weissmuller who took the blue in the Open Intermediaire I with Susan Jaccoma aboard. The pair’s winning score of 71.25 percent was also Saturday’s FEI high score. Jaccoma not only happy with the score but also to be contributing to the winning reputation of Harmony Sporthorses. “I was thrilled with the score,” she said. “The horse really doesn’t make mistakes in the ring. He’s super and the whole ride was really fun. When it feels fun, you know in the back of your head it’s good.”

Harmony Sporthorses is owned by Leslie Malone of Kiowa, Colorado. Malone has a number of her horses placed with various riders, included Courtney King, who had a successful weekend with Harmony’s Wyoming. “Leslie gives riders an opportunity to have good horses and to compete her horses. And she’s proud of the fact that she’s given opportunities to people,” said Jaccoma, who has had Malone as a sponsor for more than seven years. Jaccoma used to train and ride Harmony’s Coolio, which was sold last year to Tim Malin, and that new team was showing at Grand Prix in the Derby. Harmony’s Weissmuller is not the only Harmony horse under saddle with Jaccoma. “Right now, I also have Harmony’s FX, which is a young horse they own that I competed last year in the Young Horse Championships in Kentucky,” she said.

Harmony’s Weissmuller, is a nine-year-old Hannoverian stallion by Weltmeyer. Jaccoma, who is based in Maine, has been training and riding the horse since it was imported from Europe five years ago. “His greatest strength is his character. He’s a kind, willing, stallion who tries hard.” They only thing keeping the stallion from moving up to Grand Prix is his age. “I’d say the challenge I have with him is he tends to be very muscle bound. His neck is really thick, keeping him always 150 percent through is a challenge we work on every day. There’s no real reason as to why he’s not at Grand Prix, other than that he’s just not yet ready and strong enough.”

Jaccoma and Weissmuller have been getting some training help from Scott Hassler and Lilo Fore and with that help, the pair is aiming to ride at the National Dressage Championships in Gladstone, New Jersey this summer.