Chris Hickey Delivers Gold, Lauren Sammis Takes Silver, in Debut International Competition at the Pan American Games Dressage Individual Finals

Brian Sosby, USEF

Lauren Sammis, aboard the eight-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, Sagacious HF (owned by Hyperion Farm) couldn’t have been happier with her medal bid. “I have a young horse,” said Sammis. “For me, this is only the beginning of his career…he’s brilliant.”

She acknowledged that to get to a Pan Am medal-winning moment, it takes more than the efforts of just one person, plus a long journey for anyone willing to set out on it.

“It takes an enormous team to make one horse go down that centerline,” she said. “You have six minutes in the arena, and you have months and years of training. It’s a real commitment, so I would like to thank everybody who has helped me along the way. The experience in Brazil has been just a magical time. The people have been just so generous and helpful. It’s just been wonderful.”

Turning her attention to her performance’s strong points, Sammis said, “It was probably my pirouettes, but also I think that a strong point was that this horse was able to go into this environment and really try his best. Movement aside, his temperament is unbeatable. But, I have to say that the pirouettes didn’t hurt!”

Throughout the competition, each of the American riders showed grace and gratitude, not only for their hosts and dealing with other competitors, but for each other. Sammis noted that for this group of riders it was a first experience in being part of an international team.

“The type of support you have from other team members has just been amazing…to go in and not feel like you are only riding for yourself, but you are riding for everybody else. It’s rare in this sport that you are cheering your competitors on, hoping they do better and better! It’s a great feeling,” she said.

Hickey added, “I was lucky enough to compete on the North American Young Riders Championships two times, and that was a wonderful beginning. This is all of that and 10 times more. The biggest thing I’ve learned from this experience is respect. I have so much respect for people who have been in my shoes in past years. And, I know what was put in to get here.”