Busy Bill Warren Collects Numerous Ribbons at Welcome Back to White Fences I

Bill Warren arrived at Welcome Back to White Fences I, held February 21-22, with four horses to ride and promptly began collecting ribbons. "Our team definitely had a fantastic weekend," Warren said of his rides and those of team members Bill McMullin and Donna Cameron. Warren had wins in Second Level with  Xanur HM and at Intermediaire II with Romantic. With Well Done II he took two red ribbons in Third Level competition and rode the nine-year-old Oldenburg gelding Leiden to a third place finish in Prix St. Georges competition with a score of 72.368 percent.
Donna Cameron, owner of Well Done II, also rode the horse in Second Level competition and took home a blue ribbon for her ride. And McMullin rode Amy Borner's six-year-old Danish mare Cenia to a third place finish in Second Level competition with a score of 70.00 in the pair's first outing together at Second Level.
Warren also had a second place finish with Xanur HM, a six-year-old Lusitano gelding owned by Marsha Fahey, which he said probably would have been another win had he not gone off course. "It's embarrassing that I went off course in the walk. I kind of went to sleep," he said with a laugh. Warren said Xanur "is a real worker and tries really hard to do all he possibly can." But what is most important about him is that he makes his owner happy. "He was purchased for Marsha to ride and he makes her happy, that's what matters," Warren said.

Well Done II is also mostly the ride of his owner, Cameron, but Warren said he's doing some of the riding because Cameron wants to see how far the horse can advance. Of Romantic, Warren is focused on developing him for the Grand Prix, but admits he's in no rush. His lateral work generally earns him 8s and 9s, but Warren said it's the piaffe/passage transition that needs work. "Our weakest point now is going into the piaffe from passage. He needs to get stronger and more through in his back and more into the connection."

Warren hasn't just been busy in the ring, he has also been busy in the judge's box. In January, he took his "S" judge's exam. "It was a busy and intense three days," Warren said. "But now it'll be the end of April before I learn the results."

Images by Sharon Packer - Erik Olsen - HorseSportsPhotogrpahy.com
For complete results from the show, visit www.whitefencesflorida.com.