Sunshine and CDI's - 2023 florida season recap

April is here and the M2 South humans and horses are heading back north after a fun-filled season at our winter base in Loxahatchee, Florida. What a season it was! All our students who joined us for the winter met and surpassed their goals, whether getting in the show ring, moving up a level, hacking around the beautiful White Fences property with confidence, or simply enjoying the opportunity to train every day in the Florida sun.

For Esther and Hernando, winter 2023 marked the first opportunity to enter the CDI ring sporting the Canadian flag, rather than competing for Guatemala. This new partnership continued to grow in strength and confidence, achieving a number of major goals this season. 

The busy international ring at the Global Dressage Festival provided the ideal venue to gain experience performing in an intimidating environment and to build confidence in this sensitive horse.  A season highlight included qualifying for the Grand Prix Special in a large and highly competitive field. Hernando really shone in the national shows, consistently achieving Grand Prix and GPS scores in the 70% range and showing so much promise for the future. 

Wintering in Florida is about so much more than competition. Esther took full advantage of the opportunity to learn from the best, training with the likes of Lars Petersen and Claudio Oliviera. 

With a full season of training and international competition under their belts, Esther and Hernando are ready to take on Canada's CDI season in this all important Pan Am Games qualifying year. Wish them luck!