Deborah Hausman and Verona
Originally published in The Chronicle of the Horse, March 02, 2007
by Sheri Scott
After no rainfall in January, almost 2 inches of rain fell during the show, most of it on Saturday. Luckily, the managers of the Murieta Equine Center had widened the ring area in the main covered arena last summer, and two dressage rings fit side by side, leaving the smaller covered arena for warm-up. So even though the roads flooded, the show went on with dry footing.
Scoring High
Deborah Hausman posted the show’s high score on her Dutch Warmblood mare Verona (Jazz—Glennridge, G Ramiro) with an 85.8 percent in the Materiale class on Friday. She also won the warm-up and the qualifying FEI 5-year-old classes with scores of 69.40 percent and 72.80 percent, respectively.
This was the first time that Hausman showed Verona in the 5-year-old class and the first time she’d ridden the mare through the entire test. Hausman purchased Verona last June in the Netherlands and competed with her there in the Pavo Cup. This was their first show in the United States.
“I didn’t know how long it takes for a warm-up with herâ€, said Hausman. “For a young horse that’s always such an issue. Too much, too little—it’s such a fine line to find out what you need.â€
The first day she warmed up in only 9 minutes due to some confusion between the warm-up and the show ring. “So I had quite a bit of horse. But the second day I worked her much longer and she was more concentrated,†Hausman said. “But I don’t want to lose the energy to show her gaits. So that’s something we need to learn. But I had an enormous experience with her there just finding out and playing with that. You just don’t know until you show it. You can try it at home, but it’s very different in that environment, coupled with the weather. I think she did well for her first time out.â€
Their 72.80 percent score in the FEI 5-year-old class from judges Jane Weatherwax and Betty Berrey qualified them for the Western finals to be held at Flintridge (Calif.) in May. “Having this qualifying score behind us really gives me some relaxation,†said Hausman with a smile. “I don’t have so much pressure now.â€
Gerhard Politz comes to Hausman’s Quailhurst Stable in Sherwood , Ore., each month for clinics. Hausman also rode with Christine Traurig for many years.
Image by Sheri Scott
