A local Squamish athlete 鈥� and her four-legged companion 鈥� put on an award-winning performance in one of the biggest equestrian events of the year.
Isabella Fietz is the Rising Star Equitation Reserve Champion for British Columbia, Bronze Division after her showing Oct. 4 at the Pacific Regional Dressage Championships 2019 in Langley.
The Howe Sound Secondary School student wasn鈥檛 alone when she made it to the podium at Thunderbird Show Park. She had help from a horse that, up until recently, was mostly unemployed.
鈥淭he horse that she was riding, Remington, just eight months ago, was basically in a field. He had no job, no kind of career or path and they took him and she鈥檚 been working with him," said Wes Schild, who coaches Fietz.
Schild says that Fietz鈥檚 win is a major mark for those in the world of dressage.
鈥淲ell, definitely for our neck of the woods, this last championship of the year is a pretty big deal,鈥� said Schild, who works at Riverlands Equestrian Facility. 鈥淭hunderbird attracts some of the best riders, trainers, horses 鈥� for definitely the West Coast, the Number 1 show to hit. So it鈥檚 definitely a big deal.鈥�
Dressage can be compared to ballet for horses, Schild said.
The animals are guided by their riders to do a series of intricate movements and are scored based on that performance.
Fietz鈥檚 accomplishment is especially noteworthy given that the talent she had to work with was especially raw.
鈥淒efinitely for the horse, to get him where he is, fitness is a huge component,鈥� said Schild.
鈥淗e was quite heavy and overweight and not used to working, so we had to get him past that.鈥�
Kim Lawrence, who owns Remington, said that he鈥檚 come a long way from his days lazing about in the field.
However, he hasn鈥檛 lost his 鈥済oofball鈥� spirit and is willing to give horse hugs, wherein he draws someone close and wraps his neck around them.
鈥淗e is a character,鈥� added Lawrence. 鈥淗e is an absolute character.鈥�
Riders have to put in a lot of work too though. They need to have a sharp memory to learn all the detailed movements necessary to execute a routine.
They also need a good command of their animal to convince the horse to go through the actions, and fitness, of course, is a given.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been great to see. 'Bella is a super-talented rider,鈥� said Schild. 鈥淭o have it pay off at the end of the year is just super nice.鈥�
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*Please note, this story has been corrected since it was first posted to reflect that听Isabella currently attends Howe Sound Secondary, not Don Ross Middle School.听
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