Wellington, Fla. – April 20, 2021 – After rounding out twelve weeks of showing, Grand Prix dressage rider and trainer Allison Kavey of Rivendell Dressage is happy to reflect on another exciting competition season in the winter equestrian capital, Wellington, Florida. Competing alongside some of the best riders in the world at the world-class venue of the Adequan Global Dressage Festival (AGDF), Kavey put another year of successful top-tier competition under her belt before returning to Rivendell Dressage’s northern location in Millbrook, New York.
Supported by trainers Bettina Drummond, Ali Brock, Lee Tubman, and Jim Koford, Kavey’s season was kickstarted with a CDI debut on her top mount Citha’s Utopia, a 14-year-old KWPN mare owned by Andrea Woodner, in Week 3’s CDI3*. The pair made consistent improvements throughout the season, and in Week 11, they were named the Vita Flex Victory Pass Award winners after taking first place in the weekend’s national level Grand Prix Freestyle. Moving into the spring and summer, Kavey looks forward to fine-tuning her Grand Prix work with Citha’s Utopia.
In addition to piloting Citha’s Utopia down the centerline, she also introduced Woodner’s Hortelano LXXXV, a 10-year-old PRE gelding, to Fourth Level in the national arena this winter season. Kavey earned several first place finishes to add to the talented horse’s career at both the AGDF and White Fences competitions.
“Overall this was a successful season,” Kavey explained. “Citha’s Utopia got a lot of mileage in the Grand Prix, and we were able to use that experience to tailor a training program that will strengthen her weak areas and allow her to become more confident in the piaffe and passage. Hortelano LXXXV made a very successful debut at Fourth Level 2, and is now successfully schooling the Prix St. Georges. We look forward to qualifying him for Regionals at Fourth Level 3 and Dressage at Devon.
“The younger horses, particularly Bheatrix, Jaika and Rhett, made great progress while we were in Florida,” she continued. “I look forward to bringing them out this summer season, with Beatrix perhaps also qualifying for Devon at Fourth Level.”
After successfully pairing a promising sale horse with its new partner this season, Kavey is excited to announce an opening in her stable for a new client horse. Whether you have a young horse you would like to have started or you are hoping to move your horse up a level, Kavey offers unparalleled one-on-one training and care at her facility in Millbrook, New York. Following the end of the winter circuit, Kavey will travel to locations along the East Coast to lead clinics for riders of all disciplines looking to improve their riding with fundamental dressage work. If you are interested in scheduling a clinic with Kavey, please email krakenkavey@gmail.com.
“I am always and forever indebted to Andrea Woodner, who consistently supports a dream that is ethereal and often ridiculous,” Kavey said. “These horses are, as she says, a museum of the most beautiful, athletic, and talented creatures we can find. But they are challenging, and it is my great pleasure to pursue their education with her unfettered support.
“I would also like to thank my sponsors BioStar [Whole Food Supplements], The Horse of Course, Outlaw Feeds and Poulin Grain, who have stuck with me for many years, and I hope will continue to support me as I negotiate the next set of hurdles that the sport poses,” she continued. “I’d like to thank Dana Sherwood and Colleen Rutledge for sending their horses to Florida and trusting me to train and, in the case of Colleen, represent them for sale. It was such a pleasure to work with Dana’s lovely Zazou, to place Colleen’s Ronnie, and to continue working with Colleen’s Rhett.”
With another successful winter season in Wellington under her belt, Kavey is looking forward to great spring and summer seasons of training students, leading clinics, and fine-tuning her top mounts Citha’s Utopia and Cacharel.
To learn more about Allison Kavey and Rivendell Dressage, please visit rivendelldressage.com and follow her on Facebook.
