What a story! Second in the world is not a bad place to be.

Once again I decided to delve into the professional world of riders. As I was peeking in on the top riders, I came across a story of Adelinde Cornelissen and her mount Parzival. I read the story and it was very good, so I decided to write about it tonight. The story is found on Dressage-News.com and here is the link to the full story with lots of good photos if you would like to check it out http://www.dressage-news.com/?p=4558.

Here is a brief summary of the story to those of you that don’t want to read the whole thing. Adelinde Cornelissen was a Dutch high school English Teacher. Riding was her hobby and she had ridden through the mid levels in Dressage. Adelinde was approached to see if she would help prepare a horse to be sold. That horse was Parzival. The chestnut gelding was deemed unrideable by many at the barn he was housed at. Adeline began working with Parzival and thought this horse’s potential lurked beneath. She could get the occasional good stride from him and when she did, she knew he had talent. She had to make 10 good strides turn into 6 – 10 minutes to preform a dressage test. Cornelissen conviced Parzival’s owner to allow her to show him to get more attention for his sale. Their first few shows together were less than impressive. They had several scores in the 40s and a few times had to leave the ring halfway through her test due to misbehavior. They kept working and continuing to improve. By 2007, Cornelissen and Parzival were posting scores in the 60s and 70s and were named an alternate to the 2008 Dutch Olympic team. With her own savings, money from family, a sponsorships from Anky’s clothing line and a feed company, she decided to quit her job and ride full time. She was nervous because she now had no income and just Parzival. She didn’t need to worry because the celebration really began when her an Parzival broke the world record of the Grand Prix Special at the European Championships. Coming into 2010, Cornelissen and Parizal are ranked 2nd in the world. Shown below is a ride where she placed second with a still amazing 87.35% to Edward Gal and Totilas in the Freestyle.

I thought this was a great story and can relate to the lack of funds and to try to do Dressage with. It is great to see that a talented, hard working, rider with little money and a horse that some thought un-rideable could end up being the second best combo in the world.

Let’s face it, our’s is not the cheapest sport in the world. I was thinking of that today as I had the farrier out to shoe my horses. Over a hundred dollars later I thought, “It is too bad I don’t have something like sewing or scrabble as my hobby.” I also think about all of the neat trips I could take with the money the farm costs. Those thoughts only stay with me for a moment though because I love my farm and horses and I know if I didn’t have all of this, all I would be working towards is trying to obtain it.

This story tells me for some dreams really do come true. If I look back to when I was a child and look at my life now, I would have to say, many of my dreams have come true too. I’m sure if you take the chance to pretend that you are that small child looking at you now as an adult, you may say the same.

Tags: Adelinde Cornelissen, Dreams, dressage, Parzival, Professional rider, rider