Kasper and Reese Koffler-Stanfied
Kasper and Reese qualified for the National Grand Prix Championships held in Gladstone, N.J. in June.  Despite the rainy weather and cancellation of Sunday's Grand Prix Special, they put in a great performance Friday and Saturday, and placed fourth! 

Kasper was trained by Suzanne Bollman in which she competed through the Grand Prix Level until he was sold to Maplecrest Farm, LLC and is now being ridden by Reese Koffler-Stanfield, who trains with Kathy Connelly.

Congratulations to our DHF Dressage-trained horses and their riders, performing with the grace and beauty that embodies the true art and sport of dressage! 

Double Grand Prix Wins
(SOLD in 2008 to Maplecrest Farm, LLC Goubergh's Kasper, 1992 KWPN Gelding.  His success at Grand Prix continues . . .)
~ Thanks to Lynndee Kemmet of Dressage Daily for this article 5/9/09
The World Equestrian Games will be held for the first time in the U.S. when the premiere equestrian competition comes to Kentucky next year and Reese Koffler-Stanfield dreams of being there, representing not only her country, but her state. "My goal is to be the home-town girl for the World Equestrian Games," said Koffler-Stanfield, who lives in Georgetown, Kentucky, just minutes from the Kentucky Horse Park, which will play host to the WEG in 2010. About her horse Goubergh's Kasper , Reese describes him as her "dessert". "He is just the icing on the cake for me, and always tops off my day. Koffler-Stanfield topped off everyone's day at lamplight with her delightful Grand Prix Special, as she sets her sights on next month's Grand Prix Championships at Gladstone.

And after her multiple grand prix wins at this weekend's Dressage at Lamplight CDI/CPEDI 3*, Koffler-Stanfield feels she's on her way to qualifying for WEG. "I do think these wins help to show that Kasper and I are here and we're ready," Koffler-Stanfield said. She and the 17-year-old Goubergh's Kasper took first in Friday's CDI Grand Prix is 64.809 percent and first in the CDI Grand Prix Freestyle with a score of 70.350. The pair has only been together since last year when Koffler-Stanfield purchased the KWPN-gelding from Suzanne Dansby Bollman. "He is the most wonderful horse. We call him our dessert because he's so wonderfully trained. I'm so lucky to have him."

Koffler-Stanfield said she trains with three great coaches – Conrad Schumacher, Kathy Connelly and Jessica Ransehousen. Ransehousen was on hand during the Lamplight CDI to help coach Koffler-Stanfield and some of her Para Equestrian riders. "And I had just seen all three of them within the last month, so we were tuned up and ready to go," Koffler-Stanfield said. She and Kasper are sitting eighth on the national list for the National Dressage Championships in Gladstone, New Jersey. Koffler-Stanfield said she brought the gelding to Lamplight so they could have an outing before Gladstone and also because she likes the show. "Lamplight is a fabulous show and I feel comfortable here. Everyone is so nice."

The trip to Lamplight, however, wasn't without its glitches. The Koffler-Stanfield team first ran into trouble when their truck broke down before the event. A friend loaned them a truck for the eight-hour drive to Lamplight. "The trip wasn't without its challenges, but it was certainly worth it in the end," Koffler-Stanfield said. After her double grand prix wins, she was all smiles. "It was a great weekend. We'll take it," she said.

Koffler-Stanfield admitted to being a bit nervous going into the Grand Prix Freestyle because after her success in the Wellington Classic Dressage series in Florida, she wondered if she could replicate it at Lamplight. "We had such a great show in March, earning a 70 percent in the freestyle, that I really wanted to do well again," she said. "Having another good freestyle ride just made the win more exciting and it was great for judges to know that we could do it again."

Marlene Whitaker helped Koffler-Stanfield create her happy, fun freestyle that includes music from the Muppets and such fun songs as "Don't Worry, Be Happy" and "Love and Marriage." "I wanted fun music because Kasper is a fun horse and he has a funny sense of humor and Marlene suggested some tongue-and-check humor. I love it," Koffler-Stanfield said. "We want to make people smile and it makes me smile and I think Kasper smiles when he rides to it."

Rower BE News
A new partnership is being formed.   Jessica Jo Tate of Wellington, Florida and more recently, of Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, is now riding and competing “Rower BE,”  Suzanne Dansby Bollman’s young Rhinelander gelding.   “I’m just ecstatic,“ says JJ,  “It is a dream come true, and an honor Suzanne has chosen me to ride and compete with her wonderful horse.”

   Since she is presently spending more time teaching and training in the Atlanta area than on the road showing, Suzanne decided to hand over the Rower’s reins to JJ.   JJ possesses the qualities Suzanne firmly believes are the components that define true success: talent and dedication, combined with integrity and a desire to strive for excellence, not only in the arena, but in one’s personal endeavors, too.

   In the process, the two women interviewed each other in hours of heart-to-heart conversations and lengthy emails, and they texted one another for over a month.  Then,  JJ flew up to Atlanta from Wellington in-between her busy schedule of clinics and shows to meet her potential partner.   JJ fell instantly in love with Rower.  How could she not?   “I am so excited and thrilled! He has a wonderful temperament, and a special brightness about him that makes him loveable.  He has beautiful gaits and is so sure of himself. Suzanne has done an excellent job training him, giving him much confidence, and our styles are similar.  I think it will be a neat collaboration!”

   What’s in the cards for JJ and Rower is yet to unfold…. She showed him for the first time Easter weekend in the Developing Young Horse class at VADA/NOVA Spring Dressage in Virginia and won the class with  67%.  It was their first class together, and she had been riding him only a month.   Later this spring and summer, she hopes to qualify for the championships to be held in Chicago in August.  Meanwhile, she will also prepare Rower for entry into the arena  at PSG/I,I.  Suzanne will remain involved as part-time coach and trainer.

Kaspar - " A Hand me Down is a good thing
West Palm Beach – Siblings don't always like getting hand-me downs, but Reese Koffler-Stanfield isn't complaining about what her sister passed along to her last year – Goubergh's Kaspar, a 17-year-old KWPN gelding sired by Facet. Koffler-Stanfield and "Kaspar" took the win in Saturday's Grand Prix Special CDI competition at the Wellington Classic Dressage Spring Challenge with a score of 67.667 percent. The win came among a tough field of competitors, many of whom are aiming for this year's Dressage World Cup competition and the U.S. National Dressage Championships.   see more . . .