Local to Compete in Horse Competition

Laguna local Nicole Bhathal will compete with her Oldenburg gelding, Sir Cedrik, in the Capistrano Dressage International contest on March 20-22 at the Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park in San Juan Capistrano. Their first appearance as a team was in Del Mar last month.

World famous riders in the competition will include Olympians Steffen Peters, Jan Ebeling, Gunter Seidel and Leslie Reid, and former Pan Am team members Elizabeth Ball and Kristina Harrison.

In a first, a free guided backstage tour of the show is being offered to Laguna Beach horse enthusiasts Saturday, March 21.  Participants will meet at the entrance of the Mission Viejo Riding Park and have the opportunity to see horse/rider teams that will be competing for qualifying scores for spots on the World Cup and Pan American Games teams this summer.

The hilltop location offers a view of the jumping and dressage shows running simultaneously. On the way to the stables, the guides will explain what the judges are looking for in show jumping while passing the grass competition rings on their right.

At the stables, riders will meet with the tour to demonstrate how they prepare their horses to compete in the ring and introduce their equine partners.

The tour finale is the opportunity to see award-winning Bhathal compete in the five to seven minute Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) Intermediare test with Sir Cedrik H.

Bhathal and Sir Cedrik’s riding discipline, dressage, means “to train.” The Olympic sport is often described as ballet for horses, though its roots are in ancient Greece where soldiers and philosophers trained their horses both for battle and beauty of movement. The aim is to develop a fluid moving horse that performs from almost imperceptible signals by the rider.

“When the partnership with the horse starts to come together, it is like nothing else in the world,” said Bhathal, who describes a feeling like that of a perfect dance partner.

To join the tour Saturday, March 21, call 949 497-8915 or e-mail [email protected] to make reservations.