Celebrating Success Under the Lights at 2018 DAD!

Another fantastic Dressage at Devon is in the books!  Kim, Soraya and owner Marilyn Sherwin had a big weekend with 2 nights under the lights in the Dixon Oval, placing 2nd in the Grand Prix on a 66.5 and 3rd in the Grand Prix Freestyle on a 70.275!

Over the past several months we’ve been working very hard competing at Red Tail Farm in NJ and our training included a visit from Arthur Kottas for in-hand work and a focus on the piaffe and technical movements.  When Kim returns to forward later this fall, she’s looking forward to working with Debbie MacDonald again!  Until then, all the horses will have an easier October until we head south.


Kim and Soraya’s top 3 finish in the freestyle landed them a nice mention in the Chronicle of the Horse.  Below is an excerpt from the Chronicle’s Full Article.

Kim Herslow and Marilyn Sherwin’s Soraya II, a 16-year-old Hanoverian mare (Sandro Hit—Dynamique, Donnerhall) finished in third place (70.27%).

Herslow rode to a mix of pop instrumentals including Taylor Swift and Adele. It was her first time riding in the freestyle at Devon.

She competed Soraya at Devon last year in the CDI***, but since it was still a new ride for her at the time, she decided to stay out of the CDI ring and work more on the partnership after that. This was their first time back at the international level.

“She came in here, and she handled the atmosphere, and I felt like I could ride for a little more expression,” she said. “Yesterday I was pretty conservative in my ride—I just wanted a clean test. I wasn’t trying to get big expression. Then I thought, you know what? I’m just going to go for it, and she was right there. I just dropped my hand down centerline and did the passage back up to the judge with one hand. That was fun, and the crowd loved it! I think it was the most fun freestyle I’ve ever done.”

Congrats to all, it was a fun show and a great atmosphere with an enthusiastic crowd who cheered on all the riders ecstatically.  We are looking forward to next year to ride under the lights again at Devon!

Many thanks to Marilyn for allowing me to produce this mare up to the GP level and to my staff and sponsors for all of your support – Purina Horse Feed, FootingFirst, LLC, Samshield America, The Horse of Course, Inc., Flexi Equine Tack Lockers, Iago USA, Sommer Saddles, LV Performance, Equsani, Browbands with Bling & Other Things!

For more photos and updates from our weekend, hop on over to our FB page

And if you’d like to relive each night, here are videos from the GP as well!