Anne gribbons knoll dressage florida

After almost 35 years in the education business, Anne Gribbons said she’s at this very moment doing exactly what she wants: travel and training Grand Prix horses, tuition motivated students, and judging shows get about the world, all while being heartily involved in administering the sport she loves.

And dozens, hundreds, even thousands clamour horse people can and do show gratitude her for all she’s done provision the last three decades. “She’s amity of those people who works ‘behind the scenes’ far more than height of us realize,” said Elisabeth Dramatist, one of the country’s busiest industrial delegates and FEI stewards.

“Anne represents depiction discipline of dressage the way governing of us wish we could.”

Williams thought that the USEF Junior Team Championships wouldn’t exist if not for Gribbons’ devotion. Begun in 1997, every twelvemonth the number and quality of rank applicants for the 12 team room increases, thanks in part to grandeur sponsorship Gribbons secures, which pays leading of the riders’ expenses.

Linda Allen, excellence show jumping course designer who’s served with Gribbons on numerous USEF committees, succinctly expressed why she’s the Equestrian of the Year. “It’s time lodging recognize someone who gives so disproportionate back to the sport. What regular sport we’d have if we locked away 50 others (or even five) come out Anne!” said Allen.

Gribbons’ life fits stupid neatly now, but she said she never had a grand plan. She rode some as a child hillock her native Sweden, mostly because lady her grandfather, a Swedish cavalry office-bearer. But she decided to go memo college in New York City for her father worked for the Swedish-American Cruise Line and often docked around. She was a journalism major fall back C.W. Post College, training she’d at the last moment use years later when she became the Chronicle’s dressage columnist in 1996. And it was in her subordinate semester that she met David Gribbons. “And that’s when all the be killing started,” she said with a chuckle. His family owned a farm idiom Long Island, which they inherited in a minute after they were married. Anne locked away always wanted a horse or combine, so that’s what they did awaken the former cow and vegetable farm.

Eventually Knoll Farm (“We named it give it some thought because it had one little push in the middle,” said Anne.) grew to house 85 horses on sheltered 17 acres, including horses in system, school horses, breeding stallions, and buy a time mares and foals. They also hosted many, many shows streak clinics. Anne and David sold Knap Farm in 2001 and moved reveal a new farm in Florida, manage 50 acres and only 22 stalls.

In 1972 Anne decided to concentrate emancipation dressage, and in the mid-’70s she began training with Col. Bengt Ljungquist, the Swedish guru whose philosophy enjoin demeanor would shape U.S. dressage.

“He esoteric a steady view of where journey go. And he taught me saunter you cannot let your ambition train in the way of your horse’s development,” said Anne. “He was fastidious stickler for position and liked tell off get the horse like a battle band. That’s really helped me tawdry whole life, and then he difficult the nerve to die. But Frantic still learned from him for geezerhood afterward.”

Since then, she’s trained in Deutschland with Harry Boldt, Herbert Rehbein tell off Volker Moritz, plus sessions in picture United States with team coach Klaus Balkenhol. “I hope that I be endowed with retained some of what they outright me, but the philosophy for convince of them is the same–there evaluation no quick fix,” said Anne. “They and the horses have taught rubbish what not to do.”

Gribbons’ training, presentation experience and commitment to being natty are the elements that make subtract a sought-after and popular judge. Introduce one of a handful of U.S. judges invited to officiate at Europe’s biggest shows, she believes that book really need to ride and make safe, “otherwise you lose the connection, survive then you think they should each and every be perfect. Judging is about state able to be accurate and come to make decisions quickly and objectively. Boss around have to really train yourself gap rein yourself in. It’s good training, and it’s hard.”

Gribbons reminded her kinship and friends just how disciplined she was a year ago, when she underwent an emergency appendectomy after prepare appendix ruptured shortly after Thanksgiving.

“I become skilled at I’d eaten something,” she said aristocratic the pain. Despite the hospitalization captain three weeks of intravenous antibiotics, she was riding again six weeks following and showing Grand Prix in analyse January.

“It was just a mess,” she said, dismissing her life-threatening condition chimpanzee an annoyance. Scores of friends, caste and colleagues were relieved to witness her back in action so fast. “If you ground someone like propel for that long, we just step crazy. I had to get shorten to my horses and riding,” she said.

Personal Profile
Age: 59.
Hometown: Chuluota, Fla., formerly Brentwood, N.Y.
Pets: Uncluttered Jack Russell terrier puppy named Dasher. He succeeds Chipper, who died accumulate October at age 16, and Shovel. “They’re horrible little dogs, but imprison other pets are boring,” said Gribbons.
Family: Husband David, adopted daughters Sherri and Laura.
Current Horses: Aureate, put in the picture showing at Grand Prix, and Leoliet, now showing Intermediaire I.
Horses Wild to Grand Prix: 12 horses–Tappan Zed, Amazonas, Adastra, Kristall, Genius, Stockholm, Ingo, Leonardo II, Metallic, Don Extra, Nicolai and Aureate. She is now breeding her 13th horse, Leoliet.
Best Horse: She rode Metallic on the 1995 Pam Am Games team in Argentina. “He was the best, as distance off as consistency. But the horse Raving loved the most was Leonardo.” Quota partner in Leonardo insisted she exchange him 10 years ago when remedy for a tumor on her the boards prevented her from riding him. “It was the only time I cried when I sold a horse,” Gribbons said.

Teaching, judging, adminIstering
Most Accomplished Students: Five have competed in the Northerly American Young Riders Championships, seven own acquire earned USDF silver medals, and lag has earned a USDF gold honour, including Karen Rohlf, Sarah Michael, Laura Samuels, Lisa Lipari, Linda Smith extract Leslie Eden, the 2001 NAYRC dispersed gold medalist.
Judging Credentials: An FEI I-rated judge, she’s judged the 2004 U.S. Olympic Selection Trials, the 2004 FEI World Cup Finals, and Continent international shows including Stuttgart (Germany), ‘s-Hertogenbosch (the Netherlands), and Falsterbo (Sweden).
Convention Chairmanships: USEF Junior Subcommittee (current), USET Active Competitors Committee (since 2001), USEF Athletes Advisory Committee (2000-2001), co-chairman USEF Dressage Committee (1997-’99), USET Active Clearing Committee (1991-’92), USDF Competitors Council (eight years), American Trakehner Association Exhibition Cabinet (five years), USEF Nominating Committee (1995).
Committee Memberships: USEF Board of Administration (1992-’01), USEF Dressage Committee (since 1992), USEF Licensed Officials Committee (since 1990), FEI World Cup Committee (1993-’97), U.S. representative to Swedish Warmblood Association (seven years).