DefinitelyDressage.com

If you are not aware of HIlda Gurney, everyone can just bow down. The woman is 76 years old and this was the last of 28 rides over four days at the champs. She can not only ride ALL of the levels, she can remember all of the tests, and has trained horse after horse after horse personally up the levels, and helped SO many people. She is always one of the kindest, most considerate people in the warm up ring.

We should all aspire to be 1/10th as good!

https://www.facebook.com/19559014713751 ... nf&__xts__[0]=68.ARDd_GEpK4sEGCu-ZSBDOTxSZnC4Y8z48BpA3hYWw5YrC6IQPlFD7SPOn78N5nFjPwtZdIwYU6UJlLji0Jxusl3yVgE73K4uSm69QKjqoHdpRgNFj2K2FlypgSL4LYjdKs0xV1d5RYpHeiopxWKcJc2qhMAq9M_FoXWIWaMs-Xr8VHohCcBEYmyV_TOIl2jebGoRnTNuFiPWwqKxbNPJLPrPrWHyNuqFU8LrAns-6Y6F320i6aauDSohC9XVD8jMkTfywiA-dNhsipyM3AsWmFNbn3j_oqT66Bs-xuu2Cc_VO3TNI4XV2BM941pZ-J0xuVc3xoJJnBSwyMCSVH2dF05GCRBV9n7P2NNzcxyQh9g0V6tORvRUiMz886q9HYZlWy8

***** In a snaffle too!

Bravo Hilda! 76! She’s an inspiration.

Bravo.
When we lived at Breakfast Vlei, an outpost in the middle of the Xhosa territory, the elder, a chief named Barney, used to ride his horse eight miles to visit my father. The horse was a wiry skinny type and we would give it oats and hay. Barney would visit for several hours and share some whiskey with Dad , and sometimes dad would break out a bottle of liqueur. We were quite ostracized in apartheid south Africa for this social infraction.

As Barney aged, Dad would offer to drive into the location to get him. Barney refused, he had a car, but he liked that we fed his horse, and he said when he was drunk the car did not know the way home.

So in his late eighties he road 16 miles to get food for his horse and good whiskey.

One day when he was 90. He did not come. One of his great grandchildren brought the news that he had died in his sleep.

I hope that I may still be on the back of horse at an advanced age.

Wow. I have always liked Hilda.She is great judge too (IMO).
I showed under her years ago. Hauled about 4 hours to the show. Horse seemed out of character with her tension and stiffness. My friend that accompanied me couldn't see any lameness. She just didn't want the leg on. So, I pulled her out the next morning and did our warm-up and she was still very tense and stiff (like a 2 x 4). We made it through the test, got mid-50's for a score and I told my friend I was scratching her. Hilda's big comment (which she gave me verbally in addition to the test sheet) was that I was bouncing on my horse's back (DUH!). I just bit my tongue and told my friend that I would like to see her ride her in that state . My friend convinced me not to scratch then as she needed the mileage...which she did as I was trying get her over a big wreck she had at her first rated show (another long story). So, I didn't scratch but was ready to if she was still as seemingly uncomfortable as she was on the 1st day. Warm up was much more supple... she breezed through a lovely test and Hilda gave us our first and only 70% and high score for the show! Very fair of her after the tension filled test of the first day.

Come to find out, my horse had an ovarian tumor on the left. When she would come in heat and build follicles she was very uncomfortable. When she went out of heat, she was back to her normal cooperative self. I finally connected the timing...the tension and stiffness behavior happened for several days every 3 weeks. I had her spayed...behaviour returned to normal...all the time .

Anyway, kudos to Hilda. She looks great and the mare is lovely. Her schedule when showing has always just blown me away. How many horses she is riding and how many different tests she is riding and yes...she remembers them all. And still doing it at 76! My mind is blown!

Susan