By Lynndee Kemmet -
Saugerties, NY – Sharon McCusker’s nine-year-old Dutch gelding Wrigley clearly
seems to be on track to become one of America’s leading international
contenders over the next several years. The pair nabbed an early victory in
USDF Region 8 competition by being crowned the 2012 Intermediaire II Open
champions with a score of 68.860. The Region 8 championships are being held
during the New England Dressage Association’s Fall Festival at the
HITS-on-the-Hudson show grounds in Saugerties, NY. The one championship win was
enough for McCusker. She and Wrigley were scheduled to do two more days of
showing but after consulting with her coach, Michael Poulin, McCusker scratched
her remaining rides.
“As Michael said, Wrigley didn’t need to do another test. He
had done his job. He’s had to learn much between the ages of six and nine and
he’s tired. I want to keep him for the future. The couple of mistakes he had in
his test were mine,” McCusker said.
This past year, Wrigley was placed on America’s high
performance watch list this year, which meant that McCusker and Wrigley
qualified to clinic with leading trainers such as Debbie MacDonald and Steffen
Peters. She also trained with Hubertus Schmidt this past winter in Florida,
where she focused solely on training.
“I didn’t show at all last year in Florida. I felt showing
would have distracted us from our training goals.” It proved to be a wise decision
because Wrigley has been zooming along all season. He is undefeated in Intermediaire
II competition this season with scores over 70 percent. He was also ranked
third in the nation on the developing horse rankings and qualified for the 2012
Developing Horse National Championships. But they were being held in Illinois
and McCusker, who is based in Ashby,Mass. during the summer, decided that it
would be too much of a trip for Wrigley.
“I didn’t want to drive him half way across the country in
the heat. He’s a top horse so I’m trying to make the right plan for him,” she
said.

McCusker acquired Wrigley when he was six from Marsha Morris
in Florida. The gelding was born in Holland. Last year he won in Prix St.
Georges competition at the NEDA CDI and then moved up to Intermediaire
competition this past year. McCusker is hoping to move him up to grand prix
during the 2013 Florida winter season and has the National Championships as her
target for next summer.
“He has a super walk and is a really good character and forward
thinking. He’s been a really fun horse to train, very eager, smart and athletic,”
McCusker said. That he has the talent to be an international-level competitor
is something McCusker does not doubt. Hence, her focus is on making sure she
gets him there healthy both mentally and physically. She spends about two days
a week out of the ring riding cross country and up and down hills to avoid
drilling Wrigley. “He’s already very forward so for me it’s a question of
channeling his energy and keeping him soft and working over his back. He
doesn’t need to be drilled in his work. I focus on keeping him lose and I do a
lot of transitions within and between gaits.”
Photo Courtesy of Sharon McCusker by Carole MacDonald