2021 Amanda Johnson Freestyle Fund for Region 2 and 4 Riders Grant Recipient: Brynne Varvel

I was extremely excited when I was notified by The Dressage Foundation that I had been selected as the recipient of the 2021 Amanda Johnson Freestyle Fund grant for many reasons. First, while I have been riding dressage for more than 10 years now, I have never ridden or created a freestyle– so this territory was utterly new. Additionally, I have always felt the freestyle is really the place where the dressage “magic” happens. I am sure many others have been moved by the incredible performances of Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro or Debbie McDonald and Brentina among many others. It has also been such an honor to have received this grant which is in memory of an outstanding trainer and woman, Amanda Johnson, whom I remember watching perform her freestyle as a demonstration at the 2017 FEI World Cup Finals in Omaha. Of course, like with many things with horses we have had a few “ups” and a few “downs” in the process of finalizing this freestyle.

I chose to have a freestyle created for my now nine-year-old American Dutch Harness Horse/Dutch Warmblood gelding, JND’s Illuminator, who has been competing in the small tour division over the last year. We hit a few snags in our training over the past year and a half since receiving this grant which set us back in our preparation of completing an FEI Intermediate 1 floor plan. Thankfully this winter we were able to get some incredible help from Oded Shimoni which really solidified the movements at this level and upon returning home were able to create a floorplan. I opted to create the floorplan myself as I know Illuminator in and out – weaknesses and all– and felt that simple choreography was necessary. At the same time, he continued to develop and gain confidence at this level. I decided to work with Beth Hall at Woodwind Studios after seeing several freestyles she had created. She has been outstanding to work with throughout the process. We decided on some fun classic rock music that helps highlight Illuminator's outgoing personality and flamboyancy. I am really looking forward to competing in this freestyle soon.

We had set an August competition date which sadly is going to have to be pushed back due to an injury for Illuminator. I’m extremely grateful for this opportunity which this grant has given me and can’t wait to enjoy showing it.