1/21/2008:

Happy New Year from Mette! She would like to wish everyone a happy and successful 2008!

This year promises to be an exciting and eventful year for Mette, her horses and her client’s horses. The national championships, which are normally held at Gladstone, are taking place in San Juan Capistrano the last two weekends in June this year. Since this is an Olympic year, this event will host the Olympic Games Selection Trials. Even though Basquewille has had a slow recovery from an abscess, Mette hopes he will be ready and qualify for the USEF High Performance Grand Prix Championships and the Olympic Selection Trials by June. The twelve best horses and riders from these trials will be competing at this event for a spot the U.S. Equestrian Team going to the Beijing Olympics this summer.

Mette hopes to bring both Cory Walkey’s horse Coby 727 and Emma Maclaren’s horse Royal Luck to the USEF High Performance Intermediare I Championships in San Juan Capistrano along with the Olympic selection trials; they will also need to make the top 12 in the U.S. to compete there. In November last year, Mette showed both horses at the Dressage Affaire in Del Mar. Coby won two Intermediare I classes and Royal Luck scored well in his classes (see complete results from this show).

Donatello and Taison don’t have any Championships on the schedule for this year, but they are going well and coming along as planned. Mette's goal for Taison is to go to the 2008 USEF National Developing Horse Dressage Championships, which will be held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington this September. Taison will also need to be among the top 12 horses in the U.S. to qualify for this competition.

Already this year, Mette has been busy giving clinics. In the first week of January, Mette gave a Young Riders clinic in the East Bay, near San Francisco. These riders and nice and talented riders, who have good horses and are willing to work very hard. Unfortunately, on the second day of the clinic, a big storm came in and not everyone was able to attend that day. On the 18th and 19th of January, Mette gave her annual clinic in Chicago. Mette really enjoys going there to teach these higher level riders.

On January 21st, Birgitta Bergsten, a good friend of Mette’s and an international Dressage judge, will be coming for a week for the third year in a row to prepare Mette for the show season. She will help Mette with all of the tests for each horse. Mette really enjoys working with Birgitta and appreciates that she gets time from her busy schedule.

Mette is very fortunate to have four working students with her now. Anna Dahlberg has returned from Sweden to work with Mette again. Mette is also working with Thea from England, Ashley from Portland, Oregon and Daniella from Germany. More information about Mette’s current working students, along with photos, will be coming soon.

Mette is also getting a lot press and recognition this year. Look for an article and photos of her in the April issue of Practical Horseman. She will be featured in an ad for Heritage Gloves in this same issue. Mette was also photographed on Taison for a banner ad that will be used in Wells Fargo Banks. Be sure to look for her in print in all of these places!

As you can see, this promises to be a big year for Mette. Hopefully she will see you in person at the nationals in June or at some other show this Spring!