Canada’s Diane Creech is helping bring along another of Leatherdale Farms’ young horses. The eight-year-old Hanoverian mare (Damsey FRH-Belinda, Brentano II), Diana C is showing off her power and potential as she takes big strides forward in her career, with Creech.
Diana C made a successful CDI debut in the Gold Coast Opener Festival CDI1* Jan. 15-18. She then earned high marks in the Adequan Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) 4 national show Jan. 31-Feb. 1, winning the Intermediaire I with an outstanding 74.737 percent.
Creech shared her success at the AGDF 4 national show with her 14-year-old daughter, Vanessa Creech-Terauds, who scored 70.461 percent in the Junior Individual test with her new mount, Leatherdale Farms’ Rob Roy.
Diana C’s sire, Damsey FRH (Dressage Royal-Ria Grande, Ritual), is among the distinguished Leatherdale Farms stallions standing at Hengststation Jens Meyer in Dorum, Germany. The Association for the Promotion of Hanoverian Horses in Equestrian Sport honored Damsey for his exceptional quality with the suffix FRH.
At their Minnesota farm, the Leatherdales have a very promising Damsey son named Dublin L, who is out of Wibranda (by Wolkenstein II), the dam of Creech’s Grand Prix mount Devon L. Dublin L is a coming 4-year-old who will be one to watch as he matures.
The connection to Damsey makes Diana C particularly special to Doug and Louise Leatherdale, who were on hand for the mare’s CDI debut.
“It’s wonderful to have a daughter of Damsey competing for us,” Doug Leatherdale said. “We are excited to see what the future holds for her.”
Creech noted, “Doug and Louise both feel that it’s important to give her time to grow and get more confident and comfortable in the ring. It’s all about the journey with her. Because she’s from their own stallion, it means a lot to them to see her out there and showing.”
Owners and rider alike were happy that the mare had a positive first experience in the international arena at AGDF, and the judges’ remarks were encouraging.
“I had expected her to be a little hot at the CDI because it was her first time in a bigger environment,” Creech said. “But although she was a little bit eager, she always came back to me. She just tried so hard – she gives 120 percent. I got really good comments for her from the judges.”
Diana C is already showing plenty of talent for Grand Prix work, but Creech is taking it slowly with the young mare, keeping an eye to the future and giving her plenty of time to develop.
“She’s so smart and learns everything so quickly,” Creech said. “She just has to go out and get the experience. I want to introduce her gradually and give her confidence. That’s our goal right now, to get her confident in bigger environments and then slowly but surely introduce her in CDIs.”
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