Jane Savoie, a well-known US dressage rider, coach, author, lecturer and motivational speaker, died on January 4, 2021 in Berlin, VT, at the age of 71. She had succumbed to complications from multiple myeloma (a cancer of the white blood cells), a disease that she had been bravely fighting since 2015.
Jane’s love of horses began in her childhood and after graduating from college she bought her first horse and became interested in dressage. This led to a storied career that saw her win numerous USDF medals and being named as an alternate for the U.S. Olympic Dressage team in Barcelona in 1992.
Jane spread her expertise around to benefit riders from other countries as well. She was the dressage coach for the Canadian 3-Day Event Team at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and the 2004 Olympics in Athens, where several riders achieved personal best dressage scores and finished tenth as a team. She also coached a number of dressage and event riders from the US, Canada and Belgium in preparation for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. While there she coached US Dressage Team member Susan Blinks and Flim Flam, who were part of the team bronze medal effort. Jane was inducted into the US Dressage Federation’s Hall of Fame in December 2019.
Jane published numerous books on sports psychology, dressage, and jumping and produced two popular video series, “Train with Jane” and “Happy Horse.” Many developing riders benefitted from her Dressage 101 published in 2011; more recent titles include Dressage Between the Jumps (read an excerpt here) and a just-released romantic novel, Second Chances.
She and her husband, Rhett, spent summers in Vermont and winters in Wellington, FL. In a testament to her grace and tenacity, Jane took up competitive ballroom dancing at the age of 63; she also supported many animal welfare organizations and continued to blog and ride her Friesian, Moshi, in 2020 despite her illness.
Contributions in Jane’s memory may be made to Central Vermont Dressage Association or to the Green Mountain Horse Association.
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