Melanie Pai Lou Pai3/23/2021
It was only after we were together six months did we fully have trust in one another.When Natalie was only two year old her mother, Melanie Pai, established Canaan Ranch in Texas to breed top horses for the dressage international stage.She followed each youngster as they advanced into extraordinary dressage athletes like her moms Oldenburg stallion, Donates.
Not only did she watch her mothers ranch receive yearly breeding awards, but at that time, her mom formed an ongoing connection with Germanys international rider, coach and trainer Carla Symader. The connection has proved beneficial to the trio, the US Dressage Team, and so many others throughout the years. One day, four-year-old Natalie and Carlas twelve-year-old son went for a swim in the creek next to Carlas home. Melanie still chuckles at the memory, They came out fully covered in mud. At four years old, Natalie was so happy; dirt and mud seemed to make her happy. I remember when they stayed for a whole month when Natalie was 10 years old, Carla recalls. Natalie Pai and Carla Symader at a 2015 White Fences competition Photo: Betsy LaBelle. She spent the former two years training and preparing for the task, but couldnt make it down centerline in 2013 because her horse Flamingo Star injured himself. Then in 2014 she prepared Donates for the task, but sadly he pulled a suspensory in November 2013 which led Natalie to saddle-walk the 13 year old Oldenburg Stallion (by Diamond Hit x Rubinstein I) throughout the entire year and all the way through her competing at the North American Junior Young Rider Championships. As any rider in this sport understands, its not always the path you think that will get you there. She maneuvered nicely through difficulty during their very first CDI at the 2014 Adequan Global Dressage Festival (AGDF), The first time we entered the big stadium, Bon Jovi just froze. I tried to let him know it was okay, but he just couldnt hear me. The stands and VIP tent are raised higher than the horses ears. Dressage greats such as Tinne Vilhemson-Silfven, Lars Petersen, Michael Klimke and Laura Graves all started building confidence in their horse at that venue, using it week after week during the winter series. The more opportunities a rider has to go into that ring time and time again, for twelve weeks, encourages their horse to show under an active moving environment, prevalent to the indoor competitions throughout Europe. Natalie Pai in 2014 prepares for the Junior division for the North American Junior Young riders Championships on Way Not aka. Im so grateful to her for allowing us the chance, as it was positive for both of us. That ring really takes a few times before a horse is completely comfortable in there. She explained, Id only been riding him for 2 months, so we didnt yet have that bond of full trust yet. When that happened, I knew we didnt have that togetherness yet.
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