Young Equestrians’ Success in Saugerties Festival

When one thinks of horses, hay and heartland, the town of Ste Anne de Bellevue is probably not the first place that comes to mind, despite its small town charisma.

Yet, this West Island town is home to 18-year old Laurence Migner, a competitive young equestrian who earned both gold and bronze medals this July at U.S Olympian Lendon Gray’s Annual Youth Dressage Festival in Saugerties, New York.

Migner competed in the International Festival with fellow Canadian riders of Team Valkenhof; Kaitlin Bourgon, 15, of Elgin; Jullie Channell, 15, of Boucherville and Kristin Law, 18, from Winnipeg, Manitoba; emerging as silver medalists in their division, and demonstrating to the world that Canada’s youth possess an equestrian edge.

“We managed to do very well as a team,” said Migner. “All four of us were riding horses we weren’t used to.”

The 11th Annual Festival, hosted by U.S Olympian legend Lendon Gray, invited 200 competitive riders under 21 years old, from the U.S, France, Great Britain, Guatemala, Bermuda and Canada, to participate in a three-phase competition, promoting authentic horsemanship through 1) a written test of overall knowledge 2) a demonstration of equitation skills and 3) dressage, the guiding of horses through a series of intricate movements by slight manipulations from the riders.

“It’s great to be around somebody who has so much knowledge and experience,” commented Migner of Gray’s inspiring presence through each stage of the competitions.

As a returning rider to the festival, having also participated in 2007, Migner’s gaining an impressive amount of experience herself. This year she’s excelled, earning a near perfect 96% on her equitation test, a gold medal in 3rd division, and a bronze medal in the FEI Junior/ Young Rider division.

Migner, who began riding at the age of six, and discovered her forte for dressage by the age of ten, currently trains two hours almost everyday in Ste-Marthe, with coaches Armand and Birgit Valkenborg of Valkenhof Dressage, to keep her riding skills sharp.

When she’s not riding, she can be found studying Social Sciences at John Abbott College, and believes her long term future may direct her towards a career in law.

Despite all her hard work training for Lendon Gray’s Annual Youth Dressage Festival, she does not forget her horse Wilco, a 9-year old warm blood gelding from Belgium’s involvement in her success. Together, they earned at 1st place Anflug Eilers Award in the freestyle division of the competition which Migner choreographed to the string quartet Bond. “I find it so rewarding when you work with a horse that wants to work,” said Migner, “horses are like humans, they have their good days and bad days. It’s nice to evolve together.” she added.