by Anne Chunko

SEP Member of the Month

By Anne Chunko

“I was looking for a well built mare to ride dressage and to breed, when someone offered me ‘Philine’,” Margit LaCelle said.

A young admirer gets a ‘pony ride’ from Philine.

LaCelle has a strong background in dressage from her childhood riding experiences in Germany , and the New York resident was impressed with the bay mare’s conformation and disposition.

‘ Philine ‘ went home with LaCelle , and LaCelle found out more about ‘ Philine ,’ registered with the USTA as First Knight Out.

The mare is by Hanover Knight and out of the Scarlet Skipper mare Scarlet’s Crescent. She raced on the pace 81 times from 1996 to 1998, earning $27,850 and a mark of p ,4,1:59.4h .

Since LaCelle got the mare in 2002, she has been giving the mare some training in dressage. However, before they could get to more advanced training, the green broke mare needed work on moving forward from the leg and on developing trust with her new owner.

In addition to her job as a dressage horse, Philine is also a “mom.” LaCelle bred her to an Appaloosa in the hopes of getting a flashy horse suitable for dressage. Plans call for Philine to be breed to warmblood sport horse stallion.

“She is a great horse for my family,” LaCelle said. “She is quiet and doesn’t have any vices.”