Caroline Colby grabs fourth place at national dressage competition

GILFORD — A Gilford High School student has taken fourth place at a national dressage competition.

Caroline Colby, 15, wasn't sure how her riding career would turn out this year when it started. She hadn't competed in 2020, and she was going into the competition year with a new horse, a seven-year-old Westphalian named "My Lorino."

But her concerns were quickly dispelled. She and My Lorino won their first event in the United States Dressage Federation's Region 8, which includes all of New England and New York. They stayed out front all season, including at the regional championships held in September in New York.

The US Dressage Finals were held in Lexington, Kentucky, Nov. 11-14. Colby, who had been riding since she was 3, competed in a class against riders as old as 21. Yet she proved that she deserved to be there, finishing 4th. Dressage is a highly technical form of equestrian competition, and during the four day competition My Lorino and Colby worked together to do their fancy footwork in front of three judges, under Colby’s name with the words “Gilford, NH” on the scoreboard.

According to Renay Colby, Caroline’s mother, “It was a cold and windy four days.” But that did not stop Caroline from performing well. “Her trainer was with us every day, she was awesome... It felt cool to represent Gilford.”