How do you say “I like to ride my horse” in German?

According to Suzanne La Porte, it’s simple, “Ich Liebe Reiten Mein Pferd.” The reason Suzanne knows this? She received the opportunity to study in Cloppenburg, Germany, for four months last summer with Olympic dressage contender Lisa Wilcox, who is ranked among the top five dressage riders in the world.

The opportunity involved training with both Lisa and her trainer, Ernst Hoyos. Suzanne not only trained while she was in Europe, but she also worked in the stables grooming and competed in a few shows. While at the shows, she said she noticed a difference between the spectators in Germany and America.

“ Everybody knew about horses and everybody grew up with horses, whatever discipline it was,” she says. “If you go to a small horse show here, there’s not that many people, or even at a large horse show. The shows over there were packed. Everybody loved horses and was there to watch.”

There were 25 applicants for the scholarship, which set up specifically through Lisa and Ernst. To apply, riders submitted a 10-minute, unedited video of their everyday schooling along with essays on achievements and goals. The 17-year-old even beat out her older brother, fellow dressage rider, Trae LaPorte. Both Suzanne and Trae say there were no hard feelings, however.

“ He wasn’t mad,” Suzanne says. “We decided that hopefully either one of us would get picked, and if it was me, when I’d come back teach him everything. And if it was him, then he would teach me everything. It was a win-win situation.”

Suzanne, who was born in Southern Georgia, began riding when she was 5, and began dressage training at 12. She moved to Loxahatchee, Florida, about two and a half years ago to train with dressage guru Bent Jensen. Jensen, who is from Denmark, is a world renowned dressage trainer who has competed in dressage throughout the world, including on the Danish Olympic Team.

“ Bent has been my biggest help and encouragement in my dressage career,” says Suzanne. “He has helped me reach all of my goals and encourages me to try out for special opportunities such as the scholarship to study in Germany.”

Part of the scholarship money was allocated for shipping Suzanne’s Danish Warmblood, Wittus, to Germany to train along with her. The Dutta Corporation offered discounted transportation for Wittus, and board for Suzanne and Wittus was provided by Gestut Vorwerk, the exclusive farm where she trained and worked in Germany.

Lessons Learned
When asked what the No. 1 lesson or value she learned from her trip to Germany, Suzanne mentioned the new methods and styles she has learned to train by.

“ It’s pretty much all the same method of riding; over there it’s a little more intense. There’s so much new knowledge in my head that I didn’t have before – such as techniques and ways to figure out a horse,” Suzanne says. “Ms. Wilcox and Mr. Hoyos were not only perfect in their training and very knowledgeable in classical riding, but they were great people to be around.”

Both Suzanne’s family and her trainer noticed a difference when the high school senior returned from Germany. According to Jensen, she returned a harder worker with more refined riding skills.

“ She really learned how to work. She learned how important the basic training is,” Jensen says. “Her riding is better; she brought a lot of new things that she learned over there. I’m very proud of what she did. She got a lot out of the experience.”

Brother Trae noted the changes as well.

“ Suzanne is riding really nice and looks really, really good,” he says. “Her work ethic is better: she was a hard worker before, but she’s even better now. I am really happy that she went.”

Suzanne feels she has matured both as a person and as a rider from her trip to Germany.
“ I’ve lived on my own before when I was 13 or 14, but never in a different country,” she says.

Janice La Porte, Suzanne’s mother, said she was not concerned that her daughter was living in Europe on her own for four months. She noticed a difference in Suzanne the minute she stepped off the plane.
“She came back a lot more grown up,” Janice says. “It’s amazing what four months will do. I was glad she had the opportunity to do it, and she made it count.”

Besides the changes in her own riding, Suzanne also noticed changes in the way Wittus is moving after his work in Germany.

“ Before we left, his gaits were not as good as they could have been,” Suzanne says. “His movements are better now and you can see it when I’m riding.”

In addition to competing as a junior or young rider in dressage competitions, Suzanne is finishing high school while taking college classes as a dually enrolled student at Brigham Young University. On Monday through Saturday, Suzanne rides from 7 a.m. to noon, then attends school until 4 p.m., after which she rides again until 7 p.m.

As for her future plans, Suzanne will graduate from high school in January 2004. She is interested in taking more college courses, but she’s not sure if she wants to attend college full-time right away.
“ Horses will always be a part of my life,” she says. “I know I will eventually want to become a trainer, and I have many goals set ahead for me.”

One of the goals? Return to Germany to ride and train. Lisa Wilcox offered Suzanne the opportunity to come back and train with her again in the future.

“ I’m pretty sure I want to go over to Germany, but I’m not sure when,” Suzanne says. “I’d like to go for a long time, a few years at least, but I’m not sure about moving right now.”
As much as she learned from the experience, Suzanne doesn’t consider her trip to Germany or her many riding accolades as her biggest accomplishments. Ask her what her most important achievement is, and she offers a humble response.

“ Everyday life, sticking to my goals and dreams and not giving up when it gets tough,” she says. “Dressage is a tougher sport than people think. And it’s the physical and mental challenge that drive riders to work even harder. There’s more to it than winning and trying to be labeled No. 1 in the world. For me it’s having the knowledge and connections with the horse and getting the best out of both of us in every ride.”

Native Texan Rebecca McGovney is a freelance writer who lives in Gainesville, Florida, where she is pursuing a master's in Agricultural Communication.