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Marta Renilla used to be afraid of horses. Now the 18-year-old Spaniard is a champion dressage rider and teaching others her craft at a local stable.
By ANNE LINDBERG, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published December 26, 2001
PINELLAS PARK -- Frankye Brooks got her Christmas present early this year when she looked up to see a young woman walking into her yard.
Marta Renilla, 18, a champion junior dressage rider from Spain, had come to attend Schiller University in Dunedin for a year while she polished her English. She was looking for a place to ride. Another barn owner had referred her to Brooks, who rides dressage.
Brooks had long searched for a trainer to help her improve her dressage techniques.
It appeared fate had stepped in. But Brooks was cautious, even after hearing of Renilla's accomplishments.
"I said, "Okay, come and ride one of my horses and we'll see,' " Brooks recalled recently. "I was very impressed. . . . I was really impressed. She's the answer to some long-term prayers for me."
Brooks asked Renilla to give her lessons and to work with her horses. Other riders at Brooks' barn soon began working with Renilla. Beginning in January, Renilla will be branching out, giving clinics and more lessons.
Renilla was afraid of horses as a young child. "I only went to see them," she said.
Then her mother Isabel, who always had horses, moved to a new barn. There were children at the new barn and Renilla joined them in riding and games on horseback.
"I forgot I was scared of horses," Renilla said.
Renilla spent the next few years riding and became so good that someone offered to lend her a horse so she could compete at a national jumping competition.
But Renilla had become interested in dressage after a woman from Switzerland moved to the barn and began giving lessons.
Dressage, which has no jumping, has its origins in the military when horses had to be highly trained to obey their riders during the stress and noise of battle.
The rider, who might be wielding a sabre, did not have use of both hands to guide and communicate with the horse. So the horse had to learn to respond to the subtle shifts of the rider's weight and leg pressure.
A good dressage performance makes it appear as if the horse is reading the rider's mind as the pair perform precise ballet-like movements.
"You have to think a lot" when you ride dressage, Renilla said. "In most of the cases when something is wrong, it's your fault. . . . You have to control what you are doing very well (and) do not (become) emotional."
The reward is great, she said.
"You're a part of the horse. You're dancing with him," she said. "The horse has to trust you very much. You have to be with your horse. You have to have a relationship with your horse."
Part of that relationship is keeping the horse interested in his work and listening to him, she said.
"My horse talks," Renilla said. "It's like looking in your eyes."
After becoming hooked on dressage, Renilla searched for a young horse. About four years ago, they found Isenbrant, a Hanoverian (a German breed) at a farm that specialized in breeding jumping horses. At the time, Isenbrant had only a small amount of training.
Renilla and her mother worked with Isenbrant by themselves for the most part.
"You have to ride alone to understand the horse," she said. "You have to think for yourself."
The winning started soon after.
First came lower-level wins then, for two years running, Renilla won the Madrid Championships.
She went to her first junior national championships in July 2000.
Renilla was new to the spotlight, which is so small in Spain that most dressage riders know each other.
"Other people were saying, "Who is that girl? Who trains her? What horse is that?' " she said.
She finished fourth of 60 horses, a performance that qualified her for the junior European Championships. The Spanish team on which she rode came in 10th out of 12. As an individual, Renilla finished 17th.
This year's competition schedule was confused because of the outbreak of hoof and mouth disease in England. The European Championships were held before the Spanish championships. Renilla qualified for the European competition at a special show held to select the team.
Renilla came in fifth overall in her final ride.
By the time of the Spanish championships, Renilla was in America. She's planning to stay here through the end of the semester. Next school year, she plans to go back to Spain and major in international business.
That's a good major, she said, because it will help if she decides to train and deal in horses because sport horses are bought and shipped all over the world. But it's also good, she said, if she decides to do something else with her life.
As for Olympic plans, Renilla said she has no firm goals. The first Olympics she could compete in would be in 2008, because Isenbrant is not yet trained for some of the movements required at that level.
A more immediate goal, she said, would be to compete in the European championships at the young riders level, where she could compete for three years before moving to the adult ranks. By then, Isenbrant would be 12 years old, Brooks said, a perfect age for the Olympics.