Canterwood Riding Club has a new horse named Anna. Her owner, Wendy Foss, moved her to the Canterwood Riding Club facility recently for two reasons: 1) her long-time trainer is Delicia Molton Sorensen, CRC’s trainer, and 2) she and her family are members of Canterwood Golf and Country Club. They are at the Club four days a week taking tennis lessons, playing tennis, and eating brunch at the Club on Saturday mornings. Having Anna at CRC allows Wendy to pursue her riding while the rest of the family is at the Club facilities. She can now ride with Delicia many days a week.

Wendy is a long-time equestrian, riding since she was 4 years old. She did eventing, which includes jumping and dressage. She switched as an adult to classical dressage. She found her horse partner Anna in 2016. She traveled all over the U.S. for a year to find the right horse in terms of ability and temperament and found her as a gangly 2-year-old. Wendy started Anna under saddle in 2017. Wendy says Anna has been “an absolute joy” but is also a “hot tamale.” She can be a handful but is full of pride, beauty, presence, and honesty.

Anna is now 7 years old and a PRE, which stands for Pura Raza Espanola. Anna is registered in Spain and in the U.S. The PRE is “the horse of kings” and very “human,” according to Wendy. Anna prefers to be around ladies rather than with other horses. This preference has been observed since Anna arrived at CRC. She was initially very nervous unless Wendy was out in the paddock with her! Over time, Anna has settled in and is now relaxed and no longer dependent on Wendy keeping her company. We moved Anna around the grounds to three different paddocks until we found a paddock next to a horse she could bond with. The horse she has bonded with is Money the barrel racer! “Anna settled and let Money gently massage her neck and back with his muzzle,” Wendy recounted. “I had never seen Anna take to another horse like this.” It has been quite beautiful to watch Anna bond and decide that she has a friend.

Wendy started riding with Delicia as her trainer over three years ago. She was impressed with Delicia’s ability to understand the horse’ perspective. Delicia has helped her take Anna up the dressage levels. She will be at third level this year. “Anna adores Delicia and always makes a point to walk directly up to her at the start of our lessons for a proper greeting.” Wendy considers dressage to be very hard work both mentally and physically. She reports that Anna is progressing faster at CRC than at her previous facility because she loves working in the indoor arena. 

CRC is thrilled to have Anna and Wendy at our facility.