Amateur rider Valerie Angst first learned about dressage as a 12-year-old when she watched a pas de deux exhibition during the Maclay Finals at Madison Square Garden. She then spent the next 35 years as a hunter/jumper rider before a foray into eventing introduced her to dressage again. Inspired by dressage friends, she bought a dressage saddle in 2019 and began to learn the basics.
When COVID hit and she was stuck at home, Valerie Angst decided the timing was right to get a dressage horse and really learn to ride dressage. The plan was to buy a schoolmaster, but with restricted travel and limited horses on the market, she broadened her search to include younger horses. When Lennox ISF (Florianus II, Crown x Andorra ISF, Elite/Sport by Sir Sinclair, Keur) was added to the sales list, Valerie was the very first to inquire about him.
“When I sat on Lennox the first time, I knew he was the one,” Valerie said. “I had tried at least a half-dozen horses and I knew he was special. He was so very green that I had trouble steering him, but he felt so soft and his movement was like floating.”
“I had never shown in a dressage show before I got Lennox and didn't know how to ride in a dressage frame,” Valerie said. “I credit [trainer] Kim Kobryn with all of our progress. It is so challenging to learn a new discipline, but Lennox and I learn together and it has been a fantastic experience. He is a wonderful partner.”
The pair debuted at Training Level together in 2021. (Lennox also showed Training and First Level with Kim.) Valerie and Lennox earned scores as high as 73% and qualified for the GAIG/USDF Region 1 Championship in two classes. They finished in 7th place in the Training Level AA class (out of 41 entries) and earned a trip to the US Dressage Finals in Kentucky.
“Kentucky was an amazing experience,” Valerie said. “I was so nervous– the Kentucky Horse Park is very intimidating– but Lennox could not have been better. The weather went from 70 degrees the day we arrived to 38-degrees when we rode in our championship class. He handled it all like a pro at just five years old. He and I really bonded there through that experience. He didn't put a foot wrong in our championship class and it was such a thrill.”
In 2022, Valerie began showing Lennox ISF at First Level and developed a freestyle for him. Once again they qualified for the GAIG/ USDF Regional Championships, this time in three classes. They finished 3rd in the AA Equitation Final and 8th in the First Level Freestyle Championship.
“Regionals were a lot of fun this year,” she said. “We had to ride in the Colosseum for the first time, which was very exciting for both of us. Overall, I was very happy with our tests and how we both performed. He has grown up so much since last year.”
In the freestyle, they rode to a combination of Cold Play's Viva La Vida for the trot work and Rhianna's Diamonds for the canter work. “The canter song is perfectly matched to Lennox's canter and we typically get really high scores for music and artistic design,” Valerie said. “I think Lennox enjoys the music. He seems to respond to hearing the baseline and stays on the rhythm of the songs.”
Len, as he’s known around the barn, is now schooling Third Level. “If we continue to move up the levels I will be thrilled,” Valerie said. “I would love to ultimately ride Prix St. Georges and show in a shadbelly! Lennox comes from a line of accomplished dressage horses and his breeding has provided him with a natural aptitude for dressage, which is one reason I think we are able to achieve so much together, despite both our inexperience at dressage.”
It’s not only the horse shows that Valerie enjoys with Lennox, but the quiet times at home. “Len brings me so much happiness. Just looking out my window and seeing him in the pasture behind my house puts a smile on my face. If he sees me through the kitchen sliders he will nicker for a treat and I will throw him one from my deck! The thing I love most about Len, is that not only is he an amazingly talented and beautiful dressage horse, but he has such a great brain and he is game to try new things. I can hack him on the Perkiomen Trail with my husband on one of our other horses, along with bikes, baby carriages, and dogs, and he is a gentleman. He also is a brave jumper and will jump most anything you ask. We go out jumping occasionally for a change of routine and we both love it. We are members of the Bucks County Horse Park and frequently go there for lessons and a hack. I look forward to all the adventures Lennox and I will have together in the future."
Learn more about our sales program and current list of available horses here: ISF Sales
