Oceana ISF (Sir Sinclair, Keur x Katruus, Star/Prok/Provisional Keur, by Colonist) was a First Premium Foal at her KWPN-NA keuring in 2019. With nice gaits and a lovely temperament, she was poised for success in the dressage ring. Now as a four-year-old, she’s delivering on that promise.
Oceana ISF, who’s known as Cora Jane around the barn, is winning the Four-Year-Old tests and showing at Training Level with scores as high as 74.483%. She’s owned by USDF Silver and Bronze Medalist Allison Cyprus and Ann Rosenberg.
Allison, who trains and rides the mare, answers our questions about the journey of finding and starting this talented young horse.
Tell us a little bit about you and your dressage career.
I grew up riding in Texas at Yellow Rose Dressage with Nancy Hinz, Grand Prix rider and USDF Gold, Silver, and Bronze Medalist. I began competing at a young age, coming up through the FEI Pony/Junior/Young Rider division and have competed through Intermediate II. In January, I moved to Aiken, SC where my current trainer, Jeremy Steinberg, is based. I am renting a barn at a facility here in Aiken and running my own operation. This allows me to be very hands on with the horses outside of the arena, which I love. It definitely builds another layer to the relationship with the horses.
How did you find Oceana and what were you looking for?
I started an LLC partnership with a dear horse friend of mine, Ann Rosenberg, who no longer rides but really enjoys having horses in her life. We were looking for an unstarted two or three year old–I take joy in starting my own young horses under saddle. Oceana met our parameters of age, size, quality breeding and clean vetting so we purchased her sight unseen from a video.
Since you bought her, what has that journey been like?
Remarkably uncomplicated. From the beginning, my business partner Ann, who is a petite retired woman, has been able to be completely involved in the handling of Oceana, from bringing her in from the pasture to fully grooming/tacking her up for me. This has been very rewarding for the both of us. Oceana was very easy to start under saddle. She is not a dominant mare, but more of a follower looking for a leader. Once a level of trust is established, she is happy to follow my direction and is receptive to the training. She has an excellent work ethic, and I would say she enjoys her job!
You are getting really nice scores! What is the show experience like with Oceana?
Oceana does get quite nervous in the competition environment. However, her trusting nature has allowed me to guide her through any challenges that present themselves, which is a huge contributor to our success so far. We have chosen to enter her in some lower-level classes in order to take away some pressure and allow her to build her confidence in the show ring. She is obviously very young, so with more exposure I expect her to grow in confidence.
What is her personality like?
She is such a character and absolute goofball in the barn. She’s always entertaining us with her many different facial expressions. She is very active around the barn and loves attention. She is a fun-loving, sweet mare!
Anything else you'd like to share?
We were looking for a horse that was safe enough for my business partner to be hands-on with, yet athletic and talented enough to be successful in the show ring. We are happy to say that Oceana is the perfect combination of both!
Learn more about Oceana’s sire Sir Sinclair, Keur here.
Learn more about our sales program here.
Do you own an ISF-sired or purchased horse? Send us updates anytime! info@ironspringfarm.com
Photo of Oceana ISF by Christine Quinn Photography
