She combines beauty, grace, elegance and precision. Aiken's Shawna Harding is enjoying a successful 2008 and is gearing up for an exciting fall campaign.
Kathleen Broughan's stallion Richman will be moving up a level this fall, said Harding.
"Richman will be premiering at Fourth Level. He's a 10-year-old Danish-bred KWPN breeding stallion, who was standing in Denmark, mostly breeding, owned by an amateur, so he doesn't have a lot of competition experience, but he's a lovely horse," said Harding. "We hope to make our debut with him at the Fourth Level in Aiken."
Tonya Rowe's Hanoverian gelding Rigo is currently in first place in the rankings for the United States Dressage Federation Horse of the Year at Second Level.
"He will be going to the Region 3 Championships for both Second and Third Level," said Harding.
The tandem of Harding and Come On III continue to be one of dressage's most electrifying teams. They are currently in first place in the USDF Horse of the Year division for Prix St. Georges, Dressage Horse of the Year; Intermediare I, Dressage Horse of the Year; Intermediare I, Musical Freestyle and the Intermediare I, Musical Freestyle Challenge division. The two are also in first place in the North American Danish Warmblood Association USDF All-Breed Award standings in the Prix St. Georges, Intermediare I and Musical Freestyle Intermediare I divisions.
"Come On III will be starting the Grand Prix. We might be doing the Intermediare II at the Championships; we received an invitation from the USDF," she said.
Harding's reputation as a trainer, clinician and instructor have attracted a large following, not only stateside but also abroad.
"I'm going to Denmark for a four-day clinic," said Harding. "I have a pretty good client base over there. Everyone really wants me to come back to Europe and teach. I'll be there from four to six days during the first week of November; it's directly after the Region 3 Championships. And after that, we'll be heading to Florida to gear up for the 2009 WEF series."
In addition to Come On III, Harding has a number of client horses she'll be competing with this winter in Florida.
The United States Equestrian Federation National Intermediare Championships in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., proved to be another successful outing for Harding and Come On III as they distinguished themselves against the nation's best in the competition held from June 27-29; they placed third overall. The duo achieved scores in the 70s in the Prix St. Georges (placed second), Intermediare 1 (placed second) and the Intermediare I Freestyle Class (placed fifth).
"It's been a really good year; I had a really good go in California," said Harding. "I was just tenths of points from winning on the first day. We had a little bit of a muscle strain in Come On's back on the second day, and it kind of showed up in our work. We had some very uncharacteristic mistakes that showed up, but I was super proud of him. It was a really long trip. He tried so hard for me, and the atmosphere was fantastic. ... Our focus is going to be to get Come On III really geared up for the Grand Prix. So for 2010 we'll have our shot for the World Equestrian Games in Lexington, Ky."
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