July 2005

Evi & Quantum Tyme - CDI 3* Blainville photo Cealy Tetley

More success as the 2005 summer show circuit continues.
This time the setting was the CDI***-W Blainville Dressage International in Blainville, Quebec - just 30 minutes north from homebase.

Competing in the Grand Prix division with Quantum Tyme, Evi won the class with a score of 67.33% in the field of six competitors. “Quantum Tyme is just coming into his prime, and the whole ride is bigger and more relaxed,” noted the Canadian Olympian. “It is very exciting to see the way he is developing, and I just have to learn how to properly channel his energy.”

In the Casino de Montreal Freestyle Extravaganza held Saturday night, Evi claimed a long-awaited victory in the coveted Grand Prix Freestyle having competed in the class since its inception seven years ago. Performing to music from Disney's ‘The Lion King', Evi pulled out all the stops to earn a score of 74.525% from the panel of five international judges which included Stephen Clarke (GBR), Elizabeth McMullen (CAN), Bernard Maurel (FRA), Dr Barnabas Mandi (HUN) and
Hilda Gurney (USA).

“This is my favourite place to compete, so to finally win, and do it in style, was unbelievable!” enthused Strasser, who had the crowd on its feet as she took her victory gallop.

Evi was also competing in the FEI Young Horse division where she won the 6-year-old Finals with Foto Tyme (83.400%) and placed 2nd in the 5-year-old division with Romance Tyme (76.600%)

Also taking part in the show was Jaimey Irwin on Any Tyme, Gillian Sutherland on Great Tyme, Nicole Soussan on Pryme Tyme and Real Tyme, Veronique Lavallee on Leisure Tyme, Stefanie Gray on Spring Tyme, and Evi's daughter Tanya Strasser-Shostay on Toby. Full results can be found at www.classiqueblainville.com

June 2005

Evi & Quantum Tyme - CDI 3* Ottawa photo Gleb Esman

The show season is in full swing and Good Tyme riders and horses can be spotted at many of the top dressage shows in North America.

The first major show of the season took place just outside of Ottawa at the Nepean National Equestrian Park. Hosted by Equivents, the Ottawa Spring Classic featured both a CDI 3* and a National show. Spring Tyme and Leisure Tyme were both ridden to success in the National show with Good Tyme working student Stefanie Gray. Spring Tyme won a Second Level test with a score of 65.8% and Leisure Tyme was third with a 63.6%. In the Second Level 2 test 3, it was LeisureTyme who took the red ribbon with a score of 63.9% and Spring Tyme was second with a 62.3%.

Karen Soupcoff's Great Tyme, ridden by Gillian Sutherland, performed his first Prix St. Georges test in the CDI section of the comptition. Great Tyme and Sutherland finished the weekend by placing 6th in the Intermediaire Freestyle. Another debut in the small tour ring, this time in the National section of the show, was Good Tyme's stallion Any Tyme who was ridden by Jaimey Irwin where the pair earned respectable scores for their first outing at this level.

In the FEI Young Horse division, Evi Strasser rode Good Tyme's Romance Tyme put in solid performances in the 5-year-old classes with a win in the Preliminary test (70.200%) and second place in the Finale test (73.000%). In the 6-year-old classes, Strasser piloted Good Tyme's Foto Tyme came second in the Preliminary class (78.800%) then finished the show on a high note by scoring a superb 82.800% in the Finale test.

But the star of the show was undisputedly Quantum Tyme. After a commanding win in the Grand Prix ( 68.083%), Strasser and Quantum Tyme rode to a red ribbon victory in the Speciale with 66.920%.

Watch for Good Tyme horses and riders at the upcoming CDI 3* Blainville, Quebec!

April 2005 - Viva Las Vegas!
After a succesful winter season showing in Florida and California, Evi made the trip to Las Vegas to compete in the invitational taking place during the World Cup Finals. Or so she thought......when Germany's Isabell Werth withdrew from the Finals after Anthony FRH did not pass the initial jog, Evi was presented with the opportunity to fill the slot. And fill it she did! Evi and Quantum Tyme put in a great ride in the opening Grand Prix competition, earning a solid score of 67.333% despite the disadvantage of being the first in the ring.

“I had a super ride. He really coped with the situation,” says Strasser. “We were supposed to be riding Friday in the Grand Prix. I got notice just Wednesday morning that we would be in the World Cup. Starting first is always difficult, but I'm very proud of my horse. I didn't back off when I went in the ring and he rose to the occasion. He totally played his part.”

In the consolation Freestyle held the next day, the pair put in another consistent performance to receive 70.075%.

Veronique Lavallee - CDI 3* Sydney Australia

This is Evi's third time competing in the World Cup Finals, the first being in 1995 (Los Angeles) with her Olympic mount Lavinia and again with Lavinia in 1997 (s' Hertogenbosch). This was Canada's best result at a World Cup Finals Grand Prix in the past 12 years.

The 2005 show season has certainly been a tremendous success so far for Evi and Quantum. Keep checking back here for updates on their successes!

Congratulations to Good Tyme rider Veronique Lavallee for being invited to represent Canada at the Sydney CDI3* Invitational held in Australia. Together with teammate Chris von Martels, Veronique won a Team Bronze medal.

February 2005
The Goodtyme Stables Show Team will be hitting the Florida dressage circuit during February - March. They will be staying at the beautiful farm of Ashley & Rusty Holzer in Wellington.
Watch this space for updates and news!

January 2005
Congratulations to Jenny Mosier on the purchase of the Oldenburg stallion Galeno Tyme (Granulit (Hess.)-Geranda (Old.)/Barsoi xx). Galeno Tyme was the winner of the 2004 100-Day Stallion Performance Test held at Paxton Farms receiving the highest score ever given: 155.87 points.
(photo © Robert A. Morehead)

December 2004
Merry Christmas and a Happy and successful year to all my clients, competitors and friends from Good Tyme Stables!

November 2004
2004 has been another fantastic year for Goodtyme horses and riders.

Evi and Quantum Tyme were reserves for Canada's Olympic Dressage Team. They also finished as the leaders in the Canadian League World Cup Qualifier standings going into the Royal Winter Fair where they came second overall and were the crowd favourite in the Freestyle class.

Goodtymes Stables not only had the top 5-year-old dressage horse in Canada with Foto Tyme (pictured right), but also the top 6-year-old jumper in the country. Archie Bunker, an Oldenburg gelding owned and ridden by John Pearce, won the National Six-Year-Old Champion in the Canadian Jumper Development Series for 2004. Evi found this exciting young horse for John Pearce in Germany earlier this year.

Evi Strasser Enjoys European Success

Canada's Evi Strasser enjoyed phenomenal results this summer competing in Europe, most recently celebrating a fantastic second place finish in the Grand Prix Freestyle at CDI-W Marianske Lizne, Czechoslovakia, held August 27-29, 2004.

The first alternate for the 2004 Canadian Olympic Dressage Team riding Quantum Tyme, Strasser of Ste-Adele, QC, took advantage of her European base to compete at several events sanctioned by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI). Strasser began her journey by showing Foto Tyme, her five-year-old Westphalian stallion by Florestan I, to a tenth place finish in the 2004 World Championships for Young Dressage Horses in Verden, GER. In total, 42 entries contested the Five-Year-Old Division with Foto Tyme and the winner, Florenico 2, sharing the same sire.

It was with her current Grand Prix mount, Quantum Tyme, that Strasser enjoyed her best result at the World Championships for Young Dressage Horses. Back in 2000, Strasser showed her promising chestnut Oldenburg gelding to a fourth place finish in the Five-Year-Old Division, a result that rocked the European competitors and remains the best Canadian finish in the event's history.

“I first saw Quantum Tyme in a photo for the Oldenburg auction catalogue,” recalls Strasser of the horse by Quattro. “I already knew his history, so I called a friend in Germany and asked him to go and buy the horse for me. The first time I laid eyes on him in person was after I already owned him! That was when Quantum Tyme was turning three, and I have trained him all the way to the Grand Prix level myself.”

Now nine years of age, Quantum Tyme and Strasser are enjoying their first year of Grand Prix competition together with remarkable results in Europe. From July 23-25, Strasser competed against a strong field at Great Britain's CDIO Hickstead, one of the few team events for dressage. A score of 66.875% placed Strasser seventh overall in the Grand Prix while 70.57% earned them fourth place in the Grand Prix Freestyle.

The following weekend, July 30-August 1, Strasser traveled to CDI Bern, Switzerland, where slightly lower scores left her fifth in the Grand Prix Freestyle and ninth in the Grand Prix, won by Spain's Beatriz Ferrer-Salat and Beauvalais who would go on to claim the Individual Bronze Medal at the Olympic Games just weeks later.

However, Strasser came back strong for CDI-W Marianske Lizne, CZE, held August 27-29. After finishing third from a field of 23 riders in the Grand Prix with a score of 68.417%, Strasser had the disadvantage of performing her Freestyle routine immediately following 2004 Olympic Team alternates for Germany, Ann Kathrin and Renior Unicef, whose country had just been crowned the Olympic Gold Medallists once again. Strasser's ‘Circle of Life' Freestyle programme, set to music from the Disney production, ‘The Lion King', impressed the panel of five international judges, garnering an incredibly high score of 73.475% and placing her runner-up to Kathrin who claimed victory with a score of 74.875%.

“Quantum Tyme was super, the best that I have ever felt him,” exclaimed Strasser of her performance. “I received two ten's for the pirouettes, and nine's for my piaffe and passage. You rarely get a ten in any test, let alone in the Grand Prix! The comments from the judges praised Quantum Tyme's quality, and I feel very lucky to have such a world-class horse.”

Strasser's time in Europe also included the opportunity to spend three days following CDIO Hickstead with world-renowned trainer and Finnish Olympian, Kyra Kyrklund.

“Training with Kyra made such a difference,” explained Strasser of the horse's development. “It was like day and night between showing Quantum Tyme in Canada in the Olympic Selection Trials and showing now in Europe. I had been riding him very conservatively, I didn't want him to be overwhelmed by the Grand Prix test, but Kyra said it was okay to really ride him now, to give him the reins and to challenge him. Now, Quantum Tyme allows me to go for it and doesn't become tense about all of the movements. In general, he is an exceptional horse!”

Last year, Strasser and Quantum Tyme were members of the Silver Medal Team at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and enjoyed a top ten finish individually. This winter, the pair made their Grand Prix debut during the winter circuit in Florida, and earned the qualifying scores necessary to compete in the Olympic Selection Trials where they finished fifth overall to be named the first reserve.

Strasser and Quantum Tyme will next contest the FEI World Cup Dressage League Final at the Royal Horse Show in Toronto, ON, from November 10-11, 2004. While the pair has an overwhelming lead in the World Cup point standings coming into the Canadian League Final, all entries start equal with their results at the Royal ultimately determining Canada's sole representative for the 2005 World Cup Final.

“I would love to win the Canadian League and go to Las Vegas for the 2005 World Cup Final, but no matter what the outcome is at the Royal, I will go back to Europe and try to ride in the World Cup tour there,” noted Strasser who has ridden in the Final twice before, in 1995 and 1997, with her Atlanta Olympic mount, Lavinia. “I don't just want to go to the World Cup Final, I want to go and ride competitively.”

While Strasser will prepare for the Canadian League Final at home in Ste-Adele, QC, just north of Montreal, her focus is on the continued development of Quantum Tyme and her own riding ability, which means traveling back to Europe.

“I have a good horse and I feel like I can be a better rider when I compete against the best,” reflected Strasser, a native of Bavaria, GER, who became a Canadian citizen ten years ago. “The exposure makes it easier to ride at that level because it becomes more comfortable. To compete against the best in the world makes you realize that you can do it, that you can be successful, and you will learn and get better. It makes you a stronger competitor and rider.”

August 2004
Lots of successes to report for Goodtyme horses and riders.
Foto Tyme with Evi Strasser rode to a top 10 finish at the FEI World Young Horse Breeders Championships in July. "The show was super and in we achieved my goal to be ranked with the 10 best horses in this field. " said Strasser. " I had never shown this horse in Germany -- everyone was really impressed."

Veronique Lavallee & Pryme Tyme helped the Canada East Team win Silver at the North American Young Riders Championships. Veronique also qualified for the Individual round where she finished 13th overall.

Evi and Quantum Tyme have been training and competing in Europe this summer. At the CDIO in Hickstead, England, the pair finished 7th in the Grand Prix with 66.875% and 4th in the Freestyle with 70.570%. At the CDI Bern in Switzerland, Quantum Tyme was awarded 62.625% for 9th in the Grand Prix and 5th in the Freestyle with 66,825%.

[ Check the news archive for previous releases ]