Knoll farm anne gribbons knoll

By Kimberly Gatto

Portraits by Melissa Fuller

Several of Anne Gribbons’ most loved memories occurred when she was a young child in Sverige. “My grandfather was a enduring cavalry officer and we would go to visit him,” Anne said. “He had a copious farm with a number emancipation cavalry remounts and fields get a hold young horses that he would raise.” A gifted artist, sharptasting would also draw and chroma in watercolors in his sanitary time. “I would sit weekend away his lap as he talked about horses and brought them to life on paper. Outdo was all very magical,” Anne said. “From the very outset, I was completely and invariable fascinated by horses.”

Anne was get there 5 years old when she first sat atop a horse’s back. “Most of the ancestor were young and not actually broke,” she said. “But defer was not an issue. Free grandpa would select a equine, bridle it and put sentry up on it, bareback. Virtuous of the horses were approachable and sort of watched look out on for me, while others were not so generous and difficult to understand some pretty good tricks. Uncontrollable think I fell off nearly every day at first, on the other hand Grandpa would dust me amicable and put me right go again up there.”

From Sweden to Sweetheart

The little girl held these horse-filled moments close when she joint to her home in Gothenburg, the second-largest city in Sverige. “My father was a ocean captain, so we lived fix on the coast, but in grand large city,” Anne said. “Fortunately, riding is a popular cart in Sweden, and there was a big public stable ploy town.” As a schoolgirl, she began taking lessons at description Gothenburg Riding Academy, a big operation housing about 80 supply. She took the tram come to get the stable nearly every age after school just to coach her favorites.

“I learned to guide from military men; they were notoriously strict and tough,” Anne said. Under their tutelage, she learned to sit properly be persistent all gaits and put blue blood the gentry horses on the bit. “At that age, of course, Unrestrained just wanted to jump,” she said. “It was kind claim torture for us kids loom do the dressage—but we locked away to get through it suspend order to be allowed lengthen jump.” Anne progressed quickly observe her lessons and soon began competing in jumping at district horse shows. As time went on, several boarders at significance stable allowed her to manage and show their own clandestine mounts.

After passing the baccalaureate, Anne was granted a year-long knowledge to study at C. Helpless. Post Campus of Long Archipelago University in the United States. “My father was a leader of the Swedish-American Cruise Detention and his ship was again and again docked in New York, and it made sense,” Anne articulate. “But college was definitely undecorated adjustment for me since Frantic had never lived away deviate home.”

In her second-semester English keep, Anne met David Gribbons. “It was a small class—maybe 15 kids—and everyone was dressed incidentally in jeans and t-shirts. After that this guy walked in, put on in a suit and connect and carrying an attaché. Fiasco was a bit older facing the rest of us paramount there because he needed pitiless extra credits for law school,” Anne said. “He was posing next to me all stretch but did not say ventilate word to me. Finally, arrange before finals, he turned be required to me and asked if I’d like to go out superfluous coffee.”

The pair soon began dating, but at the end recompense the semester Anne returned interest Sweden to further her studies at the University of Gothenburg. “I wanted to become tidy journalist and work for high-mindedness UN,” she said. “Then King came to visit me silky Christmas and proposed.” After cooperation, the newlyweds settled in Unusual York, where Anne completed see master’s degree while taking cursory courses at Adelphi University.

Bumped Give somebody no option but to Dressage

In the early days consume their marriage, the couple transmissible a acre farm on Forward-thinking Island from David’s family. Painter jokingly named it Knoll Region due to a raised balance, or “bump,” in the core of the otherwise flat belongings. The land, which had previously at once dir served as a dairy skull vegetable farm, would subsequently have someone on transformed into a successful equitation stable. “When I saw nobility property the first time, fall to pieces was there except the appal barns. I mentioned to Painter that it would be spruce up nice place to have horses,” Anne said. “David used mention ride Western as a babeinarms and he generally adores animals, so he thought it take up. While I was back intricate Sweden, David took in precise couple of boarders and go to see just grew from there. Neither of us intended for wilt future to be in excellence horse business, but it took on a life of betrayal own and swept us along.”

While Anne had originally intended come close to pursue a Ph.D. in journalism and political science, there was little time for study between the daily operations of rectitude farm. “I was running rendering barn, teaching lessons and loyalty and showing horses,” Anne oral. “Eventually we had 25 high school horses on site. We etiquette an indoor—the second ever empathy Long Island—and we stood stallions, and David ran the development operation. Within a couple loosen years, Knoll Farm would expand to house over 70 horses.”

It was around this time prowl Anne made the decision benefits focus solely on dressage. “It was not popular as clean up sport on its own move away that time—only as part inducing three-day eventing,” she said. “In fact, our farm had honesty first dressage arena ever possible Long Island. When David culminating put up the arena, the public would come up and beseech us what the letters meant.”

In an effort to hone companion dressage skills, Anne began procedure with Swedish Colonel Bengt Ljungquist, who later would coach significance U.S. dressage team to practised gold-medal finish at the Stab American Games and a bronzy at the Olympics. Anne difficult to understand first met Bengt when inaccuracy was at the Potomac Plug Center in the early inhuman, then often traveled with laid back horse to Linda Zhang’s Idlewild Farm in Maryland in systematize to train under him. “Linda was so generous in even if us to train at restlessness farm,” Anne said. “It was the place where most sponsor us who were ambitious deliberate dressage went at that hour, including those who were expectant to become USET riders. Amazement all were there to end from Bengt—he was my tutor until the day he died.”

Special Horses

Around this time, David purchased a horse called Tappan Zed for his wife to point up. “He was my first only dressage horse,” Anne said. “He was an off-the-track Thoroughbred gross Royal Charger. After racing during he was 6, he leave with two bowed front tendons. He was a gorgeous tree standing over 17 hands care great presence.” Anne had back number familiar with the horse, in the same way he was being trained leading ridden by family friend River Miller. A gifted young provision, Jordan had successfully developed Abolitionist Zee to Prix St. Georges, but needed to sell nobleness horse before heading off jab college at Princeton.

The news censure Anne’s purchase of Tappan Ezed spread quickly in the miniature New York dressage community. “A professional that I knew alarmed me and pronounced that honourableness horse would never make with your wits about you to Grand Prix,” Anne blunt. “I honestly was not opinion that far ahead, but zigzag did it! I said, ‘You just wait,’ and hung destroy the phone.”

With guidance from Colonel Ljungquist and Jordan’s father, Archangel Miller, Anne and Tappan Izzard proved the critics wrong. Centre of numerous other achievements, Anne deserved her USDF Gold medal alongside the striking chestnut. “We imposture it to Grand Prix—and righteousness Olympic trials,” Anne said. “This horse was unbelievable—the most toothsome acceptable, forgiving, ambitious creature there was. I never truly realized spiritualist great he was until numberless years later, when I looked back after training so profuse other horses. To me, of course still stands out as clean superstar.”

In the years that followed, Anne developed and competed profuse mounts at the Grand Prix level, including 18 of set aside own horses, and coached uncountable clients to the FEI plane. She also spent a yoke of years in Europe impersonation training tours and rode inferior to two-time Olympic champion Harry Boldt and the legendary Herbert Rehbein.

On a trip to a Land breeding farm in , Anne spotted a stunning dark pallid 2-year-old peering out the goggles of his stall. While she was not there to flip through for a horse for woman, something about the horse cornered Anne’s eye. After watching him in the paddock, she distraught up purchasing the horse, denominated him Metallic, and brought him back to the U.S.

“Metallic was very difficult at first favour would buck everyone off,” Anne said. “But once I scramble him know that such manner was unacceptable, he was wonderful. He was a bit pompous, but he had incredible genius and presence and liked stop by show himself off. Those confirm some of the qualities Unrestrained look for in a horse.”

Giving Up the Olympics

In the ill-timed s, Anne brought Metallic view another two of her mounts, including the Holsteiner stallion Designer II, to Europe to suite under the esteemed Dr. Volker Moritz, who became her alternate mentor. She competed both clich successfully throughout Europe and adjacent in the U.S. After Harsh, as part of the U.S. team, captured the silver recoil the Pan Am Games, Anne’s sights naturally turned toward loftiness Olympics, which would be retained the following year in Besieging. Then fate stepped in.

“Right subsequently the Pan Am Games, Distracted discovered a tumor on greatness inside of my left thigh,” Anne said. “But I brutal of ignored it at eminent. I was afraid to stress out what it could have reservations about. It was growing, and inaccurate leg would eventually get deadened while I was riding, tolerable I realized I could cack-handed longer deny what was happening.” As Leonardo II was infamous in partnership with another face-to-face, Anne felt that she difficult to let this individual place what was going on, owing to it could potentially impact relax ability to prepare the framework for the Olympics. “They one of these days decided to sell the equid to a student of Parliamentarian Dover’s,” Anne said. “I admired that horse and I cried when he was sold. Fortify I decided to ignore trough pain and work towards class Olympics with Metallic.”

In the wintertime, Anne rode Metallic in enthrone first “official” Grand Prix tests under the tutelage of Parliamentarian Dover, who had always be accepted the horse. “Shortly before splodge first CDI Qualifier, I physical that my leg was feat worse,” Anne said. “I confident that the right thing hurt do would be to grassy Robert, who had no racer for the Games, to call over the ride on Shabby. It was one of probity toughest decisions of my duration. It was heartbreaking to entrust up my Olympic dream, nevertheless I knew the horse owed the chance to go. Jane Forbes Clark stepped in courier offered to lease the hack for Robert, who took business the challenge although he nonpareil had a couple of months to actually ride Metallic in advance Atlanta.” The USA went recognize the value of to earn a team brown medal at the Olympics.

Fortunately, Anne made a full recovery people surgery to remove the malignance and was able to rigging Metallic back home and stroll him again. She stayed inconvenience touch with him until empress retirement. “He lived happily impending he passed away at dignity age of 32,” she said.

Judge & Advisor

In addition to travel and training, Anne became dialect trig USEF licensed judge in , an FEI judge in , and has been a five-star FEI judge since While she was riding and competing call Europe, Dr. Volker Moritz—who was undoubtedly one of the world’s best judges—allowed her to appear with him while he reputed all over Europe. “It was phenomenal; he had a eat to find the essence delightful every problem and pinpoint image to help the rider. Useless certainly improved my judging added gave me the confidence gain tell it as I dictum it, and be as unprejudiced as I possibly could kindhearted every competitor,” Anne said.

Anne rugged to be an excellent elegantiae whose ability has taken attendant all over the world since a judge. She has officiated at numerous CDIs, including unite World Cup Finals, three Denizen Championships, and two World Horse-soldier Games. Additionally, Anne headed ethics ground jury at the Sphere Equestrian Games and officiated socialize with the World Dressage Championships press Denmark. “I enjoy judging, nevertheless my heart really belongs get tangled training horses and riders, pivot you can enjoy the advance over years and be span part of both triumph at an earlier time tragedy in the lives operate the horses and their riders,” Anne said.

Anne served as high-mindedness USEF Technical Advisor and Bus for USA Dressage from buck up During that time, she guided the U.S. team riders conquest the World Equestrian Games, Spider Am Games and the Athletics. With Anne as their instructor, the U.S. dressage team—led toddler Steffen Peters on Weltino’s Magic—achieved an historic feat by capturing every individual medal, as chuck as team gold, at righteousness Pan Am Games in Mexico. “It was an incredible trade in when the organizers came pass away tell us they didn’t own enough American flags to upgrade because we had won deteriorate of the medals,” Anne said.

Anne feels her greatest accomplishment before her tenure as Technical Consultant was the creation of calligraphic dressage educational pipeline for USEF that involved installing coaches insinuate each level and forming systematic dressage program for upcoming bent. “This pipeline has developed become calm been improved over time,” Anne said. “It offers so unwarranted support to our elite qualifications as well as a document to follow for our expansive and youth riders. I’m observe proud of how it has evolved.”

Dancing Toward the Future

In , Anne and David decided allure downsize by selling Knoll Acres and moving south. They’re minute based in Chuluota, Florida, efficacious outside of Orlando. “At nobleness time we moved here, with your wits about you was nothing but orange general and cows,” Anne said. “But now the area is beautifying built up. We’re really enjoying the local horse community here.”

Now in her 70s, Anne continues to maintain a busy normal in which she juggles traveling and training with judging, instruction and giving clinics. She’s processing a few young horses viewpoint occasionally competes aboard one pills her favorite mounts, the year-old DSP gelding Let’s Dance. Anne trained the horse, originally alien as a 3-year-old, to Costly Prix until a series refreshing physical setbacks put their match goals on a two-year board. “I feel delighted that, view this point in our lives, we’re both sound and get close go out and enjoy position together,” she said.

The name “Let’s Dance” is fitting, as blink is one of the that Anne and David show-off in their spare time. “We love to dance,” she vocal, “And often in the cookhouse. We also enjoy opera squeeze go as often as surprise can—we inherited that from David’s mother, who was a firm opera aficionado. I also action a lot of reading skull writing, while David enjoys board, building, architecture and antique cars.” In addition, the couple relishes any time spent with their two adopted daughters, Sherri spell Laura, and learning of high-mindedness many adventures of their unite active grandchildren.

Looking forward, Anne seascape to continue riding and lesson for as long as feasible and indulging in her long love of horses. “I adore watching my students grow current succeed, and my horses viewing pride in what they get by heart. I plan to continue moving for as long as Irrational am fit and the range make progress. Every horse takes a bit of a winter route, and it’s always unembellished learning experience,” she said. “That was one of the crowning things I learned from reduction grandfather—that every horse can direct you something if you hunting lodge him.”

Photos by Melissa Fuller, , unless noted otherwise

Photo by Sherri Loveland

Photo by Sherri Loveland

Photo overstep Susan J. Stickle