Sidelines 5/02

has already achieved the qualifying scores to compete in the Canadian Selection Trial in Blainville, Quebec, held in conjunction with the first-ever FEI Championship of the Americas that will see countries from North, Central and South America competing in a newly-introduced team format.
"I would love to help put Canada back on the map," says Holzer, who first began riding at the age of 13 at Sunnybrook Stables in the heart of Toronto. "I’m not expecting to win any medals, but I feel I could help contribute to a solid team effort."
The one hitch in the plan is that the WEG is still several months away and Imperioso’s owner, Gilder, is experiencing an unfortunate family situation that is forcing her to liquidate her assets, including selling her horses.
"We have great horses and great riders, but Canada is lacking in financial support," explains Holzer, saddened by the knowledge that Imperioso could be sold before she is able to realize the fruits of her labors. "The depth and the money down here in the U.S. is unbelievable, and with that backing, the riders have the ability to go to Europe to train and show. That is why they have become so highly-rated in the world of dressage."
The light at the end of the tunnel is that Holzer is also bringing along several exciting prospects including Jornello or ‘George’, who she owns herself. This winter, the pair achieved marks in the high 60s at the advanced level, usually finishing second to U.S. Olympic team bronze medallist, Michelle Gibson.
"George is a bit of a funny story," recounts Holzer, who purchased the 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding through TW Stables in the Netherlands last summer on the advice of Janssen. "I didn’t even want to try him, he was just way too ugly! To see him stand there, he does not look like your typical dressage horse; he is not pretty in any sense of the word. But I got on him and I thought ‘yeah, he’s not bad, there is some potential here’ and they convinced me to take him home. Now, he is one of my favorite horses ever! I refer to him as ‘George, my ugly horse’, but I just love him!
"He just starting doing Prix St. Georges work in September, I brought him to Florida and the lowest score I’ve had is 66% at the advanced level," says Holzer, who earned 69.17% to win the Intermediaire I at the CDI*** Palm Beach Dressage Derby. "He’s just come out of the woodwork and totally surprised me. He is green, but so consistent, and he really tries hard all the time. I want to get him going so that he is a solid team horse for the Pan Ams next year."
In addition to Imperioso and Jornello, Holzer is also excited about Gilder’s Lanzier, who won his first-ever Prix St. Georges test at the Palm Beach Dressage Derby with a score of 70.62%, and Maximillion, a seven-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Ellen Lazarus.
Holzer is still hoping to compete for the Maple Leaf this September in Spain.
"I would love to ride for Canada again, but I would love to ride for Canada successfully," says Holzer. "With Perry, the World Equestrian Games are a little up in the air depending on whether the horse is sold or not, but if I have him, I am going to try! And if I don’t have him, I still have George. I have my hopes on him!"
It is without a doubt that the world will see yet another stellar performance from Holzer.

Two Olympians definitely make a right! As a Canadian dressage rider living in New York City with her show jumping husband, Ashley Nicoll-Holzer’s life is in no way ordinary.
The Olympic bronze medallist had been a permanent fixture on the Canadian dressage circuit since she first began winning medals as a teenager in 1981 at the North American Young Riders’ Championship. Holzer trained with some of the best as a developing rider, including six-time Canadian Olympian Christilot Hanson-Boylen and renowned German coach Willi Schuitheis.
Her illustrious career has taken her to the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul where she was part of the surprising bronze medal team effort, the 1989 World Cup Final with a sixth place overall finish and she mined an individual silver medal in addition to her team gold at the 1991 Pan American Games in Havana, Cuba.
It was on the international circuit that Holzer met her husband, Rusty, a show jumping rider representing the U.S. Virgin Islands. Things between the couple heated up following the 1991 Pan American Games where they were both competing. In 1993, Holzer left her hometown of Toronto and moved to New York City to be with Rusty.
A World Equestrian Games and Olympic veteran, Rusty last appeared on the international scene at the 1999 Pan American Games. He has since put aside riding competitively in favor of managing his investment business. With Holzer, he runs the Riverdale Equestrian Centre, a 50-stall public riding stable in the heart of the Bronx that the couple has leased from the city since 1994. The facility runs a variety of unique programs including those for the disabled and underprivileged children.
"Rusty never rides anymore, he is just so busy, which is really a shame," says Holzer of her husband, whom she married in 1996. "I have to work so hard at it and he is just so talented. Some people train and train and Rusty can just get on and not even have a rail."
In fact, Holzer herself seemingly pulled a disappearing act following the 1996 Olympic Selection Trials.
"A week later, I got pregnant, and that was that," laughs the 38-year-old Holzer, who now has two

children, Emma, 5, and Harrison, 3, causing her to put her competitive career on hold. "I had two difficult pregnancies, so I didn’t ride much at all in that time period. Then, with two small children, it is hard to find the time!"
Holzer made a triumphant return to the show ring when her sponsor, Tess Gilder, who Holzer coaches, bought Imperioso or ‘Perry’ for her in April of 2000. The horse, a 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood stallion by Anky van Grunsven’s now-deceased grand prix mount, Cocktail, was able to step immediately into the grand prix ring."I really started riding at a competitive level again when Tess bought Perry for me," explains Holzer, who trains with Sjef Janssen, best known for his association with van Grunsven. "He’s a lovely animal to work with and to ride, he’s just a wonderful stallion. Perry’s strengths are his consistency and his temperament. He is very strong in that you can work him daily and work him hard."
Showing in World Cup Qualifiers both in the U.S. and Europe in 2000, Holzer easily earned the necessary World Cup points on Perry for an invitation to the Canadian League Final held at November’s prestigious Royal Horse Show in Toronto. The occasion marked her first appearance on Canadian soil since 1996, and Holzer finished second in front of an appreciative home crowd.
Traveling to Europe last year to compete under the tutelage of Janssen, Holzer and Perry continued to forge a strong partnership. The powerful chestnut further developed his already exceptional trot work, including expressive half-passes and extensions, as well as his canter work, particularly his changes, but Holzer feels there is room for improvement, including a clean test.
"People are always teasing me and asking, ‘do you think if you fell off you would still get a 64.80?’" laughs Holzer, who was awarded the same score almost every time she stepped into the grand prix ring in Florida this winter. "What is holding me back is that I have not ridden a clean test so far this year. I would rather push to be better and make mistakes than to ride safely and just settle."
This year, Holzer will remain in North America in the hopes of making the Canadian team for September’s World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Jerez, Spain and