Kennebunk Equestrian Susan Jaccoma has Been on Quite a Ride

Pick the right sport, and Olympic aspirations come unburdened by expiration dates.

Susan Jaccoma, a 55-year-old dressage rider from Kennebunk, has her eye on the London Games of 2012.

“The age, for her, is of no concern,” said Lendon Gray, a two-time Olympic dressage rider from Dixfield who lives in Bedford, N.Y. “Equestrians are some of the oldest competitors at the Olympic Games. As a rider you have to be fit, but it’s not like a gymnast has to be fit or a swimmer has to be fit.”

No, in dressage the most important fit is the one between horse and rider, a bond of trust and familiarity that takes years to develop.

Jaccoma has been riding since junior high in Andover, Mass. She took a break when her son and daughter were young, but now that they are adults, she can devote most of her attention to her horses. Wadamur and Donatella, a Hanoverian gelding and an Oldenburg mare, are 9.

“When you have a passion, it’s not really like work,” said Jaccoma, who, on a typical day, rides in the morning and teaches in the afternoon. “I work seven days a week and I’m happy to. I would be doing it no matter what.”

Jaccoma spoke from Wellington, Fla., just west of Palm Beach, where she is competing in high-level dressage every other weekend this winter. Her goal is to qualify for the 2010 World Equestrian Games in Lexington, Ky. If successful, her next step could be London….

Read the entire article by Glenn Jordan
Date: 01-14-2009
Source: pressherald.mainetoday.com