Draper Therapies® ‘Best Foot Forward’ Award Winners Credit Work Ethic and Love to Riding Success
Wellington, FL (February 20, 2013) – What does it take to put your best foot forward at one of the most prestigious horse shows in America? For FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival Week 6 recipients of Draper Therapies® Best Foot Forward Awards, Henrik Gundersen and Eryn Reittmueller, the answers are: a great work ethic and the pure love of riding.
Danish Grand Prix show jumping rider Henrik Gundersen had three horses showing at Wellington that week including Million Dollar Baby, a Holsteiner discovered in Germany as a broodmare now amply demonstrating her raw talent in the 1Meter 40, as is eight year-old jumper, Ahaveros; and the scopey Heechiemstampa, on “a learning curve” for Gundersen and its new owner, Gigi Stetler of R.V. Sales of Broward.
When asked the secret to putting a horse’s ‘best foot forward’ at Wellington, the pragmatic horseman said, “This is just another day at work for me. It is always about being sure the horse is fit to jump a big course, which is why we use treadmills, and that they have confidence, in your riding, in their tack, in the jumps. Then you just do your best.”
A mother sees every effort as her child’s best but for the Four Winds Farm team of trainer Chris Braeutigam and daughter Eryn Reittmueller, the acknowledgement from a Draper Therapies® Best Foot Forward Award was especially meaningful. The Bridgeport, Michigan horsewomen were only in Wellington for two weeks to show client Erin Galsterer’s 11 year-old Holsteiner gelding, Lockhart, in the Performance 3’6” classes.
“He’s the sweetest horse ever,” Reittmueller said of the jumper known fondly in the barn as Larry. “He can do leadline with Eryn’s five year-old son and Eryn shows him, too.”
“She loves to ride and works so hard,” said Braeutigam, clearly proud of Draper’s recognition of their out-of-town effort. “We love horses and what they give back to us.”
Giving back is why Draper Therapies wants to reward horses and the people who love them with therapeutic products designed to help everyone feel a little better after a long day of showing. “After classes, or if a horse’s back is a little ‘cold,’ your new saddle pad will help increase circulation,” Becky Shipps with Draper Therapies, told the Best Foot Forward Award winner and her family as she presented them with their new saddle pad. “Draper products reflect the body’s natural energy back onto itself, which will encourage circulation along your horse’s back.”
In addition to Best Foot Forward Awards, Draper Therapies’ innovative products include scientifically-proven therapeutic horse blankets, boots, wraps and saddle pads, as well as dog beds, mats and clothing, made with
Celliant®, the world’s most technologically advanced fiber composed of a proprietary blend of minerals which have been extruded into a polyester fiber. Celliant encourages the alleviation of pain and other negative symptoms, and improves the body’s natural systems. Celliant oxygen studies done independently by three separate doctors conclude that Celliant increases tissue oxygen levels shown to increase performance, relieve pain and improve muscle recovery.
To learn more, visit www.drapertherapies.com or call 781-828-0029.
Photo 1: Jumper rider Henrik Gundersen was the proud recipient of the Draper Therapies Best Foot Forward Award during the 2013 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival. (Photo courtesy of JRPR)
Photo 2: Eryn Reittmueller and Lockhart, aka “Larry,” with their prize from Draper Therapies for winning the Best Foot Forward Award. (Photo courtesy of JRPR)
Becky Shipps
Draper Therapies
781-828-0029
