December 04, 2023

Meet Sandra's New Equine Partner...Nico the Friesian!

December 04, 2023/ Sandra Beaulieu

Nico the Friesian studio shot — Photo of Nico taken by his owner Susan McClafferty of Mareish Media. Click here to see more photos on Instagram.

I am BEYOND excited to announce a new horse in my life. Meet Cobus Fan De Hill, also known as ‘Nico’. He is a seven year old, 17 hand Friesian gelding sired by Alwin 469 x Doaitsen 420. My talented, creative friend Susan McCLafferty of Mareish Media purchased him to sponsor my ongoing creative ventures. She is an incredible horsewoman and I am honored that she helped me find the horse of my dreams.

Nico was imported when he was four years old from the Netherlands and has been trained in dressage by Christine Johnston at Iron Horse Farm. She did a fabulous job with him, starting him slow and building a solid foundation. He has shown through Second Level dressage and I look forward to bringing him up through the levels. Can you tell I am in love already?

Please follow Nico the Friesian on Instagram! Click here!

Nico is a very special horse, he has a kind, soulful eye and he is incredibly smart and aware of his surroundings. He is a perfect gentleman and he wants to do a good job. He is sensitive but also calm in nature. I am so excited for our future together and I am hoping that we will create some unique performances to inspire others!

After losing my heart horse Douwe over three years ago I wasn’t sure that I would want another Friesian. I LOVE my boy Rovandio but he is 22 years old this year and starting to slow down in his later years. The stars have aligned and I feel that Nico was brought into my life at just the right time and now I have the knowledge to begin again on a new journey. Please follow Nico on Instagram to stay updated on our journey together.

The Best Holiday Gift ever! Owner Susan Mcclafferty hands off Nico the Friesian to trainer Sandra Beaulieu. Click here to Follow Nico on Instagram.

August 03, 2017

Sandra Beaulieu and Rovandio - Second Level Dressage Musical Freestyle to Pop Violin Music

August 03, 2017/ Sandra Beaulieu

When you dance, your purpose is not to
get to a certain place on the floor.
It's to enjoy each step along the way.
- Wayne Dyer

After a long hiatus from the dressage competition arena, I decided it would be fun to work on my USDF Freestyle Bronze Bar with Douwe and Rovandio. To earn this award, the rider needs two freestyle scores (above 65%) at First level, two scores at Second level, and two scores at Third level from recognized shows. Douwe earned both of our First Level scores and Rovandio earned both of our Second Level scores in one weekend! I am so proud of them, they seemed to enjoy themselves and I did too! Last week I shared Douwe's First Level Musical Freestyle inspired by the TV show Outlander (click here to watch). Here is Rovandio's Second Level Freestyle with recognizable music played by a pop violin band named Escala. I found them on Spotify and loved their renditions of Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir", The Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony", and Karl Jenkin's "Palladio". Enjoy!

Inspired to create your own musical freestyle? Enter your email below for my FREE downloads including a Musical Freestyle Checklist to keep you on track and Blank Choreography Pages to sketch your routines. You can also learn more about my Custom Freestyle Design and Freestyle Workshops. Click here.

Thank you Adam's Horse Supplies!

My new sponsors Adam's Horse Supplies generously outfitted me with new Ariat show boots, a Goode Rider show shirt, Toklat saddle pads, a ThinLine pad for Douwe, and a Micklem bridle for Rovandio for our freestyle debut.

Adam's is located in Winthrop, ME but has an excellent selection online and they offer incredible sales and discounts.

shop my personal collection

October 23, 2016

"Outlander" Inspired Routine - Bitless, Bridleless, and at Liberty

October 23, 2016/ Sandra Beaulieu

I love watching the Outlander TV series and adore the soundtrack. The songs are dramatic, beautiful, and have a light-hearted quality that fits Douwe's personality really well. Douwe injured his knee a month before this event and I barely had a chance to ride him the week of the show. I brought Rovandio with us as a backup and ended up performing both of them and they felt great. I tend to be more creative on a deadline so I found myself putting together a brand new routine just days before the show, editing the music and pulling together a costume from my collection. I am so happy with how the routine turned out and Douwe really enjoyed himself. We even popped in a few tempi changes even though we haven't practiced those in months! The music gives me goosebumps to ride to and I am looking forward to the next time I can perform this routine.

February 10, 2015

Article in "the Friesian" Magazine- My Top 7 Training Struggles with my Friesian Horse Douwe

February 10, 2015/ Sandra Beaulieu

I wrote this article for "the Friesian" magazine that is created by the Friesian Horse Association of North America (FHANA). They send out a quarterly magazine to their members and this was included in their January/February issue (2015). They were very gracious to let me share the article on my blog. I want to send out a big THANK YOU to the editor Laurie Bell for creating such a beautiful article layout with all the photos. This article is under copyright of FHANA and cannot be shared without their permission. There is a list of resources and links that I mention in the article located at the bottom of the post.

Please visit their website if you want more information about the Friesian Breed and their organization: http://www.fhana.com/