Jennifer Hoffman and Petit Danseur trotted carefully into the dressage court. But this wasn’t just any dressage court and this competition was more than just another championship class. This was the main arena at the USET headquarters in Gladstone, NJ, and Jennifer and Petit Danseur, affectionately know as “Dobby,” were one of 12 horse and rider combinations that had come from across the country to compete in the Festival of Champions.
As Jennifer rode into the ring a small shiver of excitement ran down her back. Hamilton Farms, which hosts the headquarters, is steeped in tradition and the very trees seem to whisper, “You walk in the footsteps of great champions. They have walked in our fields and competed in our rings. We have watched them rise to greatness. Will you be next?”
It was a question Jennifer longed to answer yes to. Her journey to that moment and the Festival of Champions had begun long before she received her invitation to compete at Gladstone, booked a flight from LAX and packed her bags. It didn’t even begin with the start of the 2007 show season, but long before that, with a childhood dream.

“Team Dobby” Left to right: Owner/sponsor, Georgia Griffiths, partner Colleen Kendell, Jennifer seated on Petit Danseur, groom and sister Candice Dymek, and husband/trainer Jürgen Hoffman.

The Journey of a Lifetime
“I suppose my journey began like many little girls; I wanted to grow up and go to the Olympics and represent the U.S. internationally on a team. Most of the Olympic qualifiers are at Gladstone, so for me, going to compete at Gladstone was part of that experience,” explains Jennifer Hoffman, successful dressage rider and trainer at German Dressage in Encinitas, which she co-owns and manages with her husband, Jürgen Hoffman.
Her childhood dream of representing the U.S. internationally took her around the world and back. In 1991 she left California and went to Germany, where she spent many years working several different horses to FEI and Grand Prix level. At the DOKR (German Olympic Riding Center) Jennifer was also able to work with Jan Bemelmans and Klaus Balkenhol from time to time.
Jennifer achieved the title of Bereiter (FN) from the German National Federation, and she was the first American to have accomplished this feat. But after much success showing and training in Germany and other parts of Europe, Jennifer desperately wanted to return home and prove her worth in the U.S as an international caliber rider.
She returned to California in 2001 with Jürgen, a successful international rider in his own right and who also holds the title of Pferdewirtcshaftmeister (FN) and a dressage judge in Germany, and Jennifer’s coach. Since her homecoming Jennifer has been long-listed by the USET for the last three years, received multiple Horse of the Year Awards and in 2004 she qualified for the USET Olympic Festival of Champions in San Juan Capistrano.
Qualifying for the Festival with Petit Danseur in San Juan Capistrano was a wonderful experience and a great accomplishment. Yet Jennifer still had her sights set on qualifing for the ride at the famous Gladstone USET Headquarters in New Jersey.

New Jersey Bound
The 2007 season had a bit of a rocky start for Jennifer and Petit Danseur. At their first CDI *** of the season in Pebble Beach the weather was very cool and windy. Petit Danseur was a little fresh and the pair scored a little lower than Jennifer had hoped to. But then the pair attended the final DG Bar USEF High Performance Qualifier Dressage show (see California Riding Magazine, May 2007), and Petit Danseur proved why he was the CDS 2006 Grand Prix Horse of the Year.
He won the Grand Prix Special and was second in the Grand Prix with high scores in both classes, which earned them a spot to go to Gladstone. When Jennifer received the call to attend the Festival of Champions, the pair was in tenth place.
Jennifer and Jürgen went to work on prepping Petit Danseur for the show. On June 9 six horses including Dobby flew out of LAX to Newark Airport.
“You could say we literally sent our horses FedEx,” jokes Jennifer. “All our equipment was sent in a giant FedEx container and the horses were loaded in pairs onto a FedEx plane. The inside of the horse containers look like normal two-stall horse trailers and the horses usually just stand there, pretty quiet.”
All the horses loaded well and Jürgen flew with Dobby while Jennifer, her groom and sister, Candice Dymek, flew out the same day on a different plane. Jürgen flies regularly with horses the couple and their clients import from Germany, and knowing he was there with Dobby was a great relief for Jennifer.
The horses were transported from the airport to Gladstone in huge horse vans, where they were given a couple of days to recoup and prepare for the festival. Jennifer used the opportunity to acclimate Dobby to the facility, working him in both the indoor arena and taking him on trail rides across the 100-acre property.
They also worked with U.S. Dressage Team Coach, Klaus Balkenhol. “Klaus was there watching over everyone and supporting anyone who needed his help. He came and watched over our training session and was very happy with how Dobby schooled. The time spent working with Klaus was a very nice experience, quiet and personal,” Jennifer relays.
“When you walk into the ring it feels like you’re stepping back in time. You’re riding where some of the most famous horses and riders in our sport’s history have competed, and you’ve just become part of that long tradition. I remember feeling a lot of pride at having earned the chance to enter that ring.”
She started out a little conservative, and her first five movements only scored 6s and 7s. Then Jennifer looked up and saw the score board. She realized if they wanted to prove their worth she was going to have to “step it up.” She began to push Dobby and ask him to really perform. The pair ended the Grand Prix day and the Grand Prix Special in seventh place and the overall competition in eighth.
“I was very happy with his performance. It’s only his second year at Grand Prix and I just wanted to show the judges that he could put in solid scores.”
Jennifer wasn’t just impressed with the USET facility, but with the sense of camaraderie she felt with the other riders. “Coming from California we had a lot of riders qualify for Gladstone. So there were not only a lot of riders at the Festival, but also their trainers, grooms, spouses, owners, family and friends that made the long journey to Gladstone to cheer each and every one of us on. It was just an incredible atmosphere. I had the opportunity to meet of few of the East Coast riders that I had never met and reacquaint myself with riders I had not seen in a while.”
Jennifer says all of these wonderful achievements would not have been possible without the support of her long time friend, owner and sponsor Georgia Griffiths. Georgia has stood by her side and supported Jennifer every step of the way. “I cannot begin to say how thankful I am to have her behind me.”
Jennifer would like to qualify for the 2008 Festival of Champions. However, since it’s an Olympic year there is an entirely different set of qualifiers - the CDI*** competitions will only count for the Olympics Trials. But she has no doubts that this isn’t the last time she and Petit Danseur will stand on the hallowed ground that is Gladstone. And one day she is going answer the wind with “yes!”
For more information on Jennifer and Jürgen Hoffman and German Dressage, Inc. call 760-744-5935, email them at germandressage@aol.com or visit them on the web at www.germandressage.com.