At age 13. Tori Belles of Bethel, PA was the youngest division winner at the 6th annual International Youth Dressage Championships, held in Florida in mid-March.
Belles earned the championship in the Pony Division on Prince Z, owned by P.J. Rizvi. The pair placed first in the FEI Pony Team Test with a score of 67.762%; second in the FEI Pony Individual Test with 66.982$ and first in the FEI Freestyle for Pony Riders with a score of 68% Their overall average score for the division was 67.498%.
Belles has been training as a working student with Lars Petersen and Melissa Taylor in Wellington, FL. There she began riding Prince Z about a month before the Championships. The pony, age 14, sometimes reported as a New Forest Pony and sometimes as a German Riding Pony, has been to the European Championships, where he was a Dutch Team Medal Winner in 2011 with rider Febe van Zwambagt.
This was Belles first time riding at the Youth Championships, but it is just the latest in what is already a long list of accomplishments.
Belles is the third generation of a dressage family. Her grandmother, Judy Reggio is a noted breeder of Dutch horses at Windy Ridge Farm, who passed the passion for horses to her daughter, Suzanne Reggio Belles. “She made it possible for me when I was growing up with horses and then when Tori came along, it kept it going,” Reggio Belles said. “Mom just breeds phenomenal Dutch horses.”
Reggio is glad to see the family tradition in dressage continuing in her granddaughter. “She’s better than both of us,” she said. “It kind of makes it all worthwhile. Now I’m breeding for Tori.”
Having a family history in dressage was one of the things that inspired Belles’ interest in the sport. “Since my mom did it, went up to FEI levels with her stallion., I kind of wanted to do it too,” she said.
“When she was five, we were given a Mexican horse we named Mexico. He’s basically the one that kept her going and got her riding. He’s 25 this year. He did a little bit of everything and she learned all her riding on him,” Reggio Belles recalls. “It’s my mom and I and Tori. The three of us go to all the shows together. She does all the riding now, so she’s taking over at a young age and doing all the fun riding stuff.”
Belles’ exposure to dressage started when she was just 9 years old. “I was chosen by Elana English and sponsored by her to get a pony from her and learn dressage and show that pony. I was a hunter rider till she gave me my first dressage pony that I learned on,” she said.
Belles showed the medium pony in training level and first level but had to move up to a large pony as she grew. “Then I got Bobo (Bodhjan), which is my FEI pony, I’ve had for almost two years now. He’s from Dressage for Kids. We showed last year at Devon, Kentucky Horse Park and Pony Nationals,” she said.
Bodhjan, a 19-year-old imported by B. B. Davis, came to Belles through Lendon Grey and the Dressage for Kids program. In 2017, Belles won the FEI Pony class on him at Dressage at Devon.
“Dressage for Kids, Lendon Grey’s program is a tremendous opportunity. Lendon gives so much to dressage for kids,” Reggio Belles said.
On other mounts she was also a winner in dressage seat equitation for juniors and placed third in a material class with a four-year-old homebred mare, riding in a class against adult professionals.
Belles made the connection with Lars Petersen and Melissa Taylor when they purchased two Windy Ridge Farm horses. That led to the opportunity for Belles to be a working student with them at their Legacy Farm in Loxahatchee FL. While there she was able to compete and earned her USDF Bronze Medal.
“This winter, when we went down to Florida, I had the opportunity to ride Prince Z,” Belles said. “Once you figure him out, he’s super easy and will do anything for you.”
Belles enjoys the challenges of dressage. “It’s fun for me. It’s always new things you’re learning, and every day you’re learning to get better with how to ride the tests,” she said. “I like the challenge, I’d rather have challenges. I like being able to learn and teach my horse and learning it at the same time (with him).”
Reggio Belles describes her daughter as “very determined and very dedicated”. She rides almost every day, sometimes hacking in the fields, some days working on basic movements, and sometimes practicing tests. The challenges Belles enjoys include challenging horses. “I like the hot ones, Hot horses are my favorite horses,” she said.
At this point, Belles is still planning her summer competitions and which horses or ponies she will show. Belles is starting to outgrow the pony divisions. “I’m currently looking for a junior horse, I’m a little too tall for a pony,” she said.
Outside of horses, Belles also enjoys farming, and other animals. Still far from college, she knows that horses and riding will eventually be her career. “I want to have my own business,” she said.