A Castlegar realtor is feeling pretty good after coming home with silver and bronze medals from the 2018 BC 55+ Games last week.
Larry Peitzsche won competing in equestrian events at the Games, held in Kimberley and Cranbrook on Sept. 11-15.
“I’m feeling extremely happy about that,” says Peitzsche. “The competition is extreme. These people, many of them have been riding for a number of years, they have well-trained horses, they take their competition very seriously.”
Peitzsche is no stranger to horses — he’s been riding for 20 years. But he mostly does trail riding, and dressage is — well— a horse of a different colour.
“It’s quite a bit different, it’s a lot of preparation,” he says. “When you’re riding in the woods you don’t really have to practice anything, you just have to be a good rider.
“For dressage there were two tests I had to learn the pattern for, and practice extensively for that.”
Peitzsche also had to use his wife’s horse, as his is a little too old to learn new tricks. In all, he practiced for about two months before the games began.
“You get someone to coach you, you have someone to watch your riding, and you probably ride five times a week to get into competitive mode,” he says. “Your horse has to understand what’s required of him, and I have to understand what’s required of me.”
Still, all that practice paid off, as Peitzsche collected the silver in Men and Women 65+ Dressage — Training Level, and two bronzes, in Men and Women 55-64 Mountain Trail, Novice Under Saddle.
The success has the 63-year-old considering his future in competitive riding.
“I am going to keep on competing, but because the horse is older, I am going to stick with the Trail class,” he says. “It’s what I enjoyed more, and its easier for the both of us.”
Peitzsche says he also enjoyed how men and women compete together in the Games, and how age was no limit.
“The oldest rider there was 77, so that gave me quite a bit of inspiration,” he says. “This is something you can do well into your 80s. I have 15 more years at least!”