Student Achieves The Century Club

Senior realizes dressage dream with Century Club

Lifestyle - The Palm Beach Post - West Palm Beach, FL

By Amy Bower Doucette

Posted Mar 31, 2010 at 12:01 AM Updated Mar 31, 2012 at 10:15 PM

Your first dressage show can be as nerve-wracking as it is exciting.

For Lillian Floyd and Dreamer, the special circumstances surrounding their first show added to both the nerves and the thrill . Lillian is 72, and her mount, Dreamer, aka Law and Order, is 28 years old. The pair’s age adds up to 100, qualifying them to compete in the Dressage Foundation’s Century Club Ride. The pair scored 68.5 in their Intro A Test, but more importantly, they fulfilled a lifelong dream for Floyd.

“About 20 years ago, I started dabbling in dressage,” Floyd said.

“This was my first dressage show. It was exciting to go into the Century Club in my first dressage show. I had hoped to do this a couple years ago. My daughter had this wonderful Grand Prix dressage schoolmaster named Epos. I just loved that horse. I said when I was 70 and he was 30, we were going to try for the century club. He died before there was time to do it.”

Floyd saw an article about Loxahatchee trainer Dru Nagle and decided to try taking lessons again.

“After a couple rides, I told her I’d hoped to be in the Century Club,” Floyd said. “She said that Dreamer was 28 and suggested we do it. It all happened very quickly, before I had a chance to lose my nerve.”

Floyd and Dreamer were a perfect fit from the start. Dreamer is blind in one eye and has competed in everything from eventing to jumping.

His gentlemanly temperament and energetic spirit matched Floyd’s.

“Lillian is very active and has a very interesting life,” Nagle said.

“I enjoy hearing about her life, past and present. She’s very inspiring. I hope to be as fit, healthy, and fun next year when I’m 53 as she is at 72.”

Floyd grew up riding horses in Brooklyn. Her daughter began riding dressage, earning a United States Dressage Federation silver medal, and Floyd tried it off and on.

The Century Club has seen 67 teams ride since its creation in 1996. Floyd was the first rider from Wellington in the event’s history.

She completed her ride at a Gold Coast Dressage show at Jim Brandon Equestrian Center near Greenacres on March 21.

“Everyone was just lovely,” she said of the show. “It was a really pleasant experience, especially for my first show.”

Floyd plans to continue lessons with Nagle.
“It brought me great joy to watch them compete,” Nagle said.

“Actually, it brought tears to my eyes to see the two of them still excel at this point in their lives. They both did me proud.”

Floyd said she believes it’s never too late to go after a dream.

“Never give up your dream,” she said. “I had thought about this for years. I had given it up, thinking I would never find anyone, and along comes a horse named Dreamer. It was very apropos. If you want something, go for it.”

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