She was a wonderful rider and horsewoman. After Gifted didn’t she import a very nice youngster named Much Ado? She was an inspiration to many US riders.
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I had those too! Mine were smokey blue. They were much too sticky for me; I’d move around inside the breeches.
I remember seeing her and Gifted at the USET and being awestruck by his extended trot. He was huge and powerful.
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RIP Carol, she was an inspiration.
Had me crying
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Thanks for this link. I somehow missed that she had died this spring. Came upon it while following up on Gwyneth McPherson’s Horse Nation series. I wanted to see what she and Michael Poulin were up to today. Poulin’s words about Lavell have me weeping, especially after reading his letter of unswerving support for Gwyneth up after she caught flak recently for critiquing the current dressage scene.
Michael Poulin and his brothers Tom and Bill were my dressage heroes – also Lavell and Gray, obvi – in the late 70s and 80s and, with several other family members, have since become a dressage dynasty. The Poulins provided a foundational understanding of dressage for me the year I bailed on college and was a working student for Bill.
Editing to correct: “…his brothers Tom [not Larry] and Bill…” Larry is a nephew, world champion in driving.
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https://youtu.be/zt3KYhy37mY Carol Lavell and Gifted at Dressage at Devon 1991. Grand Prix Musical Freestyle.
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RIP, a loss for the dressage world.
I loved this! Teeny tiny Carol. I will invite her to my barn - I love inviting those who are gone to come back in spirit. You know they’re not done with their work. Come on in Carol. We need you.
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Wow was he HUGE and they look so beautiful together.
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I was there for this. I was sitting in my box sobbing at the beauty of it. Godspeed Carol!
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His comments on 48Hours about Michael Barisone were touching too, he seems to genuinely care about the people he’s worked with.
He paid me quite a compliment once at a show, and at the time, not really knowing much about him, I wasn’t sure how to take it.
I wish I could go back in time and thank him.
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He’s still ticking. His phone number is on his Book of the Face page. It’s never too late to say thank-you.
Michael Poulin and his siblings are legends, genuine, honorable, and reserved, they could all write books on hard times, integrity, and follow-through. I know Bill, now 85, from when he trained horses for Margaret Gardiner of Kennebec Morgans fame. He also started youngsters for his Spanish Riding School-trained brothers, Michael and Tom.
What struck me about them all was while they were lighthearted, they measured every word they spoke. It’s part of what made Bill and Michael such good coaches.
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