Intermediaire I Freestyle winners Tracy Roenick & Apassionata. (Terri Miller)

San Juan Capistrano, Calif. - Until earlier this season, Tracy Roenick hadn't cantered down centerline in a dressage competition since 2005. But on Saturday she showed no sign of being out of practice as she and her elegant black Oldenburg mare Apassionata (Sir Donnerhall x Amelie by Friedensfuerst) decisively claimed the CDI Intermediaire I Freestyle victory with 72.625% over second-placed Susan Martin and Veto (KWPN gelding [Montecristo x Orka by Rubinstein], owned by Stahl Child Dressage, LLC) on 70.100%.

Apassionata recorded several CDI small tour wins in 2014 with Steffen Peters, but after a decade of staying out of the saddle to support her family and her daughter's riding career, it was finally time for Roenick to take her turn. "When we first got 'Pia' she was feisty, and I didn't even know if I'd get along with her. Steffen encouraged me to try, but when you've been out of the ring for so many years and then jump right back into a CDI with five judges looking at you as you enter the arena, it's hard and you can't help but wonder, 'what am I doing here,'" Roenick admitted, adding that show nerves had been an additional obstacle for her overcome in successfully returning to competition. "The first two shows were a nervous struggle for me, and she's a sensitive horse so she feeds off of what I'm feeling. Finally I felt like I settled down last weekend, and today I didn't have a whiff of nerves - I could think about what I was doing without being overwhelmed, and Pia was super too. What a thrill not only to win, but also to get a great score from this judging panel. Today was really fun - who knew?!" she laughed.