New Jersey hometown girl Jessica Lehnes riding Lexington Lady was all smiles on June 20 at the Middlesex County Horse Show in Allentown, NJ, after notching a score of 75.769% in Open Training Level Test 4. The impressive percentage earned Lehnes and Lexington Lady a victory in the class and the high score in training level at the one-day dressage show. Lexington Lady is an eight-year-old, 16.3-hand, dark brown Trakhener mare (by Schonfield), owned by Joanne Penso.

For her performance, Lehnes was awarded the Lt. Colonel James Marsh Memorial Trophy for the highest scoring ride at training level. Colonel Marsh, who passed away nearly a year ago, was instrumental in the growth of the Middlesex County Horse Show, which is held annually at the Horse Park of New Jersey. The show was originally held at Johnson Park in Piscataway, but to accommodate significant growth in exhibitors, it was moved to its present larger venue. Hunter/jumper competition ran June 21-June 25, and featured the first annual Lt. Colonel James Marsh $25,000 Grand Prix and the $10,000 Junior/Amateur Jumper classes.

Lehnes was thrilled with her test score and praised her mount after her ride. "The mare feels great,” Lehnes said. "Really soft in my hand and forward to the bridle.” In the past, the mare has been a little strong, noted Lehnes, but today she was ready to do her job when she entered the ring. "Today, all I had to do was think [the move] and the mare responded,” Lehnes averred.

Lehnes, a former event rider who only recently made the change to focus exclusively on dressage, has had the ride on Lexington Lady for two months. As an event rider, Lehnes competed at the intermediate level and spent eighteen months in training with Olympic Gold Medalist Phillip Dutton. Lehnes has also trained with New Jersey native and advanced event rider, Heather Gillette.

Robin Brueckmann (S) of North Carolina judged the Training Level Test 4 class, which was a qualifier for the United States Dressage Federation/Great American Insurance Group (USDF/GAIG) Regional Championships.

Competition Highlights
Pas de Deux riders Ryann Scelba aboard Joe Cool and Jackie Stillwell in the irons on Ordained also received a high score award at the Middlesex County Horse Show for their musical ride, which earned 76.500%. Scelba and Stillwell were presented with one of the Jet Blue tickets that were awarded as prizes during the show.

The Middlesex County Horse Show dressage portion featured classes from training level through grand prix. Officiating were Kem Barbosa (S-NJ), Robin Brueckmann (S-NC), Lisa Schmidt (r-NJ), Jane Gilbert – TD. The show manager was Kathy Keisel of Equine Marketing & Management Associates (EMMA).


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