LexingtonFor its 10th anniversary, the 2006 USEF National Junior Dressage Team Championship returned to the West Coast for another exciting showcase of some of America’s most talented young dressage riders, hosted by Pebble Beach Dressage and CDI*** in Pebble Beach, California, July 6-9, 2006. This Championship is sponsored by Collecting Gaits Farm, the Dutta Corporation and Performance Sales International.

Three teams of four riders, ages 14 to 18, from all across the country, competed over the course of three days in the FEI Junior Tests. Scores from both the Team and Individual Tests were averaged to determine overall placings and the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Medal Teams. The lowest score for each test was dropped. The remaining six scores were averaged to produce the overall team placings.

Emerging victorious from the exciting weekend was Team Freedom with an overall average of 63.792%. Team Freedom included Amanda Stearns of Royal Palm Beach, FL and Mitchell, a 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by John Zopatti; Ariel Stern of Perris, CA and her 12-year-old Westphalian gelding, Raffaelo; Jessica Banaszak of Placerville, CA and her 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, Mango; and Rachel Campbell of Wylie, TX with her Mecklenburg gelding, Discoverer. The Silver Medal was awarded to Team Independence with an overall average score of 63.183%. Team Independence consisted of Ashlee Todosijevic of Crown Point, IN and Sjoerd, a nine-year-old Friesian gelding owned by Candie Todosijevic; Christine Stephenson of Mission Viejo, CA and her 10-year-old Oldenburg gelding, Charly 285; Julie McKean of Camden, ME and her 17-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding. Hicarlos; and Susan Walker of San Diego, CA with Kalibre, a 14-year-old KWPN Dutch Warmblood gelding, owned by Gay Walker. Winning the Bronze Medal was Team Liberty with a total average score of 62.592%. Team Liberty’s members included Elizabeth Wilson of Fox Island, WA and her 13-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding, Bentley; Hannah Holland Shook of Charlotte, NC and her 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood/Thoroughbred gelding, Cape Town; Katie Johnson of El Cajon, CA and Meeko, an 11-year-old Oldenburg gelding, owned by Elizabeth Johnson; and Laura Andrews of Ross, CA with her nine-year-old Hanoverian gelding, Perception. Team placings were very close, with just over one overall percentage point making the difference between Gold and Bronze.

Also of special note, Hannah Holland Shook of Charlotte, North Carolina rode Cape Town to claim the Overall Individual Championship, winning both the Team and Individual Tests for an overall average of 66.550%. Katie Johnson of Team Liberty was voted by her fellow competitors to be the winner of the annual Sportsmanship Award.

For more information on the USEF Junior Dressage Team Championship Program, please contact Jennifer Keeler, National Director of Dressage at (859) 225-2024 or [email protected].
~~~For more information, please contact Jeannie Blancq Putney, National Marketing Manager, at (859) 225-6974, or via e-mail at [email protected].