Brandi Roenick was all smiles after topping the CDI Young Rider division on "Pretty Lady" as well as the Intermediaire Freestyle with "Nobel". (Jennifer M. Keeler)
Burbank, CA - On the final day of the Mid-Winter Dressage Fair CDI-W/Y/J, competitors vied for top honors in the Intermediaire Freestyle. Young Rider Brandi Roenick topped senior competitors to claim the win with "Nobel", a 17-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding (Rohdiamant x Hestella) owned by Tracy Roenick of Scottsdale, AZ. Her score of 70.417% from judges Linda Zang (5* USA), Jean-Michele Roudier (5* FRA), and Eddy de Wolff (4* NED) earned the champion's sash over Jan Ebeling, who placed second with 68.333% on Deborah Harlan's "Rosenzauber 8" (11-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare [Rotspon x Shining Sun]). "My goal for Nobel this weekend was just to get him back in the ring, so I was pleasantly surprised with the result! He can be a challenging horse," explained Roenick. "I think it's such good experience for a young rider to get into the open CDI classes to get a feel for what it's like against the professionals." Finishing in third was Kim Elsner riding 13-year-old Trakehner gelding "Luminence" (Leonidas x Willa, owned by Hilda Gurney) on a score of 65.583%.
Brandi Roenick also completed a sweep of the CDI Young Rider division with her own longtime partner, the 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare "Pretty Lady" (Iglesias x Ivonne), by winning the freestyle with a score of 71.500%. "Since the National Championships last fall, we've come together as a team even more," noted Roenick. "We clicked so well this weekend and she tried her heart out for me like she always does."
Complete results are available at this link
http://www.cornerstonedressage.com/show_results.asp. In addition, videos of Young Rider and Intermediaire Freestyle rides are available on the Cornerstone's YouTube channel at this link:
http://www.youtube.com/user/DressageCornerstone/videos.