Bettina Loy and "Carette MG" win the CDS Young Horse Futurity for Five-Year-Olds. (Jennifer M. Keeler)
In addition to outstanding dressage competition, CDS hosted a discussion of "The 2012 Olympic Experience: From a Rider, Owner, & Judge Perspective", featuring U.S. Dressage Team member Steffen Peters; Akiko Yamazaki, a long-time owner of U.S. High Performance dressage horses, including "Ravel"; and FEI "O" judge Gary Rockwell, who was an official for both the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games. The panelists discussed their experiences at this year's Olympics in London as well as their thoughts on the state of the sport. Peters drew enthusiastic applause when speaking about his appreciation for CDS' support of Team riders. "We really appreciate everything CDS has done for us," Peters said. "I guarantee you, we're going to do all that we can to not only bring more medals home to the States, but also bring them back to the West Coast."
Future generations of potential Olympic mounts participated in the conclusion of the CDS Young Horse Futurity, showcasing the five- and six-year-old divisions. "Carette MG", a Dutch Warmblood mare (His Highness x Turette MG by Silvano, bred by Kathy Hickerson) owned by Rya Lahti, was ridden by Bettina Loy of Ramona, CA to earn an overall average of 75.817% and the five-year-old championship. Alice Womble's young horse star "Sanceo" (Hanoverian stallion San Remo x Rivera by Ramiro's Son II, bred in Germany by Gerhard Dustmann) earned his third consecutive CDS Futurity title, earning a score of 75.000% today with rider Sabine Schut-Kery of Thousand Oaks, CA, to finish with an overall two-day average of 75.964%. In the Adult Amateur divisions of the Futurity, Sarah Rowntree (Trabuco Canyon, CA) rode her own Oldenburg gelding "San Otto" (San Gregory x Alicia by Rhodiamant) to claim their Futurity title with an overall score of 59.576%, while the six-year-old class was won by the last year's 5-year-old Amateur Futurity division winner "Rudi Regali" (Westfalen gelding Riccoone x Rubina by Rubiluh), ridden by owner Nancy Szakacs of Hollister, CA to a winning average of 69.599%.
CDS Horse of the Year titles were awarded at First, Second and Fourth Levels, as well as Intermediaire I. In a hotly contested Open First Level division, Jocelyn Hamann rode her own Dutch Warmblood gelding "Casanova" to take the McLeod Perpetual Trophy home to Reno, NV with an overall combined score of 73.250%. In Open Second Level Horse of the Year, an average score of 72.910% earned the Bengt Lungquist Memorial Trophy for "W Royal Winner", a six-year-old Hanoverian gelding ridden by Alisa Wilson of Chino Hills for owner Marban Inc. Meanwhile, Sarah Lockman of Chino Hills, CA guided Pamela Munson's Dutch Warmblood gelding "Vinterpol" to victory in the Open Fourth Level championship with a total combined score of 70.186% to claim the Pal Kemery Perpetual Trophy. Mette Rosencrantz of Topanga, CA and "Mosegaards Rico" (Danish Warmblood gelding owned by Anne Solbraekke) scored small tour CDI wins early this season, and continued their winning ways by earning the CDS Open Intermediaire I Horse of the Year Trophy with a score of 72.105%, while the Adult Amateur division and T.D.I. Systems Perpetual Trophy was convincingly won with a score of 73.026% by "Rower Be", a Rheinlander gelding ridden and owned by Elizabeth Keadle of Rancho Santa Fe, CA.
Junior riders contested their inaugural CDS Dressage Seat Equitation Challenge for riders 14-21, with Rison Naness of Burbank impressing the judges for a score of 80.000% with her mount "Venezia". Additional CDS Championships were awarded in the Fourth Level, Intermediaire I, and Grand Prix Freestyle divisions as part of afternoon and evening entertainment. Karen Cornelius (Nipomo, CA) rode Carolina White's striking black Friesian stallion "Dimer Fan Lutke Peinjum" to victory with 71.167% for their Fourth Level freestyle. Ruth Shirkey of Los Gatos, CA and her Oldenburg gelding "PEC Womanizer" earned the blue ribbon and the Lilian Van Dahn Trophy for CDS Intermediaire Freestyle with a score of 67.750%. Olympian Hilda Gurney claimed her third championship title of the weekend with her own Oldenburg gelding "Wintersnow", winning the Lt. Col Hans Moeller Trophy for their Grand Prix freestyle with a score of 70.563%.
Great American Insurance Group/USDF Region 7 Championships were also presented in a multitude of divisions, including several in the Junior/Young Rider ranks. At Training Level, Alyssa Buechler from Ventura, CA, earned a top score of 73.900% with Anne McCutcheon's Hanoverian gelding "Winter Zest", while NAYRC Region 7 team member Mackinzie Pooley of Coto de Caza, CA rode Sharon Criswell's Dutch Warmblood gelding "Zoom" to claim the JR/YR Fourth Level Championship (65.375%). Cassidy Gallman from Poway, CA, who had partnered with her Hanoverian "Woden" for CDI-J wins in San Juan Capistrano in April, returned to the winner's circle in the Junior Team Test Championship on a score of 66.351%.
Topping a large field of Adult Amateurs at First Level was Los Angeles' Susan Bauer, who earned a winning score of 69.194% with her own Danish Warmblood mare "Rambhina". In the Open Third Level Championship, Tanya Vik of Sonoma rode Susan Jane Sutton's Hanoverian gelding "Holy Wonder" to the title (73.077%), while the Adult Amateur division at this level was decisively claimed by Rancho Santa Fe, CA's Yvette Diuri with her own Dutch Warmblood gelding "Winsome" on a score of 72.436%. In the FEI divisions, topping the leader board in the Open Prix St. Georges Championship was Sabine Schut-Kery, who piloted Margaret Carrera's PRE gelding "Tardon" to a winning score of 68.816%. Suzanne Smith (Palos Verdes Estates, CA) rode her own Dutch Warmblood gelding "Spencer" to earn the Adult Amateur Prix St. Georges Regional Championship, earning a score of 66.974%. Kathleen Raine and her longtime High Performance partner "Breanna" (owned by Raine and Jennifer Mason) added another championship to their resume by winning the Region 7 Grand Prix Open Championship with a score of 69.894%, while D'Re Stergios of Petaluma won the Adult Amateur Grand Prix class with a score of 68.936% on Oldenburg gelding "Johnny".
In addition to a full day of championship rides, in-hand sport horse breeding competition was also featured with the Great American Insurance Group/USDF Breeders Championships - West Coast Final. Jackie Ahl-Eckhaus of Sanger, CA presented "Si Donna MVS" (Sir Donnerhall x Lumara by Flemmingh), a two-year-old Oldenburg filly which she owns and bred, to claim the Filly Championship by earning a score of 78.850% from judges Gail Hoff-Carmona and Melissa Creswick. In the Colt/Gelding Championship, Willy Arts presented the three-year-old Dutch Warmblood colt "Escobar DG" (Vivaldi x Festival by Sandro Hit) for owner/breeder DG Bar Ranch to win the division title with a score of 80.000%. Arts then returned to the ring with Debra Pulver's four-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare "Dalina DG" (Jazz x Satina by Contango) to win the Mare Championship with a score of 81.300%. In the Current Year Foal Championship, Shelley Housh of Blue Jay, CA handled her own "Sterling's Brigadier SH", a grey Shagya colt (Sterling Silver x Nicolatina Star by Starwalker), to a score of 68.650%, while the Stallion Championship was awarded to the six-year-old Oldenburg "Sondheim OLD" (Sandro Hit x Galana by Rohdiamant), presented by Burbank's Jaye Cherry for owner Marta Kauffman.
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here for full results from Saturday.Championship competition concludes on Sunday with final divisions of Regional and CDS Championships. Daily results and complete information about the 45th Anniversary California Dressage Society Championship Show Presented By HorseShow.com is available on the CDS website, www.california-dressage.org.
The California Dressage Society, formed in 1967, is a non-profit organization devoted to furthering interest in dressage. It is one of the largest dressage organizations in the nation with more than 4,000 individual members in its 36 Chapters and a rich history of equestrian sport on the West Coast.