Wayne, Ill. - A mix of new names and familiar faces will go down the centerline to contest the 2017 Markel/USEF Young & Developing Horse Dressage National Championships August 24-27, at the Lamplight Equestrian Center. A total of 68 combinations will chase titles across the Four-, Five-, and Six-Year-Old divisions as well as the Developing Horse Prix St. Georges and Grand Prix divisions. Combinations in each division will perform two tests. The first test will count 40% towards their overall scores, and the second test will count 60% for a combined score to determine the champions.
Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage National Championships
Four-Year-Old Division
Currently ranked first in the Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage National Championship Four-Year-Old division with Maryanna Haymon’s Hanoverian mare Serenade MF, Alice Tarjan (Frenchtown, N.J.), looks to add another Four-Year-Old National Championship title to her resume, having won in 2015 with Tiko. Tarjan’s second mount is her own Fairouz, an Oldenburg mare. After winning the 2012 Four-Year-Old National Championship with Hemmingway, Michael Bragdell (Colora, Md.) will ride two horses in the 2017 division. Debonair MF, Maryanna Haymon’s Hanoverian stallion and SenSation HW, Carol McPhee’s Westphalian gelding, will seek to carry Bragdell to another title. Rebekah Mingari (Louisville, Ky.), a developing Young Rider competing in both the Young Rider and Young Horse divisions, will ride Icarus TF, Kerrin Dunn’s KWPN gelding. They will join a field of 14 additional combinations when they begin on Thursday, August 24 with the USEF Four-Year-Old Test. The Four-Year-Old National Champion will be determined on Saturday, August 26 following the USEF Four-Year-Old Test.
View the full entry list and current rankings for the Four-Year-Old National Championship.
Five-Year-Old Division
Championship veteran and currently ranked first in the Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage National Championship Five-Year-Old division, Craig Stanley (Madera, Calif.) and his own KWPN gelding Habanero CWS were victorious in the 2016 Four-Year-Old National Championship. The combination will look to repeat a win in the 2017 Five-Year-Old National Championship title. Five of the 14 combinations competed as four-year-olds in 2016, including Angela Jackson (Henderson, Ky.) and Sandeman, Julie Cook’s Hanoverian gelding. Petra Warlimont (Evergreen, Colo.) will compete with Alysa Levine’s Hanoverian mare, Darkstar while Nadine Schwartsman (Eagle, ID) will return with Harvard R, Nancy Weaver’s KWPN gelding. The Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) Five-Year-Old Preliminary Test will begin on Thursday, August 24 followed by the FEI Five-Year-Old Final Test on Saturday, August 26.
View the full entry list and current rankings for the Five-Year-Old National Championship.
Six-Year-Old Division
As one of three combinations that contested the 2016 Markel/Young Horse Dressage Five-Year-Old National Championship, Cyndi Jackson (Glendale, Ariz.) currently sits second in the Six-Year-Old division ranks with Sir Amour, Schuttler Stables, LLC’s Hanoverian gelding. The combination returns in 2017 for a chance at the Six-Year-Old National Championship after placing third in the 2016 Five-Year-Old National Championship. Heather McCarthy (Prairie, Ill.) and Au Revoir, Sandi Chohany’s Oldenburg gelding, have also moved up an age division after placing fifth in the Five-Year-Old National Championship in 2016. Bragdell and Angela Jackson will also contest the Six-Year-Old Championship with Anne Howard’s Oldenburg stallion Finery and Sheila Borneman’s KWPN gelding Gaston TF, respectively. Nicole Harrington (Amelia, Ohio) will compete the only Andalusian in the Young Horse competition, riding the mare Camomila MCD, owned by McDowell Equestrian Inc. The 14 combinations will begin with the FEI Six-Year-Old Preliminary Test on Friday, August 25 followed by the FEI Six-Year-Old Final Test on Sunday, August 27.
View the full entry list and current rankings for the Six-Year-Old National Championship.
Markel/USEF Developing Horse Dressage National Championships
Developing Horse Prix St. Georges Division
Carly Taylor-Smith (Malibu, Calif.) and Rosalut NHF, Nikki Taylor-Smith’s seven-year-old Oldenburg gelding, make their return to the Markel/USEF Developing Horse Dressage National Championships after an absence in 2016. This dynamic pair won the Four-Year-Old National Championship in 2014 and the Five-Year-Old National Championship in 2015, returning this year to seek another title. The 2016 Six-Year-Old National Champions Endel Ots (Wellington, Fla.) and Lucky Strike, Max Ots’ seven-year-old Hanoverian gelding, will return to contest the Prix St. Georges National Championship. This exciting combination recently competed at the 2016 Longines FEI World Breeding Championships for Young Dressage Horses. Bragdell makes the trip back to Lamplight with two rides: Faberge Blue, William Mitchelson’s seven-year-old KWPN gelding who currently leads the division and Sternlicht Hilltop, Hilltop Farm Inc.’s seven-year-old Hanoverian stallion and Bragdell’s fourth-place partner in the 2016 Six-Year-Old National Championship. After moving superstar horse Verdades up the world dressage rankings, number two dressage athlete Laura Graves (Geneva, Fla.) will guide the development horse Fizau, Suzanne Shattuck’s eight-year-old Westphalian gelding during these championships. The 15 combinations will begin on Thursday, August 24 with the FEI Prix St. Georges Test followed by the USEF Developing Prix St. Georges Test on Saturday, August 26.
View the full entry list and current rankings for the Developing Horse Prix St. Georges National Championship.
Developing Horse Grand Prix Division
A brand new string of horses partner with the 10 entrants in the Markel/USEF Developing Horse Grand Prix division. Of these 10 combinations, eight of the horses were U.S. born and bred. Patricia Becker (Wadsworth, Ill.) and Freedom, Dr. Anne Ramsay’s 10-year-old Oldenburg stallion, currently lead the Developing Horse Grand Prix division ranks, while Jessica Jo Tate (Wellington, Fla.) will ride the only Half-Connemara in the Young Horse competition, the nine-year-old gelding Kynynmont Gunsmoke’s Gideon, owned by Pamela Liddell. Emily Miles (Overland Park, Kan.) brings a new horse to the arena – Quantum Jazz, Leslie Waterman’s eight-year-old Oldenburg gelding. Competing in four of the five Young Horse divisions, Bragdell will ride Qredit Hilltop, Hilltop Farm Inc.’s nine-year-old Oldenburg stallion. The Developing Horse Grand Prix National Championship will begin Friday, August 25 with the FEI Intermediate II Test and be determined on Sunday, August 27 following the USEF Developing Grand Prix Test.
View the full entry list and current rankings for the Developing Horse Grand Prix National Championship.
Find out more information about the Markel/USEF Young & Developing Horse Dressage National Championships online.
The USEF Network will live stream all competition beginning Thursday, August 25. The live stream is only available to US Equestrian members; however, a special promotional code for viewing will be available.
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The USEF International High Performance Programs are generously supported by the USET Foundation, USOC, and USEF Sponsors and Members.