Wayne, Ill. – The U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions was in full swing on Thursday with seven divisions performing their respective tests for the panel of judges. Pony Riders to Four-Year-Old young horses to Grand Prix combinations took center stage for their chance at a national championship title. The day saw strong performances, showing the talent that gathered from across the country for the esteemed competition.
Adequan®/USEF Young Adult Brentina Cup Dressage National Championship
(SusanJStickle.com)
Eight combinations completed their second test in the Adequan®/USEF Young Adult Brentina Cup Dressage National Championship title by riding the FEI Grand Prix 16-25 Test. Chase Shipka and Gladstone Zee T continued their winning ways from Wednesday and finished atop the leaderboard yet again. Shipka (Wellington, Fla.) and her 2011 KWPN gelding, who are Kundrun USEF Dressage Development Program members, had a solid test to score 69.948%.
“It went really, really well,” said Shipka of her test. “It was clean, but I felt that he was a little tired. It is hard to do two days in the hot sun, but I was really proud. I think we nailed stuff that we didn’t nail the first day. He wanted to get a little bit heavy, but every time I asked him for a little bit more, he answered all my questions.”
McKayla Hohmann (Georgetown, Mass.) and Numberto, Elisabeth Austin’s 2001 KWPN gelding, were second with a score of 66.486%. Rosemary Julian-Simoes (Barrington, Ill.) and Rankrado, Rankrado LLC’s 2004 German Sport Horse gelding, placed third with a score of 65.332%.
The FEI Grand Prix 16-25 Test counts for 45 percent of the overall score, while Wednesday’s FEI Intermediate II Test counts for 40 percent. The division will conclude on Saturday with the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle Test, which counts for 15 percent.
From the Mixed Zone:
What were your highlights from your test?
Shipka: “I’d say I kept the passage a lot more collected. The first day I was a bit too open. Today, I think my right pirouette was a lot better than yesterday. I think, overall, he was a little bit more relaxed. Sometimes he’ll spook at the flowers when we are going around, even though he has been in there a million times. But today he didn’t at all and went around like a professional.”
Is there anything you want to improve upon in your next test?
Shipka: “Honestly, I would like to keep it pretty much the same. I mean I don’t want to ask for something crazy and then get a mistake. I know he is tired so I think he will give me whatever he can and if he can do a little bit more that would be amazing.”
Give me some background on your horse.
Shipka: “I’ve had him since he was seven and he is 10 this year. Before I got him he was doing the seven-year-old classes over in Europe in Sweden and Prix St. Georges, a little bit with the Grand Prix stuff, but not showing other than Prix St. Georges and that kind of thing.
“I was actually looking for a more experienced horse to teach me because I didn’t know what I was doing. I sat on him the first day [of a horse shopping trip], and it was just fire and electricity and I was like, ‘I need to have this.’ It was a match I think. I am glad I purchased him and took that risk.”
Anything else you what to add?
Shipka: “I would just like to thank Charlotte Bredahl, who’s my coach. We have been through a lot together. I couldn’t do this without her. She has been with me every step of the way, holding my hand. She is my cheerleader, friend, mentor. I love her so much.
“It has been a few years now [that I have been riding with her]. Since I was doing Young Riders. She has been a godsend.”
Markel/USEF Developing Horse Prix St. Georges Dressage National Championship
(SusanJStickle.com)
Fifteen combinations competed in the FEI Prix St. Georges Test of the Markel/USEF Developing Horse Prix St. Georges Dressage National Championship. USEF/USDF Young Horse Emerging Program member Emily Miles (Paola, Kan.) had a dominant performance, taking first and third place with Daily Show and Sole Mio, respectively. Both Daily Show, Leslie Waterman’s 2014 Hanoverian stallion (Danciano x Schweden Lady, Stockhom), and Sole Mio, Leslie Waterman’s 2014 Hanoverian stallion (Stanford x Donna-Rafaela, Donnerschwee), have competed at past Festival of Champions with top results and demonstrated they are just getting better with age. Miles and Daily Show had a lovely, flowing test to take top honors with a score of 73.137%.
“He felt great, a lot of my trot work he was right with me, he got a little tired in the canter work so we could add something more there,” explained Miles. “But he’s 7, he came out here and rocked in this environment.”
Kudrun USEF Dressage Development Program members Cyndi Jackson (Glendale, Ariz.) and Florisson, Ann Damiano’s 2013 Oldenburg gelding (Floriscount x D-Cassina, Johnson), were second with a score of 71.568%. Miles and Sole Mio placed third with a score of 70.636%.
From the Mixed Zone:
Tell us more about Daily Show.
Miles: “[Daily Show] wasn’t here as a five-year-old or a six-year-old. We went to Ermelo as a five-year-old, and I didn’t think that two weeks later he was ready to come here, so he has only been here as a four-year-old. He’s just, he’s become such a workhorse for me and I really feel like he tries his heart out for me. It’s such a wonderful feeling when you get that with a horse when they’re like ‘Mom! Let’s do this!’, and he’s so fun to ride—you go around the ring and feel all of this scope but at the same time he’s so settled about it, it doesn’t come from tension. That’s such a lovely feeling, and I get goosebumps when he comes around the ring.”
What are Daily Show and Sole Mio like?
Miles: “I adore [Daily Show] and his stablemate, and it’s fun because they’re both owned by Leslie Waterman, who is phenomenal as an owner. She can’t be here this week, but she trusts me and supports me, and is such a fantastic owner, I feel like she is 100% the best! They are total opposites, though they are both young stallions, they’re both super. Mio has been here and done great things, but Daily is now really coming into his own; they’re so different! Daily is the big, black beautiful stallion, while Mio is a short little punk with an ‘I got this!’ attitude, and they’re so fun to ride. You can’t compare them.”
What is it like to be back at the venue?
Miles: “I was nervous coming back to Lamplight after not being here last year, but I love this show, and I love seeing everyone. It’s special for a lot of reasons. We lost WakeUp this year, Amanda Johnson, I always think of her when I am here, Loyd, Jimmy, it just has a really special place in our hearts to come here.”
Is there anything you want to improve upon?
Miles: “I think that I just want to make sure everything stays solid and confirmed, make sure we keep that big expression in the canter and stay solid there, but I’m so proud of them and how they did. I’m very thankful because I’ve had Debbie [McDonald] coaching me for a while, and we were joking that this is the first time she’s seen them in person, and the first time she’s taught us in the same time zone, so she’s been very generous with her time. She’s fantastic, and I’m very happy to have her help.”
What are the horses’ backgrounds?
Miles: “We bought both of the stallions at the Verden Hanoverian stallion auction when they were two-and-a-half years old. My brother was the first to sit on them because I was pregnant at the time, so he broke them as three year olds. I’ve been riding them since. Daily has really come into his own; he has shown up. I’m blessed to have them.”
Anything else you want to add?
Miles: “My mom is the one that coaches me too. I wouldn’t be able to do this if I didn’t have her eyes on the ground at home too. It’s a huge benefit to have her every day. She keeps me on the straight and narrow.”
USEF Pony Rider Dressage National Championship
Ten pairs rode their FEI Pony Rider Team Tests in the USEF Pony Rider Dressage National Championship. Maren Elise Fouché-Hanson and In My Feelings claimed top honors with a strong performance. Fouché-Hanson (Colbert, Ga.) and her 1995 gelding demonstrated their three-year partnership and impressed the judges to earn a score of 72.237%.
“My test today was the best test I could’ve gotten out of ‘Drake.’ I was so, so proud of him. He came from doing Children’s that last two years to doing Ponies, which is a move-up for him,” said Fouché-Hanson. “He is now 26 this year, so that is crazy for him. I’m so, so proud of him. It was the best test. I’m still so nervous and excited. It was a beautiful test. I think it was the first test that I was really calm during my test. It was really awesome. I’m so proud of him.”
Tessa Geven (Cataula, Ga.) and Tullymor’s Houdini, her 2003 Connemara gelding, were second with a score of 70.713%. Aislin Falasco (Little Rock, Ark.) and Unscripted, her 2005 KWPN gelding, placed third with a score of 69.952%.
From the Mixed Zone:
Tell us about your pony’s background.
Fouché-Hanson: “My friend in Aiken [Drake] got abandoned at her place. I was doing mounted games at the time just a little. So I was like, ‘Okay. This pony I could probably sell him or do mounted games with him, you never know.’ We were at our first mounted games practice and he went around the poles as if he was going to do a canter pirouette. I just ended playing around; I did some leg yields, some shoulder-ins, and he totally knew it. So we were like, ‘He has had some training.’ He totally didn’t look it when we got him out of the field because he had been sitting for a couple years.
“We had recently found out that he had some eventing experience [too]. He had never done much more than First Level, but he did have some experience. And then, we had been training with Sandy Osborn; I did a Ride-a-Test with her. We have been in training, and I have been a working student with Sandy since. I got a [Georgia Dressage and Combined Training Association] grant for riding with Kristin Schmolze, and I ended up taking him to AECs in Beginner Novice. He ended up placing ninth in 2019. He was in first place through dressage and cross-country. Tessa Geven was right behind me, which she came in second here today. Then, she ended up winning the whole thing because we took one rail, which kind of [was] expected because he’s not careful with rails, but it was so fun and amazing. We were here [at Festival of Champions] just the week before.
“We have slowed down on the eventing. I don’t plan to compete him in eventing ever again, but we do play around and jumping him because I think it is good for them.”
Tell us about your pony’s personality.
Fouché-Hanson: “He has an amazing personality. He has the biggest personality of any horse I’ve ever had. He loves bananas. It is his favorite treat ever. He will start screaming if you even say the word. He is so awesome. In awards, he will start tossing his head, getting all feisty; he loves it. He gets so excited for it. He is really awesome. My favorite thing to do with him is riding him bareback and bridleless. He is awesome at it. The first couple times he dumped me like twice, but he loves it. He just thinks it’s fun. He is the best pony ever, and I love him so much.”
USEF Intermediaire I Dressage National Championship
(SusanJStickle.com)
Nine combinations completed their second of three tests by riding the FEI Intermediate I Test of the USEF Intermediaire I Dressage National Championship. Dawn White-O’Connor and Hudson M won their second class of the week to remain at the top of the overall standings. White-O’Connor (San Diego, Calif.) and Four Winds Farm’s 2012 KWPN gelding had a lovely, smooth test to score 75.970%.
“It was similar to yesterday,” White-O’Connor said of her test. “Everything was pretty clean, and I was really happy with the trot work, the canter also. I was happy that he had so much go despite how hot it was. I was a little concerned about that because it was pretty toasty there without a lot of breeze, but he was totally ready to go, so I was happy with that.”
Lindsey Holleger (Middletown, N.Y.) and MW Ave Maria, Jennifer Vanover’s 2013 Oldenburg mare, placed second with a score of 73.087%. Karen Lipp (Ball Ground, Ga.) and Infinity, her 2013 KWPN gleding, were third with a score of 70.881%. Both pairs are Kundrun USEF Dressage Development Program members.
The FEI Intermediate I Test counts for 45 percent of the overall score, while Wednesday’s FEI Prix St. Georges Test counts for 40 percent. The division will conclude on Saturday with the FEI Intermediate I Freestyle Test, which counts for 15 percent.
From the Mixed Zone:
What is Hudson M’s background?
White-O’Connor: “He came from Spain, and they did an amazing job with him. They had him his whole life until we got him, and he just had a really nice start to his life, he was totally their family horse, and I think that makes a huge difference, he’s just a happy, confident horse.”
When did you get him?
White-O’Connor: “March of 2020. I was flying home with him when the travel ban got announced [due to COVID-19]. Having the lockdown was good because we had a while before the shows, so I had some time to get to know him. I think everyone does things differently, and it takes time.”
What is special about him?
White-O’Connor: “His rideability, he really wants to work, and he tries really hard. He just has a great attitude about everything. He’s the most fun horse to be around, on the ground, under saddle.”
What is your partnership like with him?
White-O’Connor: “I think it’s good. It’s taken time like any horse. It was good in Florida to do that many shows. The first ones are a little rocky, and then you do it so often, at least for me, after a while, I remember what I need to work on from the last show, and so that was beneficial to show every couple of weeks. I know so much better how to prepare him now, and I know what I need to do going into each test, so that’s made a huge difference.”
Markel/USEF Young Horse Four-Year-Old Dressage National Championship
(SusanJStickle.com)
Fifteen combinations rode the USEF Four-Year-Old Horse Test to start the Markel/USEF Young Horse Four-Year-Old Dressage National Championship. Katryna Evans and Fontenay impressed the judges to earn top honors in the class. Evans (Bailey, Colo.) and Dr. Cesar Parra’s Hanoverian gelding (Fürst Jazz x Dakota, Don Frederico) received a score of 8.940.
“Fontenay had just been imported from Germany, about three months ago, so he kind of hit the ground running,” said Evans. “He’s just been taking everything in such great stride and has got one of the best minds of any four-year-old I’ve ever worked with. It’s astounding what this horse does so willingly and pleasantly. He’s big, almost 18 hands. He’s still got some growing to do, but it’s amazing how well he is proportioned and how balanced he is even with that, and being a four-year-old. It blows my mind.”
Caroline Roffman (Wellington, Fla.) and It’s Showtime, Carben Farms LLC and Anne Howard’s KWPN stallion (It’s A Pleasure x Gorona, Uphill), placed second with a score of 8.600. Lindsey Holleger and MW Fürstencharmant, Jennifer Vanover’s Oldenburg stallion (Fürstenball x MW Weiss Schwarz, Sir Donnerhall I), were third with a score of 8.410.
From the Mixed Zone:
What were some of the highlights from the test?
Evans: “We take everything as we go. He’s still fairly new to the team, so we’ve been seeing how he works through things, and it’s really been one accomplishment after the other. It’s such a cool feeling to have a horse that was fairly green, and he has come leaps and bounds. To carry someone through a test like that, can be a little challenging for a four-year-old, and with as big as he is, making those corners, I’m just proud that he is so focused and behaved. Once he’s in the ring he is with you, and I love that.
Is there anything you want to improve upon for your next test?
Evans: “We take everything day by day, and it’s been so great getting to know him and watching him take on each task and coming out stronger each time. We try to let him gauge how he feels in his body, sometimes it is a little more, sometimes it’s less warmup. Because he has tomorrow off and then competes again on Saturday in the final, we don’t want to go full speed and have nothing left. But another great thing about him is his level of energy, especially after such a long trip. We came from New Jersey, and that’s a lot for a young horse! I also want him to tell me what is up. I think it’s really important to have that one on one time with the horses, to figure them out and get to know their little quirks. I love it.”
What is Fontenay’s background?
Evans: “He was at a sales and training barn in Germany. All three horses that we have here [at Festival of Champions] are one version or another of the F-lines, so it’s cool. They all have good characteristics. They have the foundation, and I credit that to Cesar [Parra] because he’s really big on the basics. This is my first time here, and I’m really grateful to have this opportunity with such awesome horses and to have a good experience, I’ve had fun so far! I felt like I could really enjoy that ride.
“He’s got the Jazz background, and some people think that that brings hotness, but with the F-line behind it, it just brings the best of both worlds.”
USEF Grand Prix Dressage National Championship
(SusanJStickle.com)
Twelve combinations completed the FEI Grand Prix Test of the USEF Grand Prix Dressage National Championship. Alice Tarjan (Oldwick. N.J.) took a commanding lead in the division, claiming the top two places with Candescent and Donatella M, respectively. Tarjan has had an exciting year with Candescent, her 2010 Hanoverian mare, having been named to the U.S. Dressage Olympic Short List, and managed to score 73.673%. However, Donatella M, Tarjan’s 2001 Oldenburg mare, is a star in her own right, scoring 71.782%. Tarjan is a member of the Kundrun USEF Dressage Development Program with both horses.
“Both of the tests were clean,” said Tarjan. “We basically got all of the movements, and that was a good thing that we could come out and get a clean test.”
Katie Johnson (Greenwood Village, Colo.) and Quartett, Kylee Lourie’s 2008 Brandenburg gelding, were third with a score of 68.934%.
The FEI Grand Prix counts for 45 percent of the overall score, while Friday’s FEI Grand Prix Special counts for 40 percent. The division will conclude on Sunday with the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle Test, which counts for 15 percent.
From the Mixed Zone:
What kind of rides do Candescent and Donatella M take?
Tarjan: “These are drastically different horses. They are both very honest, but Candescent was not so easy to train and I had to think out of the box. She’s got a lot of movement so to try to balance that and keep her moving is not always so easy. And to try to make it look harmonious and easy is a challenge.
“Donatella is a perfect angel, and she tries and tries, and gives so much effort.
“It’s so interesting because people often say that I have a “type” of horse, but if you walk through the aisle, they are all different horses. I think that they all have the ability to be expressive in their movement and have scope and volume, but they all have different mechanics and they are very different to train.”
Markel/USEF Young Horse Five-Year-Old Dressage National Championship
(SusanJStickle.com)
Fourteen combinations began their quest for the Markel/USEF Young Horse Five-Year-Old Dressage National Championship title by completing the FEI Five-Year-Old Preliminary Test. Marcus Orlob (Annandale, N.J.) and Glory Day (Grand Galaxy Win x JJ Dolche Gabbana, Deemster) wowed the judges with their beautiful test, earning scores between 8.5 and 9.5. Orlob and Alice Tarjan’s Danish Warmblood stallion, members of the USEF/USDF Dresage Young Horse Emerging Program, earned an overall score of 9.140.
“In the test, he was 100 percent with me. He has a spook at E; I don’t know what he was afraid of. That was it,” Orlob said after having a spooky warm-up. “He is a workhorse. That is the nice thing with him; he is willing to work all the time. That makes it much easier for me.”
Katryna Evans (Bailey, Colo.) and Møllegårdens Fashion, Cesar and Marcela Parra’s Danish Warmblood gelding (Florenz x Møllegårdens Kantarel, L’Espoir), were second with a score of 8.880. Hope Beerling of Australia (Califon, N.J.) and Vianne, Kimberly Butenhoff’s Hanoverian mare (Vitalis x Raureif, Ramiro’s Blue) placed third with a score of 8.520.
From the Mixed Zone:
How has Glory Day developed since last year?
Orlob: “I think that is a big jump four to five. You need a little bit more counter-canter and more sitting so he is understanding to sit more on his hind legs and come more up. The self-carriage is much better. There is much more expression and I’m excited even for the following year because he has started shoulder-in, half-pass, all of this stuff and it is easy for him.”
How did the partnership with Alice Tarjan and Glory Day begin?
Orlob: “I have worked with [Alice] four or five years. Actually, she called me when she wanted help with Harvest when he was a five-year-old, so then we started working together. Last year before the four-year-old [year], when [Glory Day] was three-and-a-half, he was a bit much for her and she asked me to take over the ride, so that’s why I am riding him at the moment.
“I think Alice is the dream owner to have. She does whatever is right by the horse and me. It is a very good relationship. The horse is very straightforward. It is a pleasure to work with both of them.”
What do you like about working with young horses?
Orlob: “What I like is usually you see very fast the progress I think more than an older horse. I think as a trainer if you keep it playful, they are so easy to get excited, especially Glory. I say, ‘Hey, good boy!’ and pet him and scratch him and he is shaking his head. I guess it is also partly because he is a stallion. It’s nice with the young horses. I think if you make it playful, they really love to work.”
Competition continues Friday with the first class in the Lamplight Grand Prix Arena, the FEI Pony Rider Individual Test for the USEF Pony Rider Dressage National Championship, beginning at 8:00 a.m. CT in the Lamplight Grand Prix Arena. The first class in the Lamplight Young Horse/Developing Horse Arena, the FEI Six-Year-Old Preliminary Test for the Markel/USEF Young Horse Six-Year-Old Dressage National Championship, begins at 8:15 a.m. CT.
Watch the U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions live stream presented by Adequan® this week on USEF Network.
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