Wayne, Ill.—Aug. 26
Two days of the Markel/USEF Young and Developing Horse Dressage Championships have now concluded, meaning that the 4-year-olds, 5-year-olds, 6-year-olds, Developing Prix St. Georges and Developing Grand Prix horses have done one test each. Champions will be crowned starting tomorrow, but in the meantime, here are some facts about horses in each of the divisions
—Until about three years ago, Justine Wilson, who won the USEF 4-Year-Old Preliminary test on Hero BHS, competed exclusively in hunters and jumpers. Now she doesn’t jump at all anymore.
“I took over the ride on a schoolmaster and was rehabbing him from several different injuries, and he was a bit crazy, and no one else would ride him,” she said. “I got the ride, and I was just hacking him, riding him, and I got him ready to go back in the ring, and the owner didn’t want to take him, so I said, ‘I’ll take him!’ I had a month of lessons, and we did first level, and then three months later we did Prix St. Georges. I sold my hunters and bought [dressage stallion] Special D.”
Justine Wilson and Hero BHS. Photo by Lisa Slade.
—Craig Stanley ended up riding Habanero CWS to second in the USEF 4-Year-Old Preliminary test in someone else’s saddle. He joked that he needs to borrow it again for the second test since the first one went so well.
“I went to do up the girth, and one billet pulled off the saddle,” he said. “It was run, run, run to find another saddle. That was very unexpected.”
Craig Stanley and Habanero CWS. Photo by Lisa Slade.
—Christian Hartung, winner of the FEI 5-Year-Old Preliminary test with Desario, came from California for the championship. He works full time in the tech industry, and he rides his horses in the evening.
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Christian Hartung and Desario. Photo by Lisa Slade.
—Gaspard de la Nuit DG, sired by Ravel, who Steffen Peters rode at the 2008 Olympic Games and 2010 World Equestrian Games, is here competing in the 5-year-old classes with Ashlyn DeGroot. Ravel is a gelding now, but he sired some horses before he was imported to the United States and gelded during quarantine.
Gaspard de la Nuit DG. Photo by Lisa Slade.
—In the Developing Prix St. Georges, California-based Nicholia Clarke is competing on two horses. Both are out of the Grand Prix mare Breanna, and they placed fourth (Finesse) and fifth (Quincy) in the first test of the division.
Finesse (left) and Quincy (right). Photos by Lisa Slade.
—In yet another family connection, Willow, a mare by the very successful stallion WakeUp, is contesting the 6-year-old championship with Jana Wagner aboard. (Jana Wagner is also the mother of Emily Wagner, who rides WakeUp.)
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Jana Wagner and Willow. Photo by Lisa Slade.
—All three of the top horses in the first test for the Developing Prix St. Georges Championship (Horizon, ridden by Adrienne Lyle; Gallant Reflection HU, ridden by Lisa Wilcox; and Fashion Designer OLD, ridden by Cesar Parra) did the U.S. young horse program in some capacity.
“Horizon did the young horse tests with George Williams, and I’ve been riding her a little more than a year,” said Lyle. “This was a natural goal. For her, it’s all about developing her confidnce in the ring, which is paying off. She’s gone from being nervous and hot to feeling like she’s going in there really confident.”
—The same goes for the top three (Clapton JP, ridden by Holger Bechtloff; Sunshine Tour, ridden by Jane Karol; and Sir Velo, ridden by Noel Williams) in today’s first test for the Developing Grand Prix Championship, the Intermediaire II.
—This year’s two U.S. representatives for the Longines FEI/WBFSH World Breeding Dressage Championships (the Netherlands) also decided they’d bring their mounts to this competition. Endel Ots and Lucky Strike won the 6-year-old Preliminary test, and Silberpfeil and David Wightman were fifth.
“I wasn’t happy with how I rode him in Europe,” said Ots. “He travels really well, and he’s like a Golden Retriever horse. He makes friends everywhere. For the horse, I wanted to finish the season on a high note.”
Endel Ots and Lucky Strike. Photo by Lisa Slade.
—Don Cesar, ridden by Cesar Parra to second in the 6-year-old Preliminary test, is named after his rider. His former owner repeatedly tried to get Parra to buy him as a very young horse, finally naming the gelding after him in order to help convince him.
“When they put the saddle on him, I bought him,” said Parra. “He’s an amazing horse. I love this guy.”
See more photos from Thursday and Friday’s classes or full results from the show.