Riding back to the barn after her final test at the Col. Bengt Ljungquist Memorial Championships, Sally Spenard, of Fredericksburg, Va., was told more than once that blue was a great color on her. That was lucky for her, because it was the only shade of ribbon she and her horse Chamberlain took home from the competition, held Oct. 19-22 at the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington.

Spenard was two for two in the annual championships, claiming both the Grand Prix and Grand Prix freestyle titles aboard her 16-year-old, bay, Trakehner gelding. Spenard purchased the horse as a 4-year-old and brought him up through the ranks. The pair now train with Jim Koford and have been competing at Grand Prix since 2004.

“He’s a really big chicken,” Spenard said. “His spookiness sometimes affects how his tests go. He’s either really, really good or really, really bad.”

Spenard was certainly pleased with Chamberlain’s behavior in Lexington, however. The pair’s performance earned Spenard the Barbara Silverman Memorial Freestyle Award, which benefits the Women’s Ovarian Cancer Foundation. Spenard and Chamberlain qualified for the award by submitting two freestyle scores from previous shows and averaging them with their BLM freestyle percentage.

“His freestyle was wonderful,” Spenard said. On Saturday evening, the duo scored a 66.00 percent with their upbeat ride set to the musical stylings of Queen. “Freddie Mercury all the way!” she said.

According to his rider, Chamberlain was slightly sluggish the following morning in the open Grand Prix championship, which was reflected in their score of 60.97 percent. Although the score was slightly lower than she would have liked, Spenard was still happy with her horse’s winning work. “He did a very nice test,” she said.

A former event rider, Spenard competed in her first three-day at Radnor (Pa.) at the age of 14, rode at the North American Young Riders Championships in 1980, and served as a working student for Denny Emerson for five summers. After taking some time off, she purchased Chamberlain as an eventing prospect, “but he was just too much of a chicken.”

The horse eventually found his niche in the dressage arena, however. “He tries so hard,” Spenard said. “He gives 100 percent every time he goes.”

Chamberlain will now get the winter off, and Spenard will tackle her next goal in the spring–to place in the top third at a CDI. “It may take awhile,” she said. “It may even be on the next horse, but hopefully someday!”

Spenard is currently training a 5-year-old Canadian Sport Horse as an eventual replacement for her current mount. She also looks forward to coaching one of her students, Erin Brooke Freedman, on her newly acquired event horse. Although she has no desire to jump competitively again, Spenard plans to live vicariously through Freedman.

“I’ll be at all the events,” she said. “I’ll just be on the ground!”


Riding With Rhythm
Close behind Spenard in the Grand Prix freestyle was Evelyn Susol, of Orrtanna, Pa., aboard her 19-year-old, Dutch Warmblood gelding, Fillipe. The pair logged a score of 63.50 percent to take the reserve championship honors.

“The fact that he was the oldest horse in the group and did as well as he could says a lot,” Susol said of her horse, who battled persistent lameness issues last year. “The fact that he’s sound and could go and compete means a lot. He’s not one who needs a lot of showing to prepare. We just have to show up. He knows his job.”

Although Susol wasn’t able to show enough last season to qualify “Flip” for the Grand Prix championships, their freestyle scores from last fall assured them entry into the freestyle class, where they performed to the soundtrack from Top Gun. The pair also competed in the pas de deux finals, partnered with one of Susol’s clients.

Susol’s championship win for the weekend came aboard Black Hawk, a 12-year-old, 17.1-hand, Friesian gelding owned by Sandy Holcomb and leased by Andrea LeMatta. The duo topped the third level freestyle division with a score of 67.7 percent.

“Black Hawk is just an exceptional fellow,” Susol said of her mount, who has won multiple freestyle championship awards. “He’s exceptional within the Friesian breed–his temperament, his movement, his size. He’s just special. I’m very thankful to Sandy and Andrea for letting me ride such a wonderful horse.”

Susol also expressed gratitude toward the management of this year’s BLM finals. “[Manager] Dianne Boyd and [secretary] Bettina Longaker always do a fabulous job,” she said.

The administrators made the decision to move one of the Saturday championship classes to the large outdoor arena on the hill because it offered better footing. “My horse has been injured in the past because of bad footing, so I applaud them for that,” said Susol.

Susol owns and manages Cool Breeze Farm Sport Horse Training Centre in southeast Pennsylvania with her husband Mark. She dubs each of her freestyle selections herself and choreographs every routine.

“Musical freestyles are my thing,” she said. “I just love them. If I couldn’t do them, I don’t think I would compete.”


Third Time’s The Charm
Heidi Storm Graham wouldn’t have complained about her two reserve championships over the weekend, but she was starting to feel a touch of the perpetual bridesmaid syndrome by Sunday evening. But the trainer from Fort Belvoir, Va., eventually got the chance to lead a victory gallop on her 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood, Olympus, following the Inter-mediaire I championship. The pair’s score of 64.16 percent put them on top of the 11-entry field.

“I was pleased with the test in general,” Graham said. The duo placed second in the Intermediaire I freestyle on Friday and the Prix St. Georges on Saturday with scores of 67.50 and 67.12 percent, respectively. Although she thought the weekend’s scores were a touch on the low side, she was still delighted with her horse’s performances. A 16.2-hand, bay gelding, Olympus has been Graham’s project horse since she purchased him in the Netherlands when he was 21�2.

Graham and her husband were living in Spain at the time, and she trained the horse there for more than two years. During their time abroad, they placed fourth at the FEI 4-Year-Old Spanish National Championships. This year, Olympus has competed exclusively at Intermediaire I and has been the high-score FEI horse at three shows with scores over 70 percent.

“He’s got tons of personality and is just exuberant,” Graham said. “He’s like the Energizer bunny; he’s an actual show-off.”

Although it was only the third time the pair had performed their Intermediaire I freestyle, the routine afforded plenty of opportunities for personal expression. Graham choreographed her ride to Frank Sinatra’s New York, New York because she “wanted something that was fun and toe-tapping.”

In addition to their championship rosettes, Olympus’ impressive performances helped Graham win the Mary Beth McLean Memorial Award as well. The perpetual trophy is awarded to the BLM horse and rider with the highest combined Prix St. Georges and Intermediaire I scores.

Graham trains and teaches with Libby Anderson at Jilba Dressage in Catharpin, Va., and hopes to move Olympus up to Intermediaire II and Grand Prix next year.

Kat Netzler