With wins in two out of the three championship classes, American-bred horses were a powerful force at the USEF/Markel National Young Horse Dressage Championships, Sept. 8-10, at the Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington, Ky.

In the 6-year-old division, it turned into a battle of two Davids, who ended up evenly matched. David Blake on Catapult, the winners of the preliminary class, and David Wightman on Brigadier, the highest-placed U.S. entry at the World Young Horse championships in Verden, Germany, in August, both performed brilliant finale tests. They each had an overall score for the two tests of 7.956. The rules state that in the event of a tie, the U.S.-bred horse will take the championship. But, since Catapult and Brigadier are both U.S.-bred, the decision then fell to the ground jury. When the math was over, the horses still stood equal, and co-championships were awarded, both for the division and for highest placed U.S.-bred.

Wightman, 38, of Murietta, Calif., was glad that the tie wasn’t broken. “It was good,” he said. “It gives all riders hope that they can do this.

“I was a bit more conservative in the walk and trot [in the finale test],” he said. “The trot was incredible on Friday, but the walk scored low. He has improved since Verden; his canter is more active, and his trot has more expression and power. His self-carriage is much improved, with good energy. He looks great.”

Brigadier, an Oldenburg gelding, (Batido–Lady Deco), bred by Page Hinds, will head home to his owner, Deena Smith, in Kansas for a short vacation before joining Wightman back in California to prepare for next year.

“Hopefully, he’ll come out at fourth level or Prix St. Georges next spring,” Wightman said. “We’ll see how it goes. We’ll certainly consider coming back for the new 7- to 9-year- old class next year.”

And while Wightman was thrilled with Brigadier’s performance, he also gave a nod to his co-champion. “David [Blake] rode well today,” he added. “He’s done an outstanding job with Catapult.”

Blake, 27, who is also based in California, bought Catapult from his breeder, Susan Randall, when the gray, Holsteiner gelding was two. He has brought Catapult (Cantour–Hell Or Highwater) along himself, with help from Jan Ebeling, Steffen Peters, and input this weekend from Scott Hassler and Wightman.

“I was really nervous going into the finale,” he admitted with a grin. “It was an honor to tie with David [Wightman]. I’ve been nipping at his heels all year.”

“The canter was the best today,” he said. “He has such power, but is also so consistent and trustworthy. We just went for it.”

Consistency Counts
Jan Brons, from Well-ington, Fla., and his mount Up To Date put in two consistent tests to clinch the 5-year-old championship.

In the preliminary test on Friday, the bay, Dutch Warmblood gelding (Flemmingh–Ola) came in a close second with an 8.32 behind Therese Elron’s Oldenburg mare Gisele, ridden by Jessica Rizzi, with an 8.40.

But on the second day, Gisele (Welt Hit I–Ellie) and Up To Date swapped first and second places. Since the second finale test counted for 60 percent of the final score, Up To Date won with a two-day score of 8.45 over Gisele’s 8.04.

Brons, 42, has had the ride on Pieter Ruig’s Up to Date from the beginning. “I broke him 21/2 years ago and brought him along,” said Brons. “He showed as a 3-year-old at Dressage at Devon (Pa.), and has done some second level earlier this year. This is his first show since June.

“He felt great today,” Brons added. “He was a little playful, but the canter was good, and the walk was relaxed. He has three good gaits, and a great mind.”

Rizzi was pleased with her chestnut mount, though a little self-critical of her ride in the second test, which included an error and earned a 7.8. “She was great; I was surprised with how well we did. After the second test, I thought we might finish fourth or fifth, so to earn reserve champion is wonderful.”

Rizzi, 24, started riding the mare last February, after she was imported from Europe. Newly relocated to North Stonington, Conn., Rizzi intends to go home and work on their homework before heading to Florida for the winter.

The top 12 from the preliminary 5-year-old test automatically advanced to Sunday’s final, with the remaining eight entries competing in the consolation final on Saturday.

The top two from the consolation class also advanced to the final test. With a score of 7.32 in the preliminary, Elizabeth Poulin and the black Oldenburg stallion Donates (Diamond Hit–Grazienna) missed the top 12 by .04 percent. They performed a convincing test on Saturday, earning consistent scores, giving them a 7.66, and a two-day score of 7.52. That was good enough to win the class and advance them to Sunday’s final.

Poulin, 31, of Fulshear, Texas, took over the ride on Melanie Pai’s stallion recently. “I’ve been riding him about three months,” she said. “We did three shows to get ready to come here, and qualified with an 8.82. My goal today was to get him into the finals, and we accomplished that.”

On Sunday, the pair continued to improve their scores, earning a 7.86, good enough for an overall score of 7.64 and seventh place.

The recipient of the highest-placed U.S.-bred award in this division was Leopold Q, a bay, Hanoverian gelding (Loerke–EM Felicitious), bred by Suzanne Quarles. Ridden by Jules Anderson, he finished ninth overall with a score of 7.52 for owner Dianne Anderson.

Going For It
For the first time this year, the championships included a 4-year-old division, held on Saturday, with an optional warm-up class on Friday. Fifteen of the 20 entries chose to participate in the warm-up, which was won by BW Callista, ridden by Tami Glover of Colora, Md., with an overall score of 8.54.

This bay, Oldenburg mare (Contucci–Ariane), bred in Maryland by Linda Santomenna and owned by Leslie Valente, continued her winning ways on Saturday, sweeping elegantly around the championship ring and clinching the win with a resounding score of 9.0. She also earned the highest-placed U.S.-bred award for the division.

Glover, who works with Scott Hassler at Hilltop Farm (Md.), has had the ride on Callista for about a year. “She had been under saddle a few weeks when I started riding her,” Glover said. “She has such a good mind, she waits for you.

“She was better today than she was yesterday,” Glover continued. “We really went for it, and the judges liked it.”

Valente laughed when she talked about how she found her talented young horse. “I went to the breeders’ to look at 2-year-old geldings, and bought a yearling filly,” she said. “I wanted something quiet to show myself in the amateurs, but watching Tami on her, we decided to see what they could do together.”

Glover and Callista will head to Dressage at Devon in October, followed by the Region I championships, and then make plans from there. Valente wouldn’t rule out the possibility of her mare coming back to contest the 5-year-old division next year.

Statistically Speaking
Of the 55 horses who qualified for the Young Horse Championships and made the trip to Kentucky, 15 were 6-year-olds, 20 5-year-olds, and 20 4-year olds.

Of the breeds represented, there were 17 Hanoverians, 12 Olden-burgs, 10 Dutch Warmbloods, four Trakehners, three Westphalians, two Rheinlanders, one Czechoslovakian Warmblood, one American Warm-blood, one Canadian Warmblood, one Friesian, one Lusitano, one Danish Warmblood, and one Holsteiner.

38 geldings, nine stallions, and eight mares.

22 U.S.-bred

The top five horses in the 6-year-old division were U.S.-bred

The top two 4-year-olds were U.S.-bred mares

Support For The Program
All of the riders were enthusiastic in their praise for the young horse program.

“This is our third year of involvement,” said Elizabeth Poulin. “If we didn’t have a horse to compete, we would still offer sponsorship. It’s a great program.”

“I have enjoyed the series,” said Jessica Rizzi. “It has been a fabulous experience. We’ll certainly consider the 6-year-old division next year.”

This was Jan Brons’ second trip to the finals, having finished as reserve 6-year-old champion last year with Fino. “I like the tests,” he said. “It’s a well-run event. Hopefully, I’ll be back next year.”

Scott Hassler has been a critical figure in the growth of the young horse program (see page 149). Appointed to the newly created National Young Horse Dressage coach position last year, he has enthusiastically conducted nationwide training sessions, encouraging riders to bring forward their young mounts to be observed and evaluated.

An online application at the U.S. Equestrian Federation website is necessary in order to be considered for a training session spot, and Hassler was excited by the growing interest as the year progressed. He also traveled to Verden, Germany, to coach the U.S. team at the World Championships last month.

“The quality of the horses here at the U.S. finals is improving every year,” he said. “It’s exciting to see American-bred horses at the top.

“The 4-year-old division was a nice addition this year. They were presented appropriately, and overall were very well behaved,” he added.

Hassler also discussed the addition of a Prix St. Georges division for 7- to 9-year-olds next year.

“I’ve been a big advocate for introducing this type class to the finals. It’s an established class over in Europe, and I think it will be an exciting part of our program here.”

Jo Blough