Dressage at Devon got underway this week in with breed divisions and Devon’s Parade of Breeds on Tuesday. The breed show will continue through Thursday, when the Appaloosas, Cleveland Bays and year’s best young dressage prospects will make way for the performance divisions, headlined by the FEI World Cup Grand Prix competition, running Friday through Sunday.
The breed show culminates Thursday with the young horse classes and the USDF Breeders Championships East Coast Series Final.
The performance classes showcase young horses as well as competition at fourth level through Grand Prix. A dozen entries from four countries who will contest the FEI World Cup Grand Prix classes, with more in the CDI3* and under 25 divisions.
Along with the competition in the arena, Dressage and Devon will play host to educational seminars and several marquee evening events, including a master class with Danish world championship gold medalist Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour on Thursday and a “Dance Off Contest”—think “Step Up,” but with tailcoats and a string quartet—Friday.
The handful of riders invited to participate in the master class with Dufour are Lauren Sammis, Catherine Haddad Staller, Hope Beerling, Hope Cooper, Lindsay Kellock Duckworth and Olympic eventer Boyd Martin. Martin is riding in a spot previously assigned to his wife, Grand Prix rider Silva Martin, who gave birth to their third son, Koa Martin, this morning, Sept. 27.
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The master class, which is taking place from 6:30-9 p.m. (Eastern Time) Thursday, will not be livestreamed and is available only to in-person ticket-holders.
The Dressage at Devon “Dance Off Contest,” will take place Friday in the Dixon Oval between night classes. In the dance-off, two riders and their horses will perform freestyle choreography to live music performed by the Elegance Quartet. Grand Prix riders Jim Koford and Lauren Chumley will go head-to-head in a round focused on trot, piaffe and passage; while Catherine Haddad Staller and Lauren Sammis will dance it out in the canter round. A final “Bring It On” round between the trot and canter champions will determine the winner who best channels “body, mind and soul” in their performance.
Intrigued? Here’s how to follow along:
When: Sept. 26-Oct. 1
Where: Devon Horse Show grounds, Devon, Pennsylvania
Schedule: A detailed schedule, including special events and education sessions, can be found here.
Results: Breed show and performance division results will be posted separately on Equestrian Hub.
How To Follow Along: The competition will be livestreamed by Horse & Country TV, excluding the Thursday night master class, which is an in-person, ticketed event. Tickets can be purchased online.
