Category Archives: Dressage

The Discipline of Riding Dressage

Dressage Debuts at 2012 College Preparatory Invitational

Equestrian Sport Productions Announced as Presenting Sponsor

A flat class at the 2011 CPI at the beautiful show grounds of the PBIEC. Photo Credit: Rolando Conesa.

Wellington, FL – August 3, 2011 – The College Preparatory Invitational (CPI) will add dressage seat classes to the 2012 edition of their event, held January 13-15. Held at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) in Wellington, FL, this year’s CPI will be a must-attend event for aspiring hunt seat and dressage collegiate riders. You definitely can’t learn this stuff through an online class as dressage requires hands on learning and a careful teacher! The application for the dressage classes is now available online at www.collegeprepinvitational.com and is due by October 1, 2011.

With new dressage seat equitation classes at this year’s competition, the CPI is also excited to welcome six-time dressage Olympian Robert Dover as the judge.

Dover noted, “I was fortunate enough to ride competitively during my university years, but would have loved to have access to a program which included a CPI back then. It will most certainly be of great benefit to Dressage in the United States to have stronger grass roots programs for our young riders.”

Dover believes that collegiate programs for dressage riders are beneficial, and the CPI is a wonderful way to get involved and learn more about riding at school.

“The Intercollegiate Program has always been a great source of continuing training for riders who are at an age when school and riding are difficult to continue simultaneously,” he said. “The addition of a strong program for Dressage will do for our sport what it has done for the hunter/jumpers riders. Using top instructors to work with young riders who are in college will provide for ongoing progress so necessary for talented youth, whether they intend to go on as professionals in the industry or not.”

Continue reading Dressage Debuts at 2012 College Preparatory Invitational

The Results Are In for Round 3 of America’s Favorite Equestrian!

WESTPORT, CT – August 2, 2011 – The results of Round 3 of America’s Favorite Equestrian are in. Four equestrians in each of the eight disciplines that participated in the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games have moved onto Round 4.

Who’s In the Lead?
Dressage: Debbie McDonald followed by Steffen Peters, Guenter Seidel and Courtney King-Dye.
Driving: Chester Weber followed by Tucker Johnson, Rochelle Temple and Suzy Stafford.
Endurance: Becky Hart followed by Dave Rabe, Julie Suhr and Bill Wilson.
Eventing: Tiana Coudray followed by Boyd Martin, Kimberly Severson and Phillip Dutton.
Jumping: Anne Kursinski followed by Beezie Madden, Margie Engle and McLain Ward.
Para-Dressage: Jennifer Baker followed by Mary Jordan, Jonathan Wentz and Robin Brueckmann.
Reining: Andrea Fappani followed by Tom McCutcheon, Shawn Flarida and Tim McQuay.
Vaulting: Megan Benjamin followed by Katherine Wick, Devon Maitozo and Ali Divita.

Keep Voting! One more equestrian with the lowest number of votes in each discipline will drop off the list at the end of Round 4 on September 30, 2011. Don’t let it be your favorite! All it takes is a $5 gift to The EQUUS Foundation to keep your favorite in the running for America’s Favorite Equestrian.

How to Vote:
Visit the link at http://www.equusfoundation.org/vote.

For a $5 contribution, you can select your favorite equestrian (listed by discipline) and follow the instructions provided to use mobile texting to vote. After texting your vote, you must reply YES to confirm your vote and $5 donation.

Continue reading The Results Are In for Round 3 of America’s Favorite Equestrian!

FEI North American Junior/Young Rider Championships 2011

NEXT GENERATION RISE TO THE CHALLENGE AT TOUGH KENTUCKY CHAMPIONSHIPS by Louise Parkes

Avery Klunick, Alyssa Phillips, Alexa Ehlers and Victoria New, USA Area 5's Gold Medal Junior Eventing Team Champions. Photo: FEI/Anthony Trollope.

Lausanne (SUI), 1 August 2011 – A heat-wave and thunderstorms failed to throw the next talented generation off their stride at the FEI North American Junior and Young Rider Championship which came to a thrilling conclusion at the Horse Park In Kentucky, USA yesterday.  Open to riders from the USA, Bermuda, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean Islands, the five-day action-packed fixture attracted 250 entries, all hoping to make their mark in the five disciplines of Dressage, Endurance, Reining, Jumping and Eventing.

DRESSAGE
US Region 5 captured Young Rider Dressage Team gold.  Aylin Corapcioglu (Ruhmann), Madeleine Birch (Uceri), Catherine Chamberline (Verdicci) and Brandi Roenick (Pretty Lady) completed with a combined score of 198.104, but only pipped Canada BC/QC – Emily Fownes (Frapuccino), Mathilde Tetrault (Michelango), Anna Mylai Messier (Marzipan) and Esmee Ingham (Norseman) – by just over one point, while USA Region 8 were less than another point further adrift in bronze.

Roenick produced the highest score of the competition, 69.289, and the 16 year old from Arizona complimented her team-mates: “It’s an awesome opportunity to ride with these girls and really get to know them,” she said.  Canada’s Esmee Ingham put the Canadian silver medal in context.  “Since British Columbia is on the West Coast and Quebec City is so far east, for us to come together as a team having never met, and to take a medal is really incredible!” she pointed out.

Roenick had to settle for silver in the Individual Championship however when Isabelle Leibler (Watson) took gold and fellow-American Chase Hickok (Palermo) claimed the bronze.  And it was Hickok who moved into silver medal position in the Freestyle in which Leibler’s flawless performance with her 14 year old Westphalian gelding earned a winning score of 74.00. “He just felt like he was right there for me… it was the most amazing feeling,” Leibler said.  Mackinzie Pooley claimed the bronze with her last ride in international competition with the 20 year old Oldenburg Jonkara.

Continue reading FEI North American Junior/Young Rider Championships 2011

It’s a Wrap! The Week That Was the 2011 Adequan/FEI NAJYRC

Team show jumping medals ceremony. Photo: Sportfot.

Lexington, KY – After a week of intense heat and one suspenseful afternoon of strong thunderstorms, the 2011 Adequan/FEI North American Junior & Young Rider Championships presented by Gotham North wrapped up today under sunny skies at the Kentucky Horse Park. The competition in all five disciplines – dressage, endurance, eventing, reining, and show jumping – was intense, and the approximately 250 riders from six countries showed that they had come to win.

Endurance
The first competition to wrap up this year was the inaugural North American Young Rider Endurance Championship. Friday’s 75-mile ride featured both CEI2* and CEI4* divisions. The United States brought home four Gold medals, three Silvers, and two Bronze medals in the endurance competition.

In the CEI4* divisions, Team USA took home the Gold after accruing a collective ride time of 25 hours, 25 minutes, and 31 seconds.

Individually in the CEI4*, Kelsey Russell and My Wild Irish Gold (USA) took home the Gold, Lindsay Bean and Tektonic (USA) the Silver, and Kyle Gibbon and Missu Koran (USA) the Bronze.

Also in the CEI4* division, Tektonic received the Best Conditioned Horse Award.

In the CEI2* class, the Team Gold medal was awarded to Team USA Northeast A, whose collective ride time totaled 25 hours, 40 minutes, and 57 seconds.

Continue reading It’s a Wrap! The Week That Was the 2011 Adequan/FEI NAJYRC

Isabelle Leibler of Region 8 Awarded Freestyle Dressage Gold after Storm Temporarily Suspends Competition

Dressage Freestyle Young Rider medalists. Photo: SusanJStickle.com

Lexington, KY – It was a stormy afternoon at the Kentucky Horse Park for part of the USDF/Platinum Performance North American Junior and Young Rider Dressage Championship at the 2011 Adequan/FEI North American Junior & Young Rider Championships presented by Gotham North, but storms could not dampen the brilliance of the dressage being performed.

Competition was suspended at approximately 3:30 p.m. when a thunder and lightning storm passed through the area, knocking out electricity at the Rolex Stadium. But thanks to the quick work of the Organizing Committee and Kentucky Horse Park staff, the show soon resumed.

The Young Rider division was intensely competitive, punctuated by the last rider’s flawless freestyle. Isabelle Leibler and Watson 108 representing Region 8 were rewarded for their brilliant test with a score of 74.00%, which earned the pair the Individual Gold medal.

“This is the third time we’ve performed [this freestyle] in competition, so we’re going through the ropes, trying to see how it ends up, and how the striding work,” she said after her test. “Today, he just felt like he was right there for me and he had my back. He was ready for everything. I was so excited to have a feeling that my horse was there with me… it was the most amazing feeling.”

Leibler rode the 14-year-old Westphalian gelding to music from the movie “ET.”

“It’s my favorite movie, so I tried to put something together because it’s just my favorite. I think it fits Watson, and I think we made a good piece.”

Continue reading Isabelle Leibler of Region 8 Awarded Freestyle Dressage Gold after Storm Temporarily Suspends Competition

Area VII’s Florence Miller Leads the Pack of Junior Three-day Eventers after Phase 1 Dressage

Area VII's Florence Miller sits atop the CCI*. Photo: Diana De Rosa.

Lexington, KY – The 2011 Adequan/FEI North American Junior & Young Rider Championships presented by Gotham North continued today at the Kentucky Horse Park with Junior competitors completing the dressage phase of the USEA North America Junior Eventing Championship.

Topping the leader board of the CCI* event is Florence Miller of Area VII who ended her dressage test with only 47.3 penalty points aboard her horse, Tuscan Sun.

Area V representative Alyssa Philips and Sundance Bay are a little more than four points behind Miller while Sable Giesler and Evil Munchkin of Team Ontario are sitting comfortably in third.

“My horse is doing pretty nicely in dressage right now,” said the Montana-based Miller of her 8-year-old Thoroughbred. “It’s one of his stronger phases, and he had a really nice test today.”

For Philips, the score may have represented a personal best. “Sundance had a really nice test today, Generally he’s good all around, in each phase, but today he was very good. I think this is one of the best tests that we’ve had at the one-star level.”

The cross-country phase kicks off at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, and the top Juniors have already walked course.

“I think it’s really fair,” said Giesler. “It has a few tricky questions, like the corners, but it should ride well.”

If only it would rain.

Continue reading Area VII’s Florence Miller Leads the Pack of Junior Three-day Eventers after Phase 1 Dressage

Leibler and Lahey Take the Gold in Individual Dressage at the 2011 NAJYRC

Young Rider Devon Brown leads after the dressage phase. Photo by Brant Gamma Photos.

Lexington, KY – The competitive action jumped into high gear on Day Two of the 2011 Adequan/FEI North American Junior & Young Rider Championships presented by Gotham North, which got underway at the Kentucky Horse Park yesterday and will continue through Sunday.

In the Rolex Stadium, it was a quest for Individual Gold for dressage competitors, then, later in the day the show jumpers took the course for phase one of the Individual qualifiers. Across the compound, three-day eventers took part in the dressage portion of their eventing championship, and in the Alltech Arena, the Team Reining finals wrapped up the day.

In all, 34 Young Riders vied in the USDF/Platinum Performance Dressage Championship Individual tests today, but it was Region 8 representative Isabelle Leibler aboard Watson 108 who earned the Gold. Team Gold medalist Brandi Roenick (Region 5) and Pretty Lady took Silver while Chase Hickok (Region 1) and Palermo captured the Bronze.

Kelli McLean Newton and Luciano (Region 7) sat at the top of the leader board for a good part of the day with a 64.526, but soon after the lunch break the scores just kept growing higher. But it was Leibler, a Team Bronze medalist, who turned in the winning performance that scored a 67.289.

In the end, less than half a point separated the top three riders.

Continue reading Leibler and Lahey Take the Gold in Individual Dressage at the 2011 NAJYRC

London 2012 Dressage Judges Long List Announced

Lausanne (SUI), 28 July 2011 – The FEI has published its long list of judges for the Dressage event at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The long list is made up of 11 5* judges from eight nations:

Stephen Clarke (GBR)
Maribel Alonso (MEX)
Evi Eisenhardt (GER)
Wim Ernes (NED)
Ghislain Fouarge (NED)
Isabelle Judet (FRA)
Gary Rockwell (USA)
Jean-Michel Roudier (FRA)
Mary Seefried (AUS)
Leif Törnblad (DEN)
Katrina Wüst (GER)

A blind draw of the long listed judges will take place at FEI headquarters in Lausanne (SUI) on 23 September 2011 to finalise the members of the London 2012 Olympic Ground Jury.

Continue reading London 2012 Dressage Judges Long List Announced

Region 5 and Region 1 Take the Team Dressage Gold Medals at the 2011 Adequan/FEI NAJYRC

Region 5 claimed the Gold medal in the Young Rider competition. Photo by SusanJStickle.com

Lexington, KY – Temperatures soared, but dressage competitors managed to keep their cool as the 2011 Adequan/FEI North American Junior & Young Rider Championships presented by Gotham North kicked off today at the Kentucky Horse Park.

This is the third year the championships have been held at the Kentucky venue, which was the site of the 2010 Alltech/FEI World Equestrian Games last fall.

The day began with Junior and Young Rider dressage competitors vying side-by-side in the USDF/Platinum Performance Dressage Championship Team tests and ended with the pomp and pageantry of the official opening ceremonies.

Competitors started early in the Young Rider Team dressage event, but late in the day when the dust cleared from the center line it was U.S. Region 5 standing on the Gold-medal podium for the second year in a row.

Brandi Roenick, aboard Pretty Lady, Madeleine Birch on Uoeri, Catherine Chamberline on Verdicci, and Aylin Corapcioglu aboard Ruhmann captured the top spot with a combined Team score of 198.104.

“It’s just great to be a double Gold medalist!” gushed Birch, 20, who was part of the 2010 Gold-medal-winning Young Rider Team, “especially coming back here with my own horse,” she added.

Continue reading Region 5 and Region 1 Take the Team Dressage Gold Medals at the 2011 Adequan/FEI NAJYRC

NAJYRC Stars on the Rise at the Kentucky Horse Park

Lexington, KY – It’s “all hands on deck” as the final touches are being made and the horses and riders are arriving at the Kentucky Horse Park for what has become a celebrated annual event – the Adequan/FEI North American Junior & Young Rider Championships presented by Gotham North. And for the 2011 competition, there are some exciting additions to this highly-regarded series of international championships.

In addition to championships being contested in dressage, eventing, and show jumping, for the first time at the NAJYRC, the discipline of endurance will contest a CEI4* 100-mile championship race (a CEI2* 75-mile, non-championship race will also be run concurrently). Additionally, reining, which joined the championships in 2008 for the first time, will have two divisions for the first time in 2011. Non-championship events will also take place in the form of a vaulting demonstration during the Opening Ceremonies and a pair of para-dressage freestyles prior to the dressage freestyle championships on Saturday.

In all, some 250 riders spanning six countries have made the pilgrimage to the Kentucky Horse Park to battle for medals. Among them include:

174 riders from the U.S. (57 dressage, 19 endurance, 39 eventing, 52 jumping, 7 reining)
59 riders from Canada (21 dressage, 3 endurance, 9 eventing, 12 jumping, 14 reining)
10 riders from Mexico (3 endurance, 3 jumping, 4 reining)
2 riders from Columbia (endurance)
1 rider from Germany (endurance)
1 rider from Spain (endurance)

Continue reading NAJYRC Stars on the Rise at the Kentucky Horse Park