Katherine Poulin and Brilliant Too Garner GAIG/USDF Region 2 FEI Grand Prix Dressage Championship

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Katherine Poulin and Brilliant Too won the FEI Grand Prix Championship at the 2010 GAIG/USDF Region 2 Dressage Championship. Photo © 2010 Lauren Fisher/PMG.

Traverse City, MI – September 12, 2010 – The sun came out for a gorgeous day in Traverse City, Michigan on Sunday as the 2010 Great American Insurance Group/USDF Region 2 Dressage Championships and Dressage by the Bay Fall Classic concluded their final day of competition. Ending the show with an exciting victory were Katherine Poulin and Brilliant Too who won the FEI Grand Prix Championship.

From Chagrin Falls, OH, Katherine Poulin and Brilliant Too had the highest score in today’s Grand Prix Championship, scoring a 62.766% from the judges, Sandra Hotz at ‘E’ and Gary Rockwell at ‘C’. Judy Kelly and Leonardo finished in second with their score of 62.600%, Amanda Johnson and Pip earned third place honors with a 62.234%, and Brad Cutshall rode Pointjack to a score of 61.277% to finish in fourth place.

Class winner Brilliant Too is a 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood and Thoroughbred Cross standing at 15.1 hands high. The beautiful bay gelding (Brilliant x Blue Bridgetta) is owned by Katherine Poulin’s mother, Sharon Poulin, of Deleon Springs, FL. “Brilliant Too was born and raised by my family, so it makes it extra special when we do well. I was the one that started him and I have ridden him through his whole career,” Poulin stated. “This horse belongs to my mom and I grew up riding with her and she is also my coach, so she is a really big part of us being here.”

Poulin and Brilliant Too were part of the gold medal winning team at the Pan American Games in 2007, and although this is their second year doing Grand Prix, Poulin plans on dropping Brilliant Too down to Prix St. Georges level to try out for next year’s team.

“This is actually his last time doing Grand Prix for a year, but we had a great ride today and he was great yesterday too, so it is a nice way to end showing him in the Grand Prix,” Poulin stated. “I was just really happy with my ride today; he was really attentive. When I first started showing this horse Grand Prix I had a lot of low scores because he was very spooky and it has taken me two years to get to this point. He spooked once today, but he came right back and he listened to me for the rest of the test, so I was very proud of him. I was just happy that he was listening to me and he is a really great horse; I love him.”

“He loves to work and he loves to be ridden every day. He is not a horse that wants to stand in his stall,” she continued. “He is actually a very good jumper too and he loves to go for gallops, which I really enjoy too. He is just a great horse; he is very kind, he loves to be around people and he is a good all around horse.”

Poulin is a trainer and also showed two other horses to wins at this weekend’s competition. She won two classes on a young five-year-old Lusitano stallion named Belisaro Interagro, and also showed a client’s Holsteiner mare named Elektra in the Prix St. Georges and Intermediaire I.

“I have never been to these show grounds before and I really like the setup,” Poulin noted. “The footing has been excellent. It poured yesterday and the footing stayed perfect. It was not slippery, and it was not deep at all, so it was really nice. The staff has been excellent, the show secretaries were great and the food was great, so I can’t complain about anything.”

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Up next, Poulin will take Brilliant Too to do a dressage demonstration at the Chagrin Valley Hunter Jumper Classic in Ohio. After that she will go to Florida and show the gelding in the Prix St. Georges and Intermediaire I divisions during the winter show season in Wellington.

Today was the final day of competition for the 2010 GAIG/USDF Region 2 Dressage Championships and Dressage by the Bay Fall Classic. Horse Sports by the Bay would like to thank the title sponsor Great American Insurance Group as well as the United States Dressage Federation for choosing Flintfields Horse Park to host this special event. Tuff Rider was the official supplier of championship jackets and coolers. Dressage by the Bay sponsors included series title sponsor Hampton Green Farm and morning hospitality sponsor Linda Wanstreet’s Lost World Farms LLC, and LWF Sporthorses. For more information, please visit www.horseshowsbythebay.com.

GAIG/USDF Region 2 Dressage Championship Results – Sunday, September 12, 2010

FEI Intermediaire I AA Championship
1          Courtney McDonald and Sambuca Extra
2          Lynn Taylor and Santorini

FEI Intermediaire I Junior/Young Rider Championship
1          Meredith Kenyon and Rambunctious
2          Lauren Nelson and Weltano

FEI Intermediaire I Open Championship
1          Yvonne Barteau and GP Raymeister
2          George Williams and Don Bailey

FEI Grand Prix Championship
1          Katherine Poulin and Brilliant Too
2          Judy Kelly and Leonardo

Fourth Level Open Championship
1          Kassandra Barteau and GP Delano
2          Jochen Hippenstiel and Sandez

Fourth Level AA Championship
1          Chris Federer and Sam Gerida
2          Annie Campbell and Solar Eclipse

Fourth Level Junior/Young Rider Championship
1          Emily Wright and Florestano
2          Jennifer Harding and Rotspon’s Crusader

Media Contact: Mason Phelps
Phelps Media Group, Inc. International
phone 561.753.3389  fax 561.753.3386
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