Tag Archives: Cynthia Screnci

Shoemaker and Screnci Have Blue Ribbon Days at 2022 AGDF

Kate Shoemaker and Solitaer 40. © SusanJStickle.com.

Wellington, FL – March 12, 2022 – Perrigo CPEDI3* competition presented by Mission Control, Fair Sky Farm, Adequan®, and Nutrena® continued on Saturday, March 12, with Para Individual Tests Grades I-V. Kate Shoemaker (USA) and her trusted partner Solitaer 40, who she owns with Craig and Deena Shoemaker, got the day started as first to go in the CPEDI3* FEI Para Individual Grade IV class. On par with their performance in the first day of competition, they earned an overall percentage of 74.146% to claim the top spot once again.

Shoemaker and “Soli” have represented the United States at the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games Tryon, but their more recent Paralympic experience as a member of the bronze-medal-winning team in Tokyo really brought their partnership to a new level.

“Since Tokyo was so far away compared to WEG, it really taught us a lot about each other and allowed me to trust him that much more. It showed me that when I want to go for it, that I can, and he’ll be there for me,” reflected Shoemaker.

At 15 years of age, Shoemaker feels like the Hanoverian stallion by Sandro Hit x De Niro is coming into his own.

“I feel like he’s finally growing up,” she said laughing. “It’s been really cool this week. He walked off the trailer and just walked nicely next to me, which he has not done ever. I think he’s just really starting to look at me and say, ‘Okay, we can do this together,’ and it’s the most incredible feeling.”

In the CPEDI3* FEI Para Individual Grade V test, Cynthia Screnci (USA) rode Sir Chipoli, who she owns with Volado Farms, for a solid and consistent test scoring 65.158%.

Screnci and the 15-year-old KWPN gelding by Sir Donnerhall I x Carabas have only been together since May 2021, but they clicked from the start. At their first competition together after having only known each other for four weeks, the pair earned two wins at the Perrigo Tryon Summer Dressage CPEDI 3*. Over time their relationship has continued to flourish.

“We’re meant for each other. It’s one of those things where it’s a once-in-a-lifetime kind of horse, and I’m very blessed to have him,” said Screnci. “He’s just an amazing, amazing animal. He’s got so many different gears, and it’s so much fun. Every day when I get on him, I learn something new.”

Charlotte Merle-Smith (USA) continued her winning week with hers and Susan Merle-Smith’s Guata, an 11-year-old KWPN mare by Vivaldi x Haarlem. In the CPEDI3* FEI Para Individual Test Grade III, they improved on their performance from the team class, this time earning 71.226%. They were more consistently marked throughout the individual test compared to the team test, but their straight, square halts were still the highlight.

As if one personal best was not exciting enough for one week, Jody Schloss (CAN) and her 18-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Lieutenant Lobin (Lobster x Fanal Prydsholm) shattered their team score and previous personal best of 70.953%, earning a new personal best of 73.095% in the CPEDI3* FEI Para Individual Grade I test. They were never marked below 6.5 from any of the judges, and finished with a bang, receiving two eights and a nine in their final pass down centerline.

Beatrice de Lavalette (USA) was already having a stunning week, but her performance on both of her mounts in the CPEDI3* FEI Para Individual Champ Grade II class upped the ante. Both horses, owned by Elizabeth and Nicolas de Lavalette, had the distinction of achieving personal bests. With Sixth Sense, a 12-year-old Oldenburg gelding (Sir Donnerhall I x Florencio), de Lavalette earned an overall percentage of 73.137%. Not to be outdone by his barn-mate, Clarc, a 15-year-old KWPN gelding by Dreamcatcher x Lord Sinclair I, scored 75.294% for the blue ribbon.

For more information and results, visit www.globaldressagefestival.com.

Team Tests & World Records at Perrigo Tryon Summer Dressage CPEDI 3*

Cynthia Screnci and Sir Chipoli ©Lindsay McCall, USPEA.

Mill Spring, NC – June 19, 2021 – The second night of competition at the Perrigo Tryon Summer Dressage CPEDI 3* saw team tests performed in Tryon Stadium under the lights, part of the final U.S. Olympic Observation Event before Tokyo. The Adequan® U.S. Para Dressage Team is firing on all cylinders ahead of team selection announcements, and Team Tests thrilled spectators Saturday evening as well as live stream viewers from around the world.

Cynthia Screnci (USA) scored a personal best aboard her new mount, Sir Chipoli, in Grade V competition after winning the previous night as well. Screnci and the 2007 Dutch Warmblood gelding (Sir Donnerhall x Vivaluciene TKS x Carabas) co-owned by Chris Von Martels and Select Equine International scored a 69.225% to earn first place, while Cayla van der Walt (RSA) and Daturo II, the 2006 Andalusian gelding (Mirlito XI x Datura x Pestillo) owned in partnership with Christine Heathman, received second place honors on their score of 68.333%.

Screnci has already formed a show-stopping partnership with her horse, despite having only known him for four weeks. This is only the pair’s second show, with podium finishes in all competitions thus far. “He got here on my birthday, so it was kind of like a meant-to-be thing,” she said with a smile. “He’s got all the movement and he has such international quality, but some things we are just going to need to smooth out. But, like I said, we’ve only had him for four weeks!” Screnci is setting her sights on the World Championships in 2022, hoping the pair will shine even brighter under the lights after a year of working together.

Sir Chipoli, her “meant-to-be” mount, and Screnci have already taken the Para Dressage ring by storm, but Screnci herself is new to the sport. No stranger to the equestrian world, she has owned and ridden horses for over 40 years, competing in barrel racing, hunters, and jumpers. After an injury in a jump-off in 2015, she decided to try her jumper mare in the Para Dressage ring after some coaxing by Robert Dover. “I’ve only been doing Dressage for the last two years!” she admitted, “We won last night and we won again today, and that’s just really incredible.”

The night also held special meaning for Screnci, who pointed out a special pin on her coat that could also be seen worn by other competitors, as a tribute to her mother who passed away in May. Screnci’s mother was an active supporter of not only Screnci, but the entire U.S. Para Dressage community, she emphasized. “She loved everybody here, and she had bought these for everybody to show that she supported them all.”

In Grade II competition, Beatrice “Bea” De Lavalette (USA) piloted Clarc to first on a score of 71.414%, catching a second win on the weekend with the 2007 Dutch Warmblood gelding (Dreamcatcher x Miss Sinclair) owned by Elizabeth and Nicolas De Lavalette. In reserve, Laurietta Oakleaf and Comte Du Baccara C, the 2007 Dutch Warmblood gelding (Johnson TN x Baccara x H Ulrich) owned by Laurietta Oakleaf and Tammi Nowicki, combined for a score of 63.434%.

De Lavalette reported that her weekend with Clarc has only improved as competition has continued, sharing, “It went really well. I’m very happy with tonight’s test. I worked on some of the judges’ comments from last night, and adjusted my riding for tonight. My horse was really good. He spooked, but that’s no big deal! Honestly, I thought it was a very good ride and I’m very happy with it.”

Since traveling to Germany in May, De Lavalette revealed, she has grown as a rider, and her focus is on continuing to improve her skills. “So much has changed since my trip to Germany, and during those three days in Germany, my riding completely changed,” she emphasized. “From there, we’ve been working on how much my riding has changed and how to improve it.” Her growth is evident, as she performed her test with grace and ease, earning the top spot in her class.

For De Lavalette, the highlight of Saturday night’s test was seamlessly handling a spooky moment in the sandbox, she concluded: “Right after the spook, I didn’t let it fluster me. I just went straight back and said, ‘Okay, let’s go!’ So that’s probably my proudest moment [from tonight] because I didn’t let it get my mind off what I was doing.”

For more info and results, visit www.Tryon.com.

Cynthia Screnci’s Journey from Jumpers to USA Para-Dressage

Cynthia Screnci and Erago VF at the 2019 Tryon Fall Dressage CPEDI3*. Photo by Lindsay Y. McCall.

Wellington, FL – December 11, 2019 – The love for horses has no boundaries. That is what makes the Para-Equestrian discipline so important. It gives riders with physical disabilities (whether they were born with them, occurred over time, or were the result of an injury) a place to compete with the highest goal of becoming a Paralympian and showing at the Paralympics. Cindy Screnci of Wellington, Florida exemplifies an athlete that has not let an injury stop her from achieving international aspirations on the animal she loves.

When Screnci was a child, her mom, a single parent, scraped together $800 to buy her first horse. Screnci and her horse competed in Gymkhana including barrel racing and pole bending. Screnci took a break from riding to do “life” and when her daughter was eight years old, she started riding in the hunter and jumper divisions alongside her daughter. Living in South Florida, Screnci enjoyed competing at a high level with her jumper Kasimir. The pair accumulated top accolades including several year-end awards, a Silver Stirrup Award, finished first in the North American League Jumpers, and many other top honors. In 2015, Screnci sold Kasimir and she was in between horses. Screnci recalled, “I was honestly just playing around in the low adult jumper ring on a friend’s horse for the weekend.  We had won the speed class the day before and went clear again moving us on to the jump-off.  This horse was a small, speedy guy and in the jump-off, we had done a few tidy tight turns so we were ahead by more than four seconds.  The second to the last line was a one stride, then five strides to a decent sized oxer, followed by a quick turn to the last line.  We went over the oxer and my horse spooked at a jump that was not part of the course but was set a bit close to our line. When he jogged left, I went right. I landed on my feet and twisted, breaking my ankle pretty severely. This type of injury would have been a normal 8-12 week recovery; unfortunately I contracted Osteomylitis, a severe bone infection, resulting in 25 surgeries over the next three years and a permanent disability in my left ankle.” Screnci wasn’t sure where her riding was at this point but with a purchase of Sally L from Murray Kessler, her next chapter began. Screnci explained, “Sally had been quite a successful jumper and had a lot of dressage training in her past. My friend Natalie Liebowitz, who sold the mare to me, told me that Robert Dover had wanted Sally for the Para-Dressage program because he loved her so much. With a great horse and my permanent disability, I thought I could be classified as a para-dressage rider, and the rest is history.  I started riding with David Marcus and lessoning on Sally L and absolutely fell in love with para-dressage. Going from the jumper ring to dressage has been great. I have had to change my seat completely and have learned essentially eight years of dressage in what will be a year in December, but I train six days a week and have dedicated myself to becoming a successful Grade V para-dressage athlete.”

Screnci’s success in a short amount of time includes training with Marco Bernal. She stated, “Marco has been the other piece of this crazy puzzle. He is an internationally successful Grand Prix rider who is referred to as an ‘Icon in the dressage world’ by everyone I meet. I am very fortunate and blessed to have Marco and his team on my side.  Every single person in his barn is supportive, excited, and a constant inspiration to me.” Outside the barn, Screnci’s husband Stephen and her children Lia and Bradley are key people in her village of support. Screnci recalled, “When I sat down and told them about my dreams and ambitions regarding para-dressage and competing Internationally with the big goal being Tokyo 2020, they were all in.  Finding Eragon VF (with the help of international para-dressage athlete Kate Shoemaker), training six days a week, competing on a regular basis, and now with the purchase of a new edition to the family, Ricci, my superstar school master, they have been with me all the way.”

Not only is Screnci putting in the hours in the ring to reaching her goal of the Tokyo Paralympics in 2020, but she is putting in the time with watching and researching the top athletes in Grade V. Screnci explained, “In a short amount of time I have learned that para-dressage is every bit as competitive as able bodied dressage.  The level of competition internationally even more so.  In my grade (Grade V) there are para-dressage riders that compete able bodied Grand Prix such as the United Kingdom’s Sophie Wells who has competed and won against such riders as Charlotte Dujardin.  I study all of the International riders regularly so I can be a prepared as possible when we eventually meet.”

With the discipline crossover from the hunter jumpers to para-dressage Screnci has noticed that there is a negative connotation with being seen as a para-dressage rider among equestrians. Screnci said, “Para-dressage is so much more than people in the United States seem to understand.  I am hoping to help change that and open doors for the US Para-Dressage program. I don’t want to see new potential riders shy away from para-dressage, especially in the higher grades of four and five.”

Screnci is enjoying helping to educate while doing the sport she loves. Screnci concluded, “Riding is more than my passion; it saved my life.  I grew up riding and owning horses and they are an intrinsic part of me. I wouldn’t be me without horses in my life the way they are. It’s very hard to explain to people who are not horsemen.  When I broke my leg, many doctors and much of my family not only asked but insisted I give up horses and riding.  Not my husband, or my children, but others in my family and of course friends. Three years of surgeries, external fixators, bone graphs, skin grafts, weeks of IVs, physical therapy and pain – what kept me going was knowing that at some point I would find my way back to these amazing creatures and would feel whole once again.”

For more information about the USPEA, please visit www.USPEA.org or contact USPEA President: Hope Hand by e-mail: hope@uspea.org or by phone: (610) 356-6481.