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Talented Combinations Line Up for USEF Young & Developing Horse Dressage National Championships

Lexington, Ky. – The future of U.S. Dressage will be on display this week at the Lamplight Equestrian Center in Wayne, Ill., as 66 of the most exciting rising stars compete in the 2014 Markel/USEF Young & Developing Horse Dressage National Championships presented by HorseShow.com. National Titles will be up for grabs in four-, five-, and six-year-old divisions, as well as at the Prix St. Georges, Grand Prix and Seat Medal levels.

The 2014 Markel/USEF Young & Developing Horse Dressage National Championships presented by HorseShow.com will be held August 20-24. All horses will compete in two days of competition to determine the National Champion.

Young Horse Dressage Championships – Four-Year-Old Division
In the Four-Year-Old Division, 15 horse-and-rider combinations will kick off their championship competition on Thursday. In their first class, entries will perform the USEF Dressage Test for Four-Year-Old Horses. They will close out their championship on Saturday and once again ride the USEF Dressage Test for Four-Year-Old Horses.

The combinations occupying the top two spots on the Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage National Ranking List presented by HorseShow.com in the Four-Year-Old Division both head to Lamplight. Lesley Eden (Oviedo, Fla.) has ridden Jacek DeHaan’s KWPN gelding, Floris R (Florencio x Vieni/Krack C), to an overall average of 8.870. Occupying the second spot on the ranking list is Natalie Bryan and DG Bar Ranch’s Famebria DG (Idocus x Valeska DG/Krack C). The KWPN mare has been piloted by Willy Arts (Hanford, Calif.) to an overall average of 8.580.

Young Horse Dressage Championships – Five-Year-Old Division
A field of 15 of the best from the 2009 foal crop line up for the 2014 Five-Year-Old Championship. Competition in this division gets underway on Thursday with the FEI Five-Year-Old Preliminary Test. They will return to the arena on Saturday to display their talents in the FEI Five-Year-Old Final Test.

Patricia Becker (Wadsworth, Ill.), brings the second- and third-ranked horses from the Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage National Ranking List presented by HorseShow.com in the Five-Year-Old Division. Joan Pecora’s KWPN gelding, Edward (United x Jolinia/Damiro), sits in second place with an overall average of 8.650, while Pecora’s KWPN gelding, Elian (United x Jolina/Damiro), ranks in third place on an overall average of 8.360.

Young Horse Dressage Championships – Six-Year-Old Division
Fourteen entries will go head-to-head in the Six-Year-Old Championship, which begins Friday with the FEI Six-Year-Old Preliminary Test. Competition will come to a close on Sunday with the FEI Six-Year-Old Final Test.

Headlining the Six-Year-Old Championship are Naden Buberl (White House Station, N.J.) and Cesar Parra and Martin Sosnoff’s Fashion Designer OLD (Faustinus x Forst-Design/ Deniro). The Oldenburg gelding is last year’s Five-Year-Old Reserve Champion and heads to Lamplight on top of the Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage NationalRanking List presented byHorseShow.com for Six-Year-Olds with an overall average of 8.616.

Cesar Parra (White House Station, N.J.) and his own and Michael and Sarah Davis’ Fiderhit OLD (Fiderlanz x Fleur/ Sandro Hit) will compete as the second-ranked pair on the Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage National Ranking List presented byHorseShow.com for Six-Year-Olds. Parra and the Oldenburg mare earned the second-place ranking on an overall average of 8.544.

Developing Horse Prix St. Georges Championship
A talented group of 15 developing horses have traveled to Lamplight with their sights set on earning National Titles over the weekend. Competition kicks off Friday with all entries performing the FEI Prix St. Georges Test. Championship competition comes to a close on Sunday with the USEF Developing Horse Prix St. Georges Test.

The two top-ranked combinations on the 2014 Markel/USEF Developing Horse Prix St. Georges Dressage National Championship Ranking List presented by HorseShow.com will head to Lamplight this weekend. Sabine Schut-Kerry (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) has piloted Alice Womble’s eight-year-old Hanoverian stallion, Sanceo (San Remo x Rivera/Ramiro’s Son II), to an average score of 73.750. Occupying the second spot on the ranking list is Christina Vinios’ Folkestone (Fidertanz x EL. Kattulika/Rubinstein). Vinios (Wellington, Fla.) has ridden her eight-year-old Oldenburg gelding to an overall average of 72.464.

Developing Horse Grand Prix Championship
A small but mighty field of seven will vie for National Title honors in the Developing Horse Grand Prix Championship set to begin with FEI Intermediaire II Test on Thursday. The Championship comes to a close on Saturday with the USEF Developing Grand Prix Test.

The top-ranked combination on the 2014 Markel/USEF Developing Horse Grand Prix Dressage National Championship Ranking List presented by HorseShow.com, Donatus (Don Schufro x Zuchtbuch/Caramel) and Endel Ots (Wellington, Fla.), looks to showcase its talent over the weekend. Everglades Dressage LLC’s 10-year-old Wurttemberger stallion has an overall average of 71.250.

Emily Wagner (La Cygne, Kan.) and her own WakeUp (Wagnis x Maiden Montreal/Macho), who took home the title in the 2013 Markel/USEF Developing Horse Prix St. Georges Dressage National Championship presented by HorseShow.com, look to continue their success in the Grand Prix Championship. Wagner and the nine-year-old American Warmblood stallion currently stand second on the 2014 Markel/USEF Developing Horse Grand Prix Dressage National Championship Ranking List presented by HorseShow.com.

2014 USEF Dressage Seat Medal Finals
The top junior riders from throughout the country will also travel to Lamplight to display their skills in the USEF Dressage Seat Medal Finals. Riders will be split into two divisions, 13 & Under and 14-18, as they demonstrate their mastery of equitation in the dressage ring.

A talented group of 15 horse-and-rider combinations have set their sights set on earning a National Title in the 13 & Under division, including Alexander Dawson, who returns to defend his 2013 USEF Dressage Seat Medal Finals 13 & Under Championship title. Eleven competitors will vie for the 14-18 National Title. Competition kicks off Friday for both age groups. Dressage Seat Medal Finals 13 & Under competition will come to a close on Saturday, while the Dressage Seat Medal Finals 14-18 will conclude Sunday. The panel of Sandy Osborne, Mike Osinski, and Jane Weatherwax will judge both divisions.

To learn more about the 2014 Markel/USEF Young & Developing Horse Dressage National Championships presented by HorseShow.com, visit: http://usef.org/_IFrames/breedsDisciplines/discipline/alldressage/DressageChampionships.aspx.

By Eileen Schnettler

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