BURBANK — As the sun set on the Great American Insurance Group / USDF Region 7 Dressage Championships and the 57th Annual California Dressage Society State Championship Show Sept. 26-29 at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center, memorable experiences traveled home with USDF and CDS members across the state and beyond.
One horse, two friends and champions
Two USDF champions are connected by a special horse, and on Sunday they shared the honor round for the Great American/USDF Region 7 Intermediaire 1 Adult Amateur Championship, with Champion Susan Walker on her own Don Amour N, a 10-year-old, 17 hand bay Oldenburg gelding, and Reserve Champion Kristina Huff on her own Winzer 207, an 18-year-old, 17.2 hand bay Hanoverian gelding.
Their connection? Kristina’s Winzer 207, who Susan imported as a 7-year-old doing first level and trained to Prix St. Georges. Winzer moved on to another owner, and then Susan helped find him a great new home with Kristina, who has had him for the past five years. She started with him at the lower levels and worked her way up to showing at Intermediaire 1 and Intermediaire Freestyle.
“It’s been so much fun,” said Susan.
“Kristina and I have gotten to be good friends, thanks to a horse that was really special to me, and now to her,” she added. “It was really special to finish as Champion and Reserve, and to share the honor round together.”
Come for the training, stay for the show
California, here I come! USDF member Michele Morseth brought her horse, Floyd Patterson, from Santa Fe, N.M., to California in search of more consistent training, which hadn’t been readily available at home. Then she decided to do the Great American/USDF Region 7 Dressage Championships and 57th Annual California Dressage Society State Championship Show. But with only a few months to qualify, it was a tight timeframe.
However, let’s begin with their backstory: At home in Santa Fe, Michele had taken some lessons with visiting California trainer Lauren Ogden. So, when Michele got serious about getting the consistent training she needed, she and her horse, Floyd Patterson, traveled to Lauren’s barn in Templeton, where they have been based since February, with Michele flying back and forth to Santa Fe.
Michele’s equine partner, Floyd Patterson, is a 7-year-old, 17-hand bay Hanoverian gelding whom she calls an incredible show horse.
“He is generous, willing, and capable,” she said. “I bought him as a 3-year-old, and I’ve had him now for four years.”
When Michele decided to qualify for the championships, she knew timing would make it a challenge. The two qualifying scores needed for USDF championship classes and the CDS freestyles were achievable in the timeframe, although the five qualifying scores for other CDS championship classes were not.
Michele and Floyd Patterson swept all four of their USDF championship classes, becoming Great American/USDF Adult Amateur First Level Regional Champions, Great American/USDF First Level Adult Amateur Freestyle Regional Champions, Great American/USDF Adult Amateur Second Level Regional Championship, and Great American/USDF Second Level Adult Amateur Freestyle Regional Champions.
Michele and Floyd Patterson swept all four of their USDF championship classes, becoming Great American/USDF Adult Amateur First Level Regional Champions, Great American/USDF First Level Adult Amateur Freestyle Regional Champions, Great American/USDF Adult Amateur Second Level Regional Championship, and Great American/USDF Second Level Adult Amateur Freestyle Regional Champions.
Michele credits Lauren’s training with the improvement she and Floyd needed, and without which they wouldn’t have had such a great championship show.
“I knew we needed more consistent training, so I decided to come to California and spend as much time as possible here,” she said. ” I wanted to be able to ride and train correctly, to be as effective as possible. With Lauren’s help, I was able to do that.”
What’s next? Trailering home to Santa Fe, with an overnight stop in Flagstaff, after which Michele, her husband, and Floyd will settle in at home over the winter. You can bet Michele is already thinking about a return to California for more training and next year’s championship show.
Celebrating the best of CDS
Saturday night’s exciting gala dinner and awards presentation featured the $1,000 CDS Horse of the Year Grand Prix Freestyle Open, with seven spectacular Grand Prix tests ridden under the lights of the Buchalter Arena in LAEC’s Equidome.
Last to ride in the evening’s performance, Carmel Valley CDS Chapter’s Katie Hoefs-Martin on Julie High’s Cefiro Do Ceu, a 17-year-old, 16-hand grey Lusitano gelding, won the $1,000 CDS Horse of the Year Grand Prix Freestyle Open on a final score of 69.413%. On the previous day, Katie and Cefiro became Reserve Champions in the Great American/USDF Grand Prix Open/Junior Freestyle Regional Championship. Their freestyle performances always engage the audience, and Saturday night was no exception: Their exuberant honor round was a testament to the absolute maneuverability and communication between these longtime partners.
Reserve Champions in the $1,000 CDS Horse of the Year Grand Prix Freestyle Open were Sarah Silva of the CDS Sierra Nevada Chapter on her own Royal Cavalier, a 17-year-old, 15.3-hand dark bay American Warmblood gelding. Lightness, grace, and harmony combined with accuracy to earn them a final score of 67.337% from the judges, along with emotional cheers from their supporters in the audience.
San Luis Obispo CDS Chapter’s Barbi Breen-Gurley and her own Happy M placed third in the $1,000 CDS Horse of the Year Grand Prix Freestyle Open, and secured the title of CDS Grand Prix Grand Champion based on their combined scores from the regular grand prix and the freestyle. Honor rounds for longtime CDS members Barbi and Happy were particularly joyous as they celebrated 50 years of showing at CDS championship shows.
Two horses are twice the fun
Julia Mineikis of Reno, Nev., and the Sierra Nevada Chapter of CDS, brought two horses to the Great American/USDF Region 7 Dressage Championships/57th Annual California Dressage Society State Championship Show, where she enjoyed twice the fun of winning.
With her own Savaroth, a 15-year-old, 16.3-hand bay Westfalen gelding, she took home the blue in five out of five classes, beginning with Thursday’s Welcome Intermediaire 1 class.
In CDS competition, they brought home two championship titles: they were first out of five competitors in the $1,000 CDS Intermediaire 1 Horse of the Year Open on a score of 69.044%, and first out of four rides in the $1,000 CDS Intermediaire 1 Freestyle Open on 72.425%.
“As the show went on, he just got better and better,” Julia said. “He’s a very special horse.”
Julia and Savaroth also swept the Great American/USDF championship titles at Intermediaire 1: They were first out of seven competitors in the Great American/USDF Open Intermediaire 1 Level Regional Championship on 70.147%, and also won the Great American/USDF Intermediaire Open/Junior Freestyle Regional Championship.
With her own Ferrari M, Julia won the Great American/USDF Grand Prix Open/Junior Freestyle Championship on a score of 68.063% ahead of seven other competitors, and placed fifth in the $1,000 CDS Horse of the Year Grand Prix Freestyle Open on Saturday night under the lights of the Buchalter Arena in the LAEC Equidome.
Tremendous gratitude was extended for “S” judges Kari McClain, Anne Cizadlo, Teresa Stewart, William Warren, Charlotte Trentelman, Agnes Billington, Sarah Geikie, and Beverly Rogers, and “R” technical delegate Michele King.
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