CDS Dressage Letters Nov 2020

November 2020 ~ Dressage Letters ~ Page 2 By Yellow Horse Marketing for the California Dressage Society One of the most popular divisions among both competitors and spectators at the Great American Insurance Group/United States Dressage Federation (USDF) Region 7 and California Dressage Society (CDS) 53 rd Annual Championship Show, being held September 24-27, 2020 at the Del Mar Horse Park, is the CDS Young Horse Futurity where four, five, and six-year-olds show off their talents across two rounds of competition. Even though this year’s field may have been smaller than previous editions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the competition was no less fierce. Even so, victory for Sarah Lockman of Alisa Viejo, Cal. (Los Angeles Chapter) and Summit Farm’s KWPN mare Lyamora (by Ferguson) never seemed to be in doubt in the CDS Four-Year-Old Futurity as the pair dominated each of two Training Level tests to take home the INXS Perpetual Trophy with an overall average of 76.897%. The talented pair are fresh off of a national seventh-place finish at the Markel/USEF National Four-Year-Old Dressage Championship, part of the U.S. Festival of Champions at Lamplight (Illinois) in August. “Lyamora is very special to me as she is the youngest horse on our string and is the last horse bought with Gerry,” said Lockman of co-owner Gerry Ibanez, who also owned Lockman’s 2019 Pan American Games Gold medal partner First Apple, but passed away unexpectedly last November. Lockman went on to thank CDS for persevering to put on the Championship Show during this difficult time. “Young horses need time in big ring shows like this to be prepared for their future, and CDS has done a super job putting on a show with COVID-19 protocols in place that go above and beyond.” The top-placed Adult Amateur in the Four- Year-Old division was Mary Devian of Yorba Linda, Cal. (Santa Barbara County Chapter), who rode her KWPN mare Lebria DG (by Gaspard de la Nuit DG) to a score of 67.241%. In the CDS Five-Year-Old Futurity, Amelia Newcomb of Simi Valley, Cal. (Los Angeles Chapter) rode her own KWPN gelding Kensington (by Galandro) to victory in both rounds of competition to claim the title with an overall two-test average of 75.467%. The highest-placed Adult Amateur entry was Alexandra Duarte of Modesto, Cal. (Delta Sierra Chapter) with her Hanoverian gelding Q Sieben (by Quaterhall) with 69.952%. Also cruising to victory in the CDS Six-Year-Old Futurity was Rebecca Rigdon of Cardiff, Cal. (San Diego Chapter) who rode the Ad Astra Collective’s KWPN gelding Jagger (by Apache) to claim the Parker Perpetual Trophy on the strength of a combined average score of 71.991%. The top placed Adult Amateur with 68.297% was Catherine Reynolds of Porter Ranch, Cal. (Los Angeles Chapter) with her own Oldenburg mare Hotness (by Hotline). Nine new Great American/USDF Region 7 champions were crowned on Friday, including: In the Training Level Adult Amateur division, Terri Sue Wensinger of Dallas, Texas and her five-year-old Dutch mare Kahlua Edi trotted to victory with a score of 70.259% to kick off their weekend on a winning note. Sarah Lockman of Alisa Viejo, Cal. (Los Angeles Chapter) claimed her second straight title of the day with Summit Farm’s KWPN mare Lyamora, this time earning a narrow victory in the Training Level Open Championship on a score of 78.793%. Christine Watkins of San Juan Capistrano, Cal. (San Juan Capistrano Chapter) rode her Lusitano gelding Alegre to a score of 65.357% to top the Second Level Adult Amateur division. After claiming top honors in Thursday’s Second Level warm-up class, Missy Ann Gilliland of Phoenix, Ariz. returned to the ring with Diane Corieri’s Danish Warmblood gelding Witraz Sir Robin to earn a winning score of 71.429% in the Second Level Open Championship. In the Region 7 FEI Young Rider Team Championship, Dennesy Rogers of Camarillo, Cal. (Ventura Chapter) rode Dorriah Rogers’ Danish Warmblood mare Chanel to victory with 67.059%. Tiffany Mahoney of Rancho Santa Fe, Cal. (San Diego Chapter) rode her Westfalen gelding Rey Del Mundo to the win in the Intermediaire II Adult Amateur Championship with a score of 67.574%. Earning the top spot in the Intermediaire II Open division was Julia Mineikis of Reno, Nev. (Sierra Nevada Chapter) aboard her Westfalen gelding Savaroth with 63.382%. In the afternoon’s Intermediaire Freestyle Championship, Ari Lopez of Pleasant Hill, Cal. (Sacramento Valley Chapter) rode Karen Kahn’s Oldenburg gelding Flynn to victory (72.000%). Wrapping up an exciting day was the Region 7 Grand Prix Freestyle Championship, where Sherry Van’t Riet of Calabasas, Cal. (Los Angeles Chapter) rode her Oldenburg gelding Sir Deauville into the winner’s circle with 66.813%. Thousands of dollars in prize money and awards were on the line as another group of hotly-contested CDS Horse of the Year classes got underway. Today’s winners included: San Diego’s Nick Wagman (San Diego Chapter) with Elizabeth Keadle’s Dutch Warmblood gelding Ferano earned top scores under both judges to claim the Sherry de Leon Memorial Trophy for the $750 CDS Open Grand Prix Horse of the Year division with 71.957%. In the $750 CDS Adult Amateur Grand Prix Horse of the Year class, Christine Ekstrand of LA Chapter, rode her Oldenburg gelding Dark Berry to a winning score of 66.087% and earned the Rubenstein Memorial Trophy. Megan Christine McQueeney of Los Angeles, Cal. (Ventura Chapter) rode Denise Griffith’s KWPN mare Ilima to win the CDS Third Level Freestyle and the Alexsandra Howard Memorial Trophy with 69.583%. After claiming the Region 7 Fourth Level Freestyle Championship title on Thursday, Barbi Breen-Gurley of Los Osos, Cal. (San Luis Obispo Chapter) and her KWPN gelding Happy M returned to the ring to earn their second title of the weekend, this time in the CDS Fourth Level Freestyle Horse of the Year division with a big score of 74.750% to win the Ran Averett Perpetual Trophy. In the CDS Dressage Seat Equitation Challenge classes, adult amateurs, juniors and young riders had a chance to show off their dressage skills, and standing out from the crowd were these winners: In the 13 & under class, Skylar Elizabeth Grammatico of Atwater, Cal. (Delta Sierra Chapter) rode Cynthia Bell’s Arabian gelding Fool For Love to the win with a score of 65.000%. Erin Nichols of Yorba Linda, Cal. (San Juan Capistrano Chapter) and Diane Nichols’ Dutch Warmblood gelding Handsome Rob AR topped a competitive field in the 14-18 division to win the champion’s sash with 85.000%. For Adult Amateurs, Breeanna Kenney of Mission Viejo, Cal. (San Juan Capistrano Chapter) showed off her skills with her American Warmblood gelding The Emperor’s New Groove to claim the blue ribbon with a score of 82.000%. For more information about the California Dressage Society Championship Show, including news, and results, visit the CDS website and the CDS Facebook page . Lyamora Shows Why She’s a Star on Second Day of 2020 Great American/USDF Region 7 & California Dressage Society Championship SARAH LOCKMAN AND LYAMORA WON THE FOUR-YEAR-OLD DIVISION OF THE 2020 CDS YOUNG HORSE FUTURITY AS WELL AS THE REGION 7 TRAINING LEVEL OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP. PHOTO VIA SARAH LOCKMAN/FACEBOOK.