Rancho Murieta, Calif. – Sept. 26, 2017 – The excitement was palpable as six rings of competition kicked off the 50th Anniversary California Dressage Society (CDS) Championship Show September 21-24 in Rancho Murieta. During the competition, riders would compete for a multitude of CDS Horse of the Year and United States Dressage Federation (USDF) championship honors, including the Great American Insurance Group/USDF Region 7 Championships as well as the Great American Insurance Group/USDF Breeders Championships West Coast Series Final. Check out the results!
Day 1 of CDS Championship
Karen Cornelius, who traveled six hours from Nipomo, Cal. with her 5-year-old Hanoverian stallion Fiderello, was presented with the first championship title of the year in the Great American Insurance Group/USDF Region 7 First Level Freestyle Championship for their foot-perfect 80’s-themed performance, which thoroughly impressed the judges for the day’s highest freestyle score of 76.750%.
“I love freestyles, and when I listen to music in the car, I’m always thinking, ‘that would be a perfect freestyle song’,” Cornelius laughed. “So I have a list of 50 or 60 songs that I like, and from those I pick tunes that work well with the rhythm of his gaits. Then I purchase instrumental versions on iTunes, and since I’m on a budget I use music software to put it together myself. I watch lots of videos on YouTube of top riders, and I get motivation from that and study how they compose their freestyles.”
Also finding success were last year’s First Level Freestyle champions Diane Abraham of Los Gatos, Cal. and her Oldenburg mare Dasha, who returned to the winner’s circle for the second straight year, this time by successfully moving up to the Second Level Freestyle division and earning a top score of 68.500% for their efforts.
Meanwhile at Third Level, Hilda Gurney topped a hard-fought freestyle class with 72.833% aboard Lotta Silver, a 7-year-old Trakehner gelding she bred, raised, rides and owns. Gurney has been a legendary figure in CDS’ 50-year history, having attended the inaugural Championship show in 1968 and almost every edition since, and was pleased that her anniversary weekend was off to a winning start. “I’m happy to be here and so pleased to be competing with two really nice horses,” she noted.
U.S. High Performance competitor Charlotte Jorst of Reno, Nev. has several top international mounts in her barn, but she has a soft spot for her up-and-coming Westphalen gelding Ray Dance, who cruised to victory in the Great American/USDF Intermediate I Freestyle with 74.938%.
“Did you see how amazing he was? I am so proud of him today,” Jorst exclaimed, and hinted she may now take her rising star to Kentucky to compete at the U.S. Dressage Finals in November.
Thursday afternoon featured in-hand sport horse breeding competition with the Great American Insurance Group/USDF Breeders Championships-West Coast Final. For the Current Year Foal Championship, the Dutch cross colt Minstrel de la Nuit (Gaspard de la Nuit x HPB Widget by Watch Me) earned top honors for owner/breeder Jeannie Brown with 76.513%. In the hotly-contested Great American/USDFBC Filly Championship division, judges Sue Mandas and Lynn McEnespy rewarded owner/breeder Anita Nardine’s two-year-old Oldenburg mare Fait Accompli HSR (Fackeltanz x Santina by Sir Donnerhall) with a top score of 79.488% for the win. For the Mare Championship, Linda Varnum’s Hanoverian mare Paris C (Pabilto x Opera by Ostwind, bred by Sandy Campbell) earned top honors with 75.025%.
Cindy Wilkin’s three-year-old Hanoverian colt Wild Escort (Wild Dance x Erristable R) was best of the boys in the Colt/Gelding Championship with 76.213%, while DG Bar Ranch’s four-year-old KWPN stallion Ion SWF (Lingh x Dorothee, bred by Southernwood Farm) won top Stallion division honors with 80.775%. Under saddle in the Great American/USDFBC Materiale Championship classes, Dantia Benson rode her homebred KWPN gelding Joule (Ampere x Rajani by Radikal) to win the three-year-old division with 83.800%, while Jennette Scanlon rode Leslie Blaney’s Oldenburg gelding Bronson (Fürst Romancier x Lucrezia by Laurie’s Crusader, bred by Helmet Heidmeyer) to earn a score of 77.250% and edge out three rivals to win the four/five-year-old class title.
Three divisions of the CDS Dressage Seat Equitation Challenge wrapped up a busy first day in the main arena, where Michele Mooney of Phoenix, Ariz. rode her Oldenburg gelding Don Viamo to win the Adult Amateur title with 80%. For juniors and young riders, Katelyn Mosle rode David Wightman’s five-year-old Swedish mare Kai to top the field of 14-21-year-old competitors with 82%, while in the 13 and under class Katrina Ragsdale earned the blue ribbon with 76% earned aboard Natalie Jensen’s Thoroughbred gelding Wrigley.
Day 2 of CDS Championship
After earning their first victory for their Four/Five-Year-Old Materiale performance on Thursday as part of the Great American Insurance Group/USDF Breeders Championships-West Coast Final, the Oldenburg gelding Bronson returned to the ring on Friday in the experienced hands of rider Jennette Scanlon of Auburn, Cal. to claim the Region 7 Open Training Level Championship as the only pair to impress the judges enough to break the 70% mark (71.932%).
“I feel so fortunate that his owner really understands the proper development of a young horse,” said Scanlon, who has trained the promising youngster for the last year for owner Leslie Blaney. “Because Bronson is so talented, it would be easy to push him too fast. But my philosophy is to make sure to develop a horse’s mind and body together, so we are taking it slow with him and we do different classes like the materiale to get mileage and experience for him. I don’t want the act of going in the ring to get redundant for him, and we do lots of different activities to keep the work fun and eliminate mental stress from the equation. So far I’m very impressed with how he’s handling everything about this show like a pro.”
In the Great American/USDF Training Level Adult Amateur division, Hilari Fleming of Reno, Nev. rode her KWPN gelding In Time DG to a dominant victory on the strength of a score of 73.295%, while Kristen Lee Aggers of Windsor, Cal. and her Oldenburg mare Donnabella earned the unanimous victory under both judges to easily top the leaderboard in the Open Second Level Championship with a score of 70.305%.
Also earning agreement from the jury for a top score of 71.037% to top a large field for the Second Level Adult Amateur title was Kasey Cannon of Moorpark with her Hanoverian stallion Diesel CF, who she purchased sight unseen off of a video from Europe 18 months ago. “I actually saw him for the first time in the Amsterdam airport when he was on his way to the States. Sure, it was a gamble, but it worked out and I think we’re lucky to have each other,” Cannon explained. “He keeps impressing us: he’s so consistent and reliable and handles travel well, so it’s no problem being away from home. Plus it’s fun because there’s no stress in riding him. He seems to easily handle Second Level because he has a talent for collection and is really coming into his own, very rideable and adjustable. He’s the horse of a lifetime.”
Jamie Pestana of Livermore, Cal. and Winzalot have found plenty of success at the CDS Championship Show in years past, and the 13-year-old Hanoverian gelding once again lived up to his name by winning the Great American/USDF Intermediate 2 Open Championship with 67.303%. Meanwhile, Adrienne Bessey of Thousand Oaks was all smiles as she rode her charismatic Oldenburg gelding Wintersnow to win the Adult Amateur division with 66.250%. The pair then returned to the winner’s circle for the second time in one day, this time to accept the Rubinstein Memorial Trophy for CDS Adult Amateur Grand Prix Horse of the Year (64.500%). “What keeps him going? I think he genuinely enjoys his job,” said Bessey. “Even if you try to give him a day off, he’s always looking around for something to do. He’s so enthusiastic and always wants to go.”
Thousands of dollars in prize money and awards were on the line as the first group of hotly-contested CDS Horse of the Year classes got underway, and in the $1,000 Adult Amateur Prix St. Georges division, 17 horse/rider combinations cantered down centerline in pursuit of the Global Imaging Perpetual Trophy. But it was a familiar face who ultimately emerged victorious with a score of 68.816% as Brian Hafner’s former High Performance partner Lombardo LHF now carried Laurie Everson of Loomis, Cal. to the winner’s circle.
“I took my horse to Brian for training, and he asked me if I might be interested in leasing Lombardo,” Everson explained, who has now had the ride on the Hanoverian gelding for a year. “How can you turn something like that down? Having the opportunity to ride a schoolmaster like him who knows all the Grand Prix movements has been amazing. Our test today felt great – it wasn’t mistake-free, but he knows his way around the arena, sometimes a little too well – he likes to throw in extra changes! The Championships this year have been fabulous – they’re always improving this facility and I’m delighted to be here and be a part of it.”
An astounding field of 25 horses and riders vied for rights to have their names added to the impressive roster of champions on the Bent Roswall Memorial Trophy for the $1,000 CDS Open Prix St. Georges Horse of the Year division. Rising to the top and rewarded with the best score from both judges was Kelly Casey Mykrantz of Oakley, Cal. who rode Amy Riker McGirl’s eight-year-old KWPN gelding Emilion SA to victory with 74.342%, while for Juniors and Young Riders at the Prix St. Georges level, Shelby Rocereto of Livermore rode her KWPN mare Chapeau to the win with 66.118%.
After winning Thursday’s CDS Dressage Seat Equitation Challenge (14-21 division), Katelyn Mosle put her equitation skills to work by piloting the Hanoverian gelding Diavolino 5 to victory over a full field of adults and professionals in the Third Level Freestyle division with a top score of 72.067% to claim the Alexsandra Howard Memorial Perpetual Trophy, while Hilda Gurney of Moorpark, Cal. earned her second freestyle title in as many days by winning the Ran Averett Perpetual Trophy for CDS Fourth Level Freestyle Horse of the Year with her Oldenburg mare Iris (73.100%). FEI World Cup competitor Charlotte Jorst of Reno, Nev. put her international experience to good use in guiding her Danish Warmblood gelding Kastel’s Akeem Foldager to win not only the Great American/USDF Region 7 Grand Prix Freestyle title (70.750%), but also proved to be the best of 10 competitors in the CDS Open Grand Prix Horse of the Year division (69.500%) and claim the Sherry de Leon Memorial Trophy for the second year in a row.
In the CDS Young Horse Futurity, talented youngsters battle for top scores in two tests over two days of competition to earn championship honors and a share of a $20,000 purse. In Friday’s conclusion of the Adult Amateur divisions, Hilari Fleming rode her KWPN gelding In Time DG (Ravel x Festival by Sandro Hit, bred in The Netherlands by DG Bar Breeders Inc.) to their second victory of the week in the Four-Year-Old division, taking the INXS Perpetual Trophy home to Reno. A big performance in the second round by Lauren McKeand of Clovis, Cal. and her KWPN gelding DG Hollywood (Rock Forever x Natasha by Bachus, bred in The Netherlands by Stal Krol) gave the pair the overall victory in the five-year-old division with an average two-day score of 67.606%, while in the six-year-old ranks, Kasey Cannon’s Hanoverian stallion Diesel CF (Dressage Royal x Ria Grande, bred in Germany by Gut Buschhof Hengsthaltung Kothe) earned yet another blue ribbon with top marks for both of their Second Level tests to claim the overall division championship with 71.026%.
Day 3 of CDS Championship
Dr. Teske’s leap of faith in her now six-year-old partner, Safari, ultimately paid off on Saturday as the elegant pair cruised to victory in the Great American Insurance Group/United States Dressage Federation (USDF) Adult Amateur First Level Championship with 73.824%. “We’ve taken our time bringing Safari along, so this is only his first year of showing and his just fourth show ever,” she noted. “He can still get a little distracted by the whole show environment, but today was the first time he’s really felt with me the whole time in the ring. I’m very proud of him.”
In CDS Horse of the Year awards, Ari Lopez of Pleasant Hill, Cal. rode Christiane Noelting’s six-year-old Hanoverian gelding Fabio to victory in the $1,000 First Level Open division, sweeping both rounds of competition for an overall two-test average of 75.014% to earn the McLeod Perpetual Trophy. Meanwhile, Kristen Lee Aggers of Windsor, Cal. and her Oldenburg mare Donnabella followed up on their Great American/USDF Region 7 win on Friday by claiming the Bengt Lungquist Memorial Trophy for $1,000 CDS Second Level Open Horse of the Year with 69.012%.
At Third Level, Adult Amateur Veronica Nemmer of San Jose rode her KWPN gelding Andreo to claim the Great American/USDF Region 7 title on the strength of a score of 72.436%. But it was Wendy Sasser’s KWPN gelding F.J. Ramzes who really impressed the judges in the Region 7 Third Level Open Championship. After top honors at First and Second Level in both 2015 and 2016, F.J. Ramzes continued his winning tradition by effortlessly moving up to Third and earning a dominant victory over 20 competitors with an impressive score of 76.282%.
“I’ve never been on a horse where everything comes so easy for him,” said rider Lehua Custer of North Hollywood, Cal., whose eight-hour trek north to attend the Championship Show proved worthwhile. “I have to tell you that Hilda Gurney is the reason that both of us are here. She raised this horse and trained me as a rider, and still coaches me with him to this day. She’s taught me everything I know, and I definitely would not be here if it weren’t for her. She’s very positive about this horse’s future and that’s so exciting, and it’s such a special journey for all of us to share in.”
In the experienced hands of Olympian Jan Ebeling (Moorpark, Cal.), the eight-year-old Oldenburg gelding Blenheim (owned by Pernilla Ammann) earned the Pal Kemery Perpetual Trophy and $1,000 CDS Open Fourth Level Horse of the Year title on the strength of an overall score of 71.563%, while 26 competitors cantered down centerline in pursuit of the Great American/USDF Region 7 Open Prix St. Georges Championship where Rachel Wade of West Sacramento, Cal. emerged victorious with her 10-year-old RPSI mare Cambria with 73.684%. In the Adult Amateur Prix St. Georges division, Amanda Harlan of Oakville, Cal. was thrilled with her win aboard the graceful Hanoverian mare Rosenzauber 8 thanks to a top score of 69.474%.
Former CDS Champion Tracey Hill of Walnut Creek, Cal. had to overcome a few challenges but ultimately found her way back to the winner’s circle at the 2017 CDS Championship Show with Victoria Von Arx’s Hanoverian mare Celina as they won the $1,000 CDS Horse of the Year Intermediaire I Open division with 68.421%.
“It was a bit of a challenge getting prepared for the show this year because we just moved to a new barn in Danville, and Celina was off for nine months due to an injury,” Hill explained. “But now she’s sound and going well and I was super confident in the warm-up. But then we came in the arena and halted at X, and she looked up at all the flags and started to freak out a little. So I quickly saluted and pushed her forward and we got it together. The top three scores in our division were super close and it was a great competition, and we’re delighted to be back and hopefully look forward to the Intermediaire II and Grand Prix next year.”
Also at the $1,000 CDS Horse of the Year Intermediaire I level, Adrienne Bessey of Thousand Oaks, Cal. earned the T.D.I. Systems Perpetual Trophy by earning the unanimous win under both judges over 15 Adult Amateur division competitors aboard her Danish Warmblood mare Dido with 70.197%, while the Pelton Family Trophy and $1,000 CDS Horse of the Year Intermediaire II honors went to Rachel Saavedra of San Ramon, Cal. who rode Sueno Hit to an easy win with a score of 70.921%.
An annual highlight of the championship week is the CDS Young Horse Futurity, and this year’s hard-fought competition across two days and three age divisions did not disappoint. DG Bar Ranch has been a mainstay of West Coast sport horse breeding for decades and the results of their program were once again on display with top placings in the Futurity divisions, highlighted by the crowning of Impression DG (Devon Heir x Vittoria SVS by Krack C, bred in the U.S. by DG Bar Breeders, Inc.) as champion in the Four-Year-Old Open division with a combined score of 73.934%. Ridden by Ashlyn de Groot of Hanford, Cal., the talented KWPN gelding also claimed additional honors and prize money as the highest-scoring Cal-Bred in the Futurity divisions.
“I’m super thankful to his owner for letting me ride him and have such fun with him,” said de Groot of owner Lisa Morrow, who purchased Impression DG from DG Bar as a foal. “He’s a pretty solid guy – this is only his third show, but he’s handling everything very well. He’s very supple and elastic and that’s what everyone likes to see at his age, and I think he has a lot of potential for the future.”
Karen Cornelius, Nipomo, Cal. continued her fairy-tale weekend by scoring another victory with her Hanoverian stallion Fiderello (Fidertanz x Dancing Queen by Diorello, bred in the U.S. by Bjoern Kommerell), topping the field of 20 horses in the Five-Year-Old Open Futurity Division with a combined two-test score of 73.900%. In the Six-Year-Old ranks, the KWPN gelding Gatsby (Sir Donnerhall x Ubella by Jazz, bred in the U.S. by Chelsea Sibley) earned the top score in both Second Level tests for an overall average of 71.973%, earning the Parker Perpetual Trophy for owner/rider Amelia Newcomb of Simi Valley, Cal.
Great American Insurance Group/USDF Region 7 Championships were also presented in the Junior/Young Rider ranks. At Training Level, Kristyna Lukacova of Rancho Palos Verdes, Cal. rode her Holsteiner gelding Calaido to the win with 68.523%, while in the Second Level Junior/Young Rider division Charlotte Glitz of Pleasanton, Cal. and KWPN gelding Ursel topped the field with 65.976%. The Great American/USDF Fourth Level Junior/Young Rider Championship was claimed by Shelby Rocereto of Livermore, who rode her KWPN mare Chapeau to the win with 64.167%, and Madeleine Coronado of Danville, Cal. rode Marcia Sheehy’s Hungarian Warmblood gelding Bohem to the Intermediate I win with 63.553%.
Katelyn Mosle and Katrina Ragsdale have proven to be unbeatable in equitation classes at this year’s Championship Show: on Thursday, each claimed their age division title in the CDS Equitation Challenge, and on Saturday both riders again were presented with top honors in the USDF Dressage Seat Medal Semi-Finals. In the 13 & Under division, Ragsdale confidently rode Thoroughbred gelding Wrigley to victory with 75.000%, while Mosle partnered with the Hanoverian gelding Diavolino 5 to run away with the blue ribbon in the 14-18 Division on a score of 76.200%. “We were very impressed with the overall quality of all the riders and especially how well everyone performed their individual tests,” said judge Sarah Geikie. “But the winner of each division really stood out. For such a young age, they were very accomplished riders and had such effectiveness, confidence, and poise.”
After earning the CDS Fourth Level Freestyle title on Friday, Hilda Gurney of Moorpark, Cal. and her Oldenburg mare Iris returned to the main arena to claim the equivalent Great American/USDF Region 7 title with 69.750%. Charlotte Jorst’s rising star Ray Dance (eight-year-old Westfalen gelding) received his second championship title of the weekend by earning the Lilian Van Dahn Memorial Perpetual Trophy for 70.438% in the $1,000 CDS Horse of the Year Open Intermediate I Freestyle division.
Heidi Gaian of Hollister, Cal. and her Holsteiner gelding Chicago galloped away with the coveted Lt. Col. Hans Moeller Perpetual Trophy after earning a top score of 68.750% in the CDS Horse of the Year Grand Prix Freestyle class.
Day 4 of CDS Championship
In the $1,000 CDS Horse of the Year division for Adult Amateurs at Fourth Level, Melissa Rogers of Sonoma, Cal. got the winning edge with her eight-year-old KWPN gelding Empire to earn the Fox Run Perpetual Trophy with combined two-test average of 68.042%. While the pair also earned CDS Horse of the Year honors at Second Level in 2015, Rogers’ ride on her talented eight-year-old mount hasn’t always been easy.
“He came over from Europe as a stallion and he was a lot of horse,” said Rogers, who works as a vice president of engineering in the software industry when not in the saddle. “Now that he’s gelded, he’s still a handful, but it’s fun – I like them spicy. He was kind of hot today, and I think the judges were holding their breath a little bit, but it worked out. I believe the best ones need to have some fire. He’s got talent for piaffe and passage, so it’s exciting for the future and I look forward to moving him up to the small tour next year.”
In the Great American/United States Dressage Federation (USDF) Region 7 Fourth Level Adult Amateur Championship class, Kristine Hegglin turned the tables for a chance to lead the victory lap ahead of Rogers with a winning score of 67.389% aboard her eight-year-old German Riding Pony gelding Holsteins Harlequin, who doesn’t let size get in the way of success: he impressively also won the Region 7 Adult Amateur title for Second and Third Level in 2015 and 2016, respectively.
“He’s just phenomenal,” Hegglin exclaimed, who also works for a software company when at home in Danville, Cal. “I keep thinking that the judges might think or say something about his size, but so far they seem completely indifferent to it and even seem to love him, writing comments like ‘power pony’. He’s brave and talented and is ready for Prix St. Georges too so I hope next year we’ll be back…my husband will need to get something for me for Christmas so maybe I’ll ask for a shadbelly!”
Additional CDS Horse of the Year titles were presented at Training Level, where Hayley Buckingham of La Habra Heights, Cal. topped the Open division with Susan Ortiz’s four-year-old Hanoverian mare Donna Rubina (72.434%), while Margaret Young of Clovis, Cal. and her lovely four-year-old Oldenburg mare Cremona scored a combined average of 72.059% to win the perpetual trophy for Adult Amateurs.
At First Level, Adult Amateur competitor Lisa Teske of Solvang, Cal. and her Westfalen gelding Safari went two-for-two this weekend by earning the Full Cry Perpetual Trophy and CDS Horse of the Year title with a top score of 71.751%. After claiming multiple Reserve Champion honors over the weekend, David Wightman of Murrieta, Cal. finally had a chance to celebrate victory with his five-year-old Oldenburg gelding Hotshot AF in the Great American/USDF Region 7 First Level Open Championship on an impressive score of 74.044%.
After five tests in four days, Kasey Cannon of Moorpark was concerned her stallion Diesel CF would be too tired to perform at his best, but the young Hanoverian rose to the challenge to remain unbeatable at Second Level and earn the CDS Second Level Adult Amateur Horse of the Year title and Two Tone Malone Perpetual Trophy after winning both day’s tests for combined score of 72.168%.
Lehua Custer of North Hollywood and the KWPN gelding F.J. Ramzes continued their winning ways by easily earning top scores in both rounds of competition in the $1,000 CDS Horse of the Year Third Level Open division for an overall average of 74.615%, earning the Judith Elias Perpetual Trophy for owner Wendy Sasser. For Adult Amateurs, the Stanford Perpetual Trophy was presented to Ruth Shirkey of Livermore, Cal. and her Hanoverian mare Wyleigh Princess. As the only combination to score over 70% in the second round, the pair’s combined average of 70.865% secured their position atop the leaderboard.
In the Great American/USDF Region 7 Fourth Level Open Championship, Jan Ebeling of Moorpark, Cal. and Pernilla Ammann’s Oldenburg gelding Blenheim once again bested the large field of competitors to earn a top score of 73.167% and the unanimous victory under both judges, while Kastel Denmark’s Westfalen gelding Ray Dance cruised to his third title of the weekend with Charlotte Jorst of Reno in the Great American/USDF Intermediaire I Open Championship (73.618%).
Having already earned two reserve championships earlier in the show, Akiko Yamazaki of Los Altos Hills, Cal. finally found her way to the winner’s circle with her KWPN gelding Chopin R after scoring 71.118% in the Great American/USDF Region 7 Intermediaire I Adult Amateur Championship.
“In retrospect, I think I made a mistake by not doing the warm-up classes earlier in the weekend,” Yamazaki explained. “My family has had a busy summer so I haven’t shown since June, and as a result the horses were a little fresh in our first tests yesterday and we didn’t have our best goes. Chopin can get a little tense in the canter work, and yesterday was a bit of a challenge because I could hardly put my leg on! But today he really let me ride him and we got back in the groove and were able to show what we can do.”
In the afternoon’s Great American/USDF Region 7 Grand Prix Open Championship, Charlotte Jorst was first down centerline but set a mark of 71.000% that was untouchable for the duration of the class to earn her second win of the day, this time aboard her Danish Warmblood gelding Kastel’s Akeem Foldager. In the Adult Amateur ranks, Michelle Freels from Granite Bay, Cal. earned the championship with her 14-year-old KWPN mare Wynnona (59.750%).
Wrapping up musical freestyle competition at this year’s Championship Show was Karen Cornelius of Nipomo, Cal. and her young Hanoverian stallion Fiderello, who once again wowed the crowd and the judges to win the perpetual trophy for CDS First Level Freestyle by a double-digit margin and a mark of 77.750%, while Diane Abraham of Los Gatos, Cal. and her Oldenburg mare Dasha earned their second victory of the week by earning the Dawn West Perpetual Trophy for their Phil Collins-themed Second Level freestyle with 64.417%.
Juniors and young riders also competed for top honors as the last round of coveted 2017 Great American/USDF Region 7 and CDS Horse of the Year titles were awarded. For CDS Horse of the Year at Training Level, Katelyn Mosle continued her successful partnership with David Wightman’s Swedish Warmblood mare Kai to easily win with a combined score of 74.122%. At First Level, Anna Bordan of Vacaville, Cal. scored two championships in one day by earning the Great American/USDF Region 7 title with Cynthia Lang’s Hanoverian gelding Quentin (68.603%), as well as CDS Horse of the Year honors with Karen Kahn’s Hanoverian mare Louis Le Rouge (71.172%).
In the Second Level ranks, the German Riding Pony mare Bonnaroo carried owner/rider Lucienne Bacon of Atherton, Cal. to a two-day score of 65.643% and the right to be named that division’s CDS Horse of the Year. The Great American/USDF Region 7 Third Level JR/YR title was presented to Emily Smith of San Jose, who rode her Hanoverian gelding London to the win with 63.397%, while Katelyn Mosle scored two more titles in quick succession, this time aboard the Hanoverian gelding Diavolino 5 to win both the CDS Third Level JR/YR Horse of the Year (69.327%) as well as the Region 7 Junior Team Test Championship (67.027%).
Bryce Quinto of Studio City, Cal. rode her German Riding Pony mare Baby Doll to CDS Fourth Level JR/YR Horse of the Year honors with 65.069%, while Shelby Rocereto’s busy weekend wrapped up on a victorious note as she took the Region 7 Prix St. Georges JR/YR Championship home to Livermore, Cal. thanks to a winning score of 67.368% earned with her KWPN mare Chapeau. Last but not least, D’re Murray of Petaluma, Cal. claimed the Region 7 Intermediaire II JR/YR title with 69.474% on her stunning 14-year-old Westfalen gelding Fido.
Earning the Atherton Dressage Society Perpetual Trophy for Grand Champion at First/Second Level was Karen Cornelius of Nipomo, Cal. with her five-year-old Hanoverian stallion Fiderello, while Hilda Gurney of Moorpark earned the Major Guy de Roaldes Trophy as Third/Fourth Level Grand Champion with her Oldenburg mare Iris. Presentation of the Doug Downing Perpetual Trophy went to Chelsey Sibley of Sonora, Cal. who rode Carol Di Maggio’s 10-year-old Oldenburg stallion Don Francisco to win the Intermediaire I Grand Championship, while the Keen Memorial Perpetual Trophy for Grand Prix Grand Champion was earned by Terri Rocovich of Ramona, Cal. with her 16-year-old KWPN gelding Uiver (Iver).