With the final days of the 2024 U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions underway, a new crop of national champions has emerged from the exciting competition at HITS Chicago Lamplight Equestrian Center.

Photo – Sarah Mason-Beaty with Kanjer and Sabine Schut-Kery with Gorgeous Latino. ©Leslie Potter/US Equestrian

Markel/USEF Developing Horse Prix St. Georges

Sabine Schut-Kery (Oceanside, Calif.) took Gorgeous Latino (Glock’s Toto Jr. x Blackmanda), a 2016 stallion owned by Sandy Mancini, produced a winning in the second test for the Developing Prix St. Georges horses to secure the champion title.

“He came to me at the end of his 5-year-old year, and he’s been quite incredible,” said Schut-Kery. “As a 6-year-old, he got his scores right away for Ermelo [the FEI/WBFSH Dressage World Breeding Championship]. Last year, we did the 7-year-old [class at FOC] and he won that. It’s been really fun to see.

“Of course I had bobbles, and personally, there’s so much I want to improve,” said Schut-Kery about her tests at this year’s FOC. “But I also have to remember that these are young horses for the level they’re doing. You have to let your perfectionist mind go and just really appreciate how they show up in the ring and be able to transfer what you work on at home and in your warmup and carry that over into the ring. That’s one of my biggest goals, that the rideability and the adjustability stays, and I have to say, he really showed up.”

Schut-Kery describes the stallion as playful and confident. His demeanor shines through when she takes him on trail rides in the mountains near her Southern California base, which is a regular part of her training regimen for all her horses every week.

“We trail ride him in the mountains, and he’s the leading horse of all of them,” she said. “He has a good head on his shoulders. He’s the leader—that’s who he is, and that’s also what I have to work with [in the arena].”

Schut-Kery tries to get her horses out for a trail ride weekly, and says it’s a benefit to horses and human alike.

“I do it mostly for the horses, but I think even for us, it’s great to just let go and have a little fun,” she said. “We make sure not to do something drastic that they’re not used to, like climbing, but it’s really cool, and they’re all really good, especially when Latino leads and the others follow.”

Right With Me

Sarah Mason-Beaty (Danville, Calif.) earned the reserve champion title with her own, Kanjer (Geniaal x Rosanne), a 2015 Dutch Warmblood gelding.

“I’ve had Kanjer since he was 3, and he’s 9 this year,” said Mason-Beaty. “He was right there with me every stride. This is Kanjer’s first time here, and he blew me away with how he handled the environment and how he really stepped up when it mattered. I’m so proud of him.”

Mason-Beaty has taken her time with Kanjer’s training, and it’s paid off.

“He’s such a talented boy, and I feel like it’s been such a beautiful journey with him to lead to this point,” she said. “I wasn’t sure how he would handle the atmosphere. I wasn’t sure going into it what the judges here would think of him, and to have their positive feedback and to have the show go so well is reaffirming to the training that we’re trying to do every day at home.”

Like Shut-Kery, Mason-Beaty was one of many FOC competitors who traveled in from the West Coast, and the two took their lap of honor together.

“Sabine is someone I look up to, and someone who has offered me such incredible advice throughout the last several years,” said Mason-Beaty. “To be behind her in that class, and to have her invite me to ride next to her in the victory round, was an absolute dream come true.

USA High Place

Kate Fleming-Kuhn (New Berlin, Ill.) and Franzsis HSR (Franziskus x Simone HSR), a U.S.-bred Oldenburg gelding owned by Fleming-Kuhn and Martin Kuhn, finished in third place. “Franzi” was also recognized as the highest-placed U.S.-bred horse in the class.

“I bought him when he was two weeks old from his breeder in California,” said Fleming-Kuhn. “I saw his video and was just really smitten with him, and so we’ve been together since the beginning and have built, I think, a very special personality.”

Fleming-Kuhn describes her horse as playful and sweet, but also says that he has a bit of a “Dennis the Menace streak.”

“He definitely has a sense of humor and is very, very sensitive to ride, which is a blessing, but then sometimes also a challenge for me to keep him really going with me.” She said. “But he’s a very kind horse and a generous partner.

“I was thrilled with him,” she said of his performances at FOC. “I had two clean tests, I had a lot of horse underneath me, and he was really with me every step of the way, in spite of being a bit charged with the environment.”

Competition Information:

The 2024 FOC takes place Aug. 19-25, at HITS Chicago Lamplight Equestrian Center in Wayne, Ill. Competition takes place in two arenas and will be broadcast on USEF Network. Bookmark the FOC event page on USEF.org for the latest coverage of this year’s show.

Ring Schedule | Orders of Go and Results

2024 Festival of Champions Livestream

The U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions will be streamed live on USEF Network. US Equestrian members, subscribers, and fans can watch all classes live. Not a member? Sign up for a free fan account now!