Championship sashes rained down on Adult Amateur Christina Morin-Graham and Open rider Heather Mason at the GAIG/USDF Region 8 Dressage Championships in Saugerties, NY.

Morin-Graham picked up five blue ribbons on three different horses. Both DSP Dauphin and Ici De La Vigne landed a double, while she also picked up the Intermediate II title on the 15-year-old Sarkozy mare, Mondlicht — who doubles as Morin-Graham’s favorite hacking horse. DSP Dauphin led the way in the Grand Prix Special — in which Morin-Graham finished reserve on Mondlicht — with an impressive 75.113% score bolstered by scores of eight and 8.5 from the judges for their music.

Photo – Ici De La Vigne, a 12-year-old Jazz mare, delivered two further titles for Christina Morin-Graham at Intermediate I level. (Darien Quinn Photography)

So Proud

“I was so proud of all my horses,” said Morin-Graham, who is from Malvern, PA, and works full-time as a partner in a private equity firm. “I had a ride on each one of the three, where I came out beaming. They showed up, and I showed up, and we’re improving in a meaningful way. It was the dopamine rush of harmony.

“With Dauphin, she just lights up the space,” she continued. “That feeling of total partnership with your horse is so good. This is our third competitive season together, and she’s had a phenomenal year so far. We went to Festival [of Champions], and now we’re heading to Dressage at Devon before Finals. She’s a spectacular horse.”

Morin-Graham keeps her horses at home and pulls a lot of night shifts working to jam everything in. She bought Ici De La Vigne, a daughter of Jazz, five years ago in Europe. They won both Intermediate I championship classes with solid scores.

“She is the most fun horse to ride,” continued Morin-Graham of the now 12-year-old mare. “I call her my Covid baby. She was doing Second Level when she came, and we moved up pretty quickly to small tour. She’s hot and talented and absolutely beautiful — she has a face like a fawn. I’m an amateur, and I’m learning, but she’s always trying to answer the question and trying to figure it all out for me.”

Mass Production

Adult Amateur Christina Morin-Graham and the 16-year-old Damon Hill mare DSP Dauphin captured the top spot in Region 8’s Grand Prix championship. (Photo: Darien Quinn Photography)

Morin-Graham trains with Mason, who was on hand to help her and many other students at the show. Mason rode nine championship tests, winning six of them and landing two reserve spots. Her own four-year-old Rock It P, the 2024 Adequan®/USDF Materiale Horse of the Year (colt/gelding), produced three-plus 75% tests to land a triple at Training and First Levels.

The eight-year-old Manuskript SCF — 2024 Adequan®/USDF Horse of the Year at both Fourth Level and Prix St. Georges — also punched his ticket to the Finals, at which the Jazz gelding has been one of the standout horses in recent years. He qualified for Finals at Prix St. Georges — besting a class of 30 starters — and both Intermediate I classes, all with scores above 70%. Mason’s double reserve champion, Zhowie, is another of the rider’s own four-year-olds. Mason bought the mare by Zoom from breeder Mo Swanson as a three-year-old.

“I bought Rock It as a foal in Florida. He’s by Grand Galaxy Win, and he was not supposed to be so big; he’s 17.3 hands already, and I’m 5 feet, 2 inches,” said Mason, who has been one of the most prominent and successful riders at Finals during the past few years. “He’s my giant boy, and even though he got a little intimidated, he’s quality, uphill, and naturally balanced. I started him totally by myself, from when he was a baby, handling him once a week. Then I backed him as a three-year-old by myself with nobody on the ground. I was a little nervous, but he was perfect. I’ve never seen him do anything I can’t stay on.”

Click here for full results from the GAIG/USDF Region 8 Dressage Championships.

The 2025 US Dressage Finals takes place October 30-November 2 at the World Equestrian Center in Wilmington, OH. It is a national, head-to-head competition that showcases competitors in Adult Amateur, Open, and Junior/Young Rider divisions. Classes run from Training Level through Grand Prix, plus freestyle to music divisions, with Junior/YR sections at Training Level through Intermediate I. There is more than $125,000 in prize money on offer over the four days. Learn more at www.usdf.org/usdressagefinals/index.asp.