Fourteen combinations in the Markel/USEF Young Horse Six-Year-Old Dressage National Championship started the day of competition in the Markel Arena. Cesar Parra and Møllegårdens Fashion, his and Marcella Parra’s 2016 Danish Warmblood gelding, impressed the judges to win the FEI Six-Year-Old Preliminary Test. After finishing third in last year’s five-year-old championship, Møllegårdens Fashion demonstrated his development in the past year with Parra (Whitehouse Station, N.J.) in the irons to earn a score of 8.42.

Photo:  Cesar Parra and Møllegårdens Fashion.

“He is very strong, but I think he is a horse who is built for Grand Prix,” said Parra of “Fashi.” “He has amazing hind legs. He is very good in the contact, he is very honest, and he is very powerful.”

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Rebecca Rigdon (Cardiff by the Sea, Calif.) and Lionvell VE, Lauren Fisher’s 2016 KWPN gelding, were second with a score of 8.24. Alice Tarjan (Oldwick, N.J.) and Gjenganger, her 2016 Danish Warmblood mare, were third with a score of 7.94.

The Markel/USEF Young Horse Six-Year-Old Dressage National Championship ends Sunday with the FEI Six-Year-Old Final Test.

From the Mixed Zone:

How long have you had this horse?

Parra: “I bought him when he was two and a half. Basically as a present that I gave to my wife, so he belongs to her and she’s the boss.”

What is he like in the barn?

Parra: “He is a goofball. He really is. He has a lot of hair. He has two full manes on each side and his forelock. He is like the dude in the barn.”

What is he like to ride?

Parra: “Amazing. A lot of power. It’s like you are going on a jet. But he is super, super, super kind. His back is super supple. He is a goofball, so sometimes he thinks it is funny to do a little buck and it is very powerful. But it is fun. Really, really a lot of fun to ride.”

Watch the U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions live stream this week on USEF Network.

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