The USEF Para Dressage National Championship continued with the FEI Para Dressage Individual Test for the field of four combinations. Mia Rodier-Dawallo and Jayden had a lovely FEI Para Dressage Grade II Individual Test highlighted by powerful trot extensions. Rodier-Dawallo (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and her 2014 KWPN gelding earned a score of 71.323%, a personal best score and one achieved on the national championship stage.

Photo – Mia Rodier-Dawallo and Jayden (SusanJStickle.com)

“I am very proud of our work. In general, I don’t chase scores and I think comparison is the thief of joy, so I do my best to not compare myself to anyone else,” said Rodier-Dawallo. “I’m very, very pleased with the work that we did today. ‘Pudding’ was amazing. I’m so proud of him; I’m so proud of us.”

Sydney Collier (Ann Arbor, Mich.) finished second with a score of 68.749% in the FEI Para Dressage Grade I Individual Test with All In One, Going for Gold, LLC and Georgina Bloomberg’s 2009 Hanoverian gelding. Deborah Stanitski (Charleston, S.C.) and Heros, her 2014 Danish mare, were third with a score of 68.332% in the FEI Para Dressage Grade I Individual Test.

Monday’s FEI Para Dressage Team Test counts for 40 percent of the overall score, while the FEI Para Dressage Individual Test on Tuesday counts for 45 percent. The division will conclude on Wednesday with the FEI Para Dressage Freestyle Test, which counts for 15 percent.

Overall championship standings

From the Mixed Zone:

Tell us about your test- 

Rodier-Dawallo: “I am very proud of our work. In general, I don’t chase scores and I think comparison is the thief of joy, so I do my best to not compare myself to anyone else. I’m very, very pleased with the work that we did today. ‘Pudding’ was amazing. I’m so proud of him; I’m so proud of us. I find that it is best to not focus on the negatives of your test because if you focus on that you are going to be thinking about then that might be something that is more likely to happen. I think that it is best to focus on positives on how well you and your team do together. All of us had an amazing day today, even given the circumstances. I think doing your best is all you can do, and it just so happens that we got the highest score, which is crazy. Then, I cried and hugged my horse. That’s the way that is tends to go.”

What were some of the highlights in your test?

Rodier-Dawallo: “We always like to have fun so I would say extensions are always our favorite. We kind of rocked the extensions. I like to play songs in my head. I’m very musically driven. I have a song playing in my head that’s got a good beat to it and just fly and feel like we are going in slow motion. Some of our other favorite things are halts. They’re difficult because the halt is one finite movement that you do, so you can’t really improve it that much [in a test]. We like to make an entrance; we like to make an exit. We like to see everyone and showing up for para and we always have a smile on our face.

“Having fun, getting in the ring, and showing our stuff. We worked so, so, so hard. It feels very validating to have this expression of our hard work.”

What are you looking forward to in your freestyle?

Rodier-Dawallo: “Freestyle is my favorite, obviously. It is so much fun and I really love my freestyle. It takes you on a journey. Jessica Ash made it for me, and Julie worked with me. It is something that I like. A lot of times with freestyles, you just have to follow the rules and stay in this little box and then you have something that you don’t really like but it is something that you have to do. We have a Beyoncé mash-up. We really like to have fun. We sampled some Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, who is one of my favorite intersectional feminists on the face of the Earth, and [the freestyle] takes you through a journey as you go through the test. We have a lot of really cool stuff in there that we are excited to show. We have got some half-passes in there. We have got some shoulder-in in there. It makes you feel like you are at a dance party. I feel like you should be feeling like you’re dancing and everyone else should feel like they are dancing, too.”

The USEF Grand Prix Dressage National Championship and the Adequan®/USEF Young Adult Brentina Cup Dressage National Championship jogged Tuesday evening before their competition begins Wednesday.

Competition continues Wednesday in the Grand Prix Arena with the FEI Intermediate II Test of the Adequan®/USEF Young Adult Brentina Cup Dressage National Championship at 8 a.m. CT.

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

Complete Schedule

Live Scoring