USEF Dressage Seat Medal Final – 14-18
Fifteen youth riders entered arena to display their equitation in the 14-18 division of the USEF Dressage Seat Medal Final. The young athletes rode in front of the judges, performing rail work and a pattern to demonstrate their skills. Sixteen-year-old Averi Allen (Pleasant Hill, Mo.) stood out in the class while riding Superman, Jonni Allen’s seven-year-old Hanoverian gelding. Allen earned a score of 86.000% to earn top honors in the competitive class.

“I just went in the class and rode my best and tried to breathe through everything,” said Allen. 

Seventeen-year-old Emma Teff (Renfrew, Pa.) rode Beaudacious, Rhianna Pankhurst’s 11-year-old RPSI gelding, to reserve national champion honors on a score of 84.000%. Seventeen-year-old Caroline McQueen (Milton, Ga.) collected third-place honors with a score of 79.000% on Mandolin RH, her 16-year-old Hanoverian mare.

From the Mixed Zone:

What did you work on at home to practice your equitation?

Allen: “Basically all of it—sitting deeper, keeping my legs quieter, sitting straighter, more up with my back, not leaning in the turns or anything.”

Teff: “I’d say my elbows are a bad habit of mine. I will tend to get too far back or too wide so I’m always trying to keep them in at my sides just by my body. I am always trying to get better at using my seat and sitting deep.” 

Did past experiences in the final help you today?

Allen: “Definitely because I know all the rules and how the whole class goes and what exactly you do, so I practiced in the warm-up. Doing it multiple times helped.” 

How does it feel to win the title after being third last year? 

Allen: “It feels really good, especially on the same horse. We had a lot of improvement.”

How does it feel for you with the result that you had?

Teff: “I am absolutely thrilled. I actually borrowed my trainer’s horse, Beaudacious, so I was super excited just to be here. Then, being able to come away with reserve champion is just icing on the cake.”

McQueen: “I’m really surprised. I have only had my horse for about eight months and this is our sixth show together. It is very new.”

What are your thoughts on a class focusing on equitation?

McQueen: “I did hunters and hunter equitation for a long time. Coming into dressage, I always had the mindset that your equitation kind of dictates how the horse will move, so dressage is really, really a tough sport. It means a lot when you are asking a horse to do hard movements.”