Heather McCarthy and Saphira took home the Intermediate I Freestyle Open Championship title (Photo: John Borys Photography)

It was a hard-fought and heartfelt win in the competitive Intermediate I Freestyle Open Championship for Heather McCarthy of Prairie Grove, Ill. (Region 2) as she rode John McGuire and Marilyn Johnson’s Oldenburg mare Saphira (Florencio x Roxina by Chairman) to the win with 73.125%.

“John McGuire recently passed away, so it was a hard show for me but this was his dream for Saphira to succeed like this,” McCarthy explained. “I really went for it today and I think it was one of the most fun rides I’ve ever had. We look forward to coming to the Finals all year – when we’re at Regionals we keep our fingers crossed hoping we’re going to qualify because it’s such a fun show to come to.”

Earning Reserve Champion honors with a score of 72.917% was also sincerely appreciated by Heather Mendiburu of Wantage, N.J. (Region 8) who wasn’t sure she would be even able to come to Kentucky with her Hanoverian mare What Happen (Waldstar x Gina de Ro by Gloster, owned by High Point Solutions). “Things were a little up in the air for us coming into this because my mare had an injury right after Devon, so we only had about three decent rides before we came here so didn’t know what to expect,” she said. “But once we got going everything was clicking and I knew that we were in sync and that it was going to be a good ride. It’s such a privilege just to be here.”

The US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan® concluded on Sunday as the last group of 10 champions for 2015 are crowned. Follow the action through updates on the USDF Facebook page and the US Dressage Finals website, as well as watch live online streaming on the popular USEF Network. To learn more about the US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan®, download competition information, review day sheets and results, and read daily news releases, visit the official event website at www.usdressagefinals.com.