New champions were crowned on Saturday at the U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions, highlighting a full day of competition at HITS Chicago Lamplight Equestrian Center. Titles were awarded in several divisions, including the Markel/USEF Developing Prix St. Georges.

Markel/USEF Developing Horse Dressage National Championship – Prix St. Georges

The Developing Prix St. Georges division showcased the rising generation of elite equine athletes, and 13 entries returned for their second test, the USEF Developing Prix St. Georges, on Saturday morning. With two winning tests, the champion title went to Hussmanns Topgun (Totilas x Atterupgaards Demi), a 2016 Danish Warmblood gelding owned by Heidi Humphries and ridden by Adrienne Lyle (Wellington, Fla.) Though he’s a relatively new face at the FEI level, his development has been a steady and deliberate progress over the past several years.

“He is a horse with tremendous power and scope who needs all the time he needs to develop the strength to carry that, and to feel confident in his ability to do that,” said Lyle. “He’s been a really fun project, because every day, he just makes me a better rider. I have to be super conscious of my body position and how I ask things. I have to have everything stacked and lined up perfectly for him, and then he does it. Those kind of horses, I think, really elevate your riding.”

The judges recognized the pair’s work, awarding consistently good marks across both tests.

“I was really happy with today’s ride,” said Lyle. “I thought it was one of the best feelings he’s given me in the ring of really being able to have him relaxed with me enough that I could put my leg on and ride back to front into a really honest, solid connection, and feel like he was using his whole body through the test.”

Lyle recognized owner Heidi Humphries for her ongoing support of the young horses and the sport at large.

“She’s having a pretty incredible week here as an owner, and she’s such a wonderful supporter of us and of dressage in general in this country,” she said. “It’s just really exciting to be around that energy and have such a fabulous team. I feel very lucky.”

Reserve

Winning second in both tests and reserve champion overall was MSJ for VIPs (Foundation x VIP), a 2017 Oldenburg gelding owned by Lauren Fisher and shown by Rebecca Rigdon (Cardiff By The Sea, Calif.).

“I was really happy with our first test. That was the best Prix St. Georges he’s done to date,” said Rigdon. “Today we had some expensive mistakes in the canter tour, but the trot tour was really, really good, and the walk is always good. I could tell the minute I picked up the canter, I thought, ‘Oh, he’s getting a little tired.’ It’s a hard test with the pirouettes and immediate fours and the half pass zigzag. That’s tough for a horse with a canter so big.”

Although still a fairly young horse, MSJ for VIPs and Rigdon have built an impressive resume together, including two outings to the World Breeding Championships.

“We got him as a four, coming five-year-old. He was quite green for his age,” said Rigdon. “Ulf Möller was the one who recommended him, and my coaches, Christine Traurig and Guenter Seidel, we all said, yes, this is definitely the horse. It’s been a long journey, but he’s incredibly smart. He has more power than he always knows what to do with, so that’s been, I wouldn’t even say a challenge, but just trying to educate him as to how to manage that. Mentally, he’s just cool, relaxed—he’s just a wonderful animal. I cannot say a bad thing about him. He’s just such a good boy, and he’s just as easy in the barn as he is under saddle. I’m really, really lucky.”

Results

2025 U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions Live Stream
The 2025 U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions is streaming live on USEF Network, brought to you by Adequan®. US Equestrian fans, subscribers, and members can access the live stream, and subscribers and members will be able to watch replays on demand. Learn more here.

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