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Autumn Vavrick and Dante Impressive in the USEF Children Dressage National Championship
Monday, August 29, 2022
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US DRESSAGE FESTIVAL OF CHAMPIONS
The six remaining national championship divisions concluded on Sunday at the 2022 U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions. A week full of seasoned competitors as well as up-and-coming talent made for an exciting, high-caliber event.
Photo - Autumn Vavrick and Dante (SusanJStickle.com)
Twelve USEF Children Dressage National Championship combinations began the competition in the Grand Prix Arena by riding the second of two tests to determine the winner. Autumn Vavrick and Dante had an impressive FEI Children Individual Test to win the class with a score of 81.657%. Vavrick (Oxford, Mich.) and her 2007 Hanoverian gelding clinched the National Champion title with an overall score of 79.728%. The pair also was third in the USEF Dressage Seat Medal Final 13 & Under division earlier in the week.
“Right when I got in the ring, he was just focused on my aids and listening to me,” said Vavrick of her test. “He just went around, tried to listen and do what I asked him. He was just really good. And yesterday was really good. It was one of my best tests, so I’m very, very happy.”
Virginia Woodcock (Atlanta, Ga.) and The Safari Party, the 2009 North American Sport Pony gelding owned by Virginia, Elizabeth, and Richard Woodcock, were second in the FEI Children Individual Test with a score of 79.532% and Reserve Champions with an overall score of 79.728%. Korey Denny and Hemingway HW test 77.523% finished third in the FEI Children Individual Test with an overall score of 76.549%.
From the Mixed Zone:
Tell us about your tests.
Denny: “Going in the ring he was a little frisky. His head was up a little bit, but we got through it. Our test had a couple bobbles, but yeah, we got through it. He was good.
Woodcock: “It was pretty good. He was tired. Sundays are our day off, so he wasn't super enthused about doing everything I asked him to. But I rode through it and I was really happy that he stuck with me for the test.”
Tell us about your horses.
Vavrick: “I just bought my horse Dante in May, so that's four months and lots of training. My trainer, Laurie [Moore], all through the season, and my parents just helping me every step and I couldn’t have done it without my whole team.
“He's pretty sweet. He is kind of funny sometimes. He's pretty quiet though and keeps to himself. But he loves his outside time and grass and all the horse things.”
Denny: “I started riding ‘Ollie’ in December. My sister actually was riding him before and she won the 14-18 dressage seat equitation on him. Then I took him over, so I've been riding him for seven months now.
“He's definitely a cuddle bug in his stall. He can get a little amped up sometimes, but he's pretty quiet most of the time.
“[My sister’s] been training me most of the way and my mom.”
Woodcock: “I got ‘Safari’ two years ago. He's a little bit of a pistol. He’s funny in the barn. He is either really happy or really mad at everybody. It's hard to sometimes to go in there when he's pinning his ears and I'm like, ‘Can we work together, please?’ But he is a really good boy.”
Watch the U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions on demand on USEF Network.
