Nine combinations rode their first test in the Horseware Ireland/USEF Young Rider Dressage National Championship. After standing on the podium three times at the NAYC, Ellanor Boehning and Sir Junior took top honors in the FEI Young Rider Team Test. Boehning (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) and her and Ann Boehning’s 2011 Hanoverian gelding had a lovely test to score 70.000%.

Photo – Ellanor Boehning and Sir Junior (SusanJStickle.com)

“He used to be pretty timid with people, but he has gotten to the point where he is becoming the snuggle bug of the barn,” Boehning said of Sir Junior. “He is super gentle now. Before, he would kind of hide in the back of the stall and now we are seeing his real personality come out. He comes to the front [of the stall], he nickers when you walk in. He is just such a good boy.”

Watch the full class.

Averi Allen (Pleasant Hill, Mo.) and Superman, Jonni Allen’s 2013 Hanoverian gelding, were second with a score of 69.804%. Sydney Lipar (The Woodlands, Texas) and Zerragamo, Denise Lipar’s 2012 Westphalian gelding, finished third with a score of 69.118%.

Results

From the Mixed Zone:

Tell us about your test.

Boehning: “In the warmup today, I just tired to power him up a little bit. At NAYC, which we just came from and we were triple podium, so now I feel like we have kind of proven ourselves a bit. I can really push him going into the ring now and see what other gears he has. So, through our test, I really just pushed him forward, which gave us a lot more fluidity and balance in his trot work and canter work and I was super happy. Overall, I think we just took more risk and it is nice to see that it paid off.”

Have you been to Festival of Champions before?

Boehning: “In 2018, we were the Pony Rider Champion with my pony Kabam. Even before that in 2017 I did the Children division with Kabam. Last year, I was here for dressage seat equitation, and then this year for Young Riders.”

The Horseware Ireland/USEF Young Rider Dressage National Championship ends on Sunday with the FEI Young Rider Individual Test.

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

Complete Schedule
Live Scoring