Endel Ots (Wellington, FL.) and Lucky Strike maintained their lead for the USEF Intermediaire I Dressage National Championship. He and the nine-year-old Hanoverian gelding owned by Max Ots earned a score of 73.853 percent in the FEI Intermediate I Test. “I was very happy with this test. It was clean, and he was very with me today. I was really happy with his effort. After [everything] that happened [before the Pan American Games], I have been doing [light work] to make sure he feels the best he can. That is a goal all three days, just to have clean, nice rides. He did that yesterday and did that today, so I was very happy with him.”

Photo – Endel Ots and Lucky Strike (SusanJStickle.com)

Rebecca Rigdon (Cardiff By The Sea, CA.) and La Fariah, her and David Blake’s 10-year-old Rhinelander mare, placed second in the test with a score of 72.941 percent, and Anna Marek (Williston, FL.) and Einstein JP, her 10-year-old KWPN gelding, followed with a score of 71.008 percent. The championship will be declared on Saturday following the FEI Intermediate I Freestyle Test.

Complete division results

On today’s test:
Marek: “I was very happy with Einstein because he and Clair are completely different rides. Wind isn’t his friend, normally, and he was a good boy in [the ring]. I added a bit more power today…[there was] more expression in the trot and [we were] more forward in the mediums.”

Rigdon: “She felt really good for not having competed since February. I was super happy with her. She got a little hot, percolated a little bit, but I was able to get her back down and go on with the test. She’s better in the I-1 than the Prix St. Georges because it keeps her more busy.”

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