The USEF Dressage Seat Medal Final is a unique experience for youth athletes to compete in a two-phase competition held in one day. Competitors are evaluated on their equitation and use of aids during the rail work phase, which is completed as a group, and in an individual workout composed of certain dressage movements.

First-time medal competitor Alex Garvey (Dallas, Texas) riding Unscripted, a 2005 Dutch Warmblood pony gelding owned by Dressage4Kids, Inc., took home the gold medal after scoring an 87 from the judges. Autumn Vavrick (Oxford, Mich.) won the silver medal riding Dante, her own and Karen Vavrick’s 2007 Hanoverian gelding. Claire Tucker rode away with the bronze riding her own Custom Made, a 2012 Danish Warmblood gelding.

Class Results

Final Results:

1. Alexandra Garvey and Unscripted
2. Autumn Vavrick and Dante
3. Claire Tucker and Custom Made

From the Mixed Zone:

What do you like about showing in the medal class?

Alex Garvey: I think it’s awesome. You get to meet new people, and it’s great to see the younger group and the older group.

Autumn Vavrick: I really like it because you’re around other kids your age and it’s really cool to see the top of the sport. I think we have a really promising future for all these young kids, and I think it’s cool to see everyone work their way up.

Claire Tucker: I love it because it’s anyone’s game. It doesn’t matter as much about the horse. It’s all about you, and anything can happen.

Tell us about the horse that you rode.

AG: The pony I rode was Unscripted, a Dutch pony. I was super proud of him. He’s super good. I want to thank Lendon Gray. I leased him from her donation program.

AV: I rode my horse Dante today. He’s a Hanoverian warmblood. He was very good. I’m very proud of him.

CT: The horse I rode today is my horse, Custom Made. He’s a Danish Warmblood, and I couldn’t be more proud of him.

The rail work is done as a group, which is unusual in dressage. Was that a challenge for you or your horse?

AV: A little bit. It was pretty busy, but I think everyone did a really good job of circling and staying away from each other.

AG: It was just a lot of people. It was kind of cool also, but it was a lot.

CT: It was kind of tough because my horse is a bit bigger than most of the other horses, so it’s definitely hard to keep good space

Full Schedule and Results

2023 U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions Livestream

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