On their fourth visit to Finals, Meghan Richards and Kingstown (El Capone x United) finally bagged a championship sash, logging 68.284% to top the Intermediate I AA at this year’s US Dressage Finals. Richards has owned the eight-year-old KWPN gelding since buying him from a video when he was three and has produced him herself.

Photo – On their fourth visit to Finals, Meghan Richards and Kingstown won the Intermediate I AA. (Susan J Stickle)

We’ve been hoping for a win at some point, so I’m very happy. This has been a great year for him,” said Richards, who runs her own boarding facility, Magnolia Creek Stables in Pittstown, NJ. “He was a little spooky in some spots, but it was mostly in the corners and didn’t hurt us too much. We had a bunch of goals for the year and won a bunch of things. This is his second year of doing small tour, and he’s a lot more solid this year.”

Accidental Import

Richards was a hunter/jumper rider for 25 years, then made the switch to dressage after she “accidentally imported a dressage horse.”

“He was supposed to be a hunter, but when he arrived, I realized he really wasn’t,” she related. “He wasn’t the horse for me, but I really enjoyed the six months of dressage I did with him and decided to switch.

“My trainer Lauren Chumley asked around, and someone had King sitting in a field,” she explained. “It was a lucky purchase for me, and I’ve shown him since he was four; we came to Finals at Training Level. He’s done 15 Regional Championships and was champion or reserve in all but one. There’s a lot of quality there, and I’m a very lucky girl to have him.”

Kingstown has tested Richards’ fortitude though as he is very spooky at home.

Teleporting

“He’s not a normal amateur horse, and he’s very spooky sometimes,” added Richards, who trailered the horse the 11-hour journey from New Jersey herself. “He’s trainable, but I have to manage his spookiness. Sometimes he likes to teleport, and sometimes spinning is involved. We competed at Dressage at Devon a couple of months ago and the first day we couldn’t get round the ring, but the second day we won. He just needs a moment sometimes.”

Richards is hoping Kingstown can be the horse to carry her to her USDF Gold Medal next year.

Further coverage on Friday’s afternoon and evening classes — including the Grand Prix Open Championship and the Intermediate I Open Championship — will follow on Saturday.

Competition resumes on Saturday with 13 championship titles up for grabs from First Level to the evening’s Open Grand Prix Freestyle. Follow the action via the USDF Facebook page and the US Dressage Finals website, plus live online streaming on the USEF Network. To learn more about the US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan®, view results and start lists, and read daily news releases, visit the official US Dressage Finals event website.