The youngest equine competitors of the show made their debut today with the first of two USEF Four-Year-Old Horse Tests. In a class of 15 excellent horses, one youngster stood out. Alice Tarjan’s (Oldwick, N.J.) homebred Danish Warmblood mare, Gjenganger, earned high praise from the judges. Scoring an impressive 9.5 for her quality canter and finishing with a score of 8.84, Gjenganger and Tarjan won with a comfortable lead in the class.

Photo – Alice Tarjan and Gjenganger (SusanJStickle.com)

“She’s pretty reliable now for the four-year-old test,” said Tarjan. “She has a solid trot and a solid canter and I think a decent enough walk to pull it off. The warm up was a little bit of a rodeo, which it always is with the four-year-olds, but she went into the test really relaxed and did her job, so that was great.”

Marcus Orlob (Annandale, N.J.) took home second and third place with his two mounts. Jeanette Pinard’s Danish gelding, Flambeau earned second place with an 8.22 and Orlob’s own Glory Day, a Danish stallion, took third place with an 8.08.

From the Mixed Zone:

Tell us a little bit about your horse.

Tarjan: “I bred her and so we did the Materiale last year and she did one test this year because of course there are no shows. So being here not expecting much since she hasn’t been anywhere, I’m really happy.”

Is there anything in particular you’re working on ahead of the next test?

Tarjan: “There are little tiny things, but, for the most part, if we do the same thing on Saturday I’ll be happy. I think we’ll just hack around tomorrow, walk, and then see what we get Saturday. You have to be careful with the four-year-olds so you don’t run out of energy.”

What were your thoughts with the judge’s comments and the score of 9.5?

Tarjan: “I was definitely not expecting that. I think this is the most competitive four-year-old division I’ve ever seen, actually. There are probably maybe six horses who could probably win on any given day. The depth and the quality has improved so much over the years, especially in the four-year-olds. Every single horse that goes down centerline is like, ‘Wow, that was fantastic!’ So I was not expecting to do terribly well. I figured it would just be a good experience with her, so I’m thrilled.”

Can you talk us through how you chose who you did to breed to?

Tarjan: “I had a Don Schufro mare that I really liked. Her movement was fantastic, but she was a little long and it was a little difficult to get her to sit in the collected work. And she wasn’t hot enough for me—I like them a little hot. And I had an Apache Jazz mare that I adored, and Grand Galaxy, [Gjenganger’s] sire, is also Apache Jazz, so I thought maybe I’d breed to him. I think that’s a good combination. This one’s a little bit more compact than the mother and definitely a little hotter. And she certainly can sit, so it was a good cross I think.”

Has starting her been relatively straightforward?

Tarjan: “Yeah, you know she’s been pretty easy actually. She’s a good girl. She’s not been terribly exciting or out of the box really. She’s pretty straightforward.”

Did you have to alter your plans with her for this year with the competition schedule changing?

Tarjan: “Typically you have to do two qualifiers, which is good because it makes you get them in the ring twice. It was kind of nice not having to show twice. It also meant that the season was compacted into like four weeks. I think we did four qualifiers within two-and-a-half weeks. It was crazy. She only got out once for the qualifier. I don’t think it’s an ideal prep, but obviously she’s doing OK. I don’t like to show a lot anyway, so I kind of liked that we only needed one qualifier, I was all for that, except for it should be good to get them in the ring, but I don’t mind only having to show once.”

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