Heather Mason’s Jazz gelding Manuskript SCF stepped out of the shadow of his stablemate, Shmoky Quartz, to claim the Fourth Level Open Championship with 73.704% at the US Dressage Finals. He was one of only two six-year-old horses in the class, and all three judges placed him first, one even awarding a nine for the rein-back.

Photo – Heather Mason’s Manuskript SCF stepped out of the shadow of his stablemate and into the winner’s circle in the Fourth Level Open Championship. (SusanJStickle.com)

Mason’s magic percolated through her pupils, with senior pharmaceutical company manager Alexandra Krossen dominating the Second Level Freestyle AA Championship on her own seven-year-old Looker SCF, a horse whom she bred as a custom foal.

Krossen rode Looker’s sire Zulft SCF, by Ulft, but when they lost him to colic, she decided to use some of his frozen semen that had been collected before he was gelded. Looker, who is out of a Goodtimes mare, is the resulting foal.

Special One

Alexandra Krossen dominated the Second Level Freestyle AA Championship on her own seven-year-old Looker SCF. (Photo: SusanJStickle.com)

“This horse is definitely a special one for me,” said Krossen, who scored 69.158%. “He grew up at Heather’s. I broke him and did everything with him. He’s 17 hands and gangly and has been slow to mature physically and mentally. He has a lot of movement that we don’t always know how to control; it’s been a challenge, and Heather’s helped me a ton.

“I was so proud of him because he’s been getting consistently better with outside distractions, but I was still concerned about going into the atmosphere of the Alltech Arena and how he would handle it being alone. He exceeded my expectations,” added Krossen, who rides in the evenings after work.

“He’s been a challenge to train and has a naughty streak, so we’ve been keeping things fresh and forward,” she explained. “We keep it fun for him and make sure he’s happy in his work. We do some cross-training. I jump him over little jumps, and he really likes cantering and trotting round the field. We mix it up so he doesn’t get stale. I really hope that eventually he will be a Grand Prix horse.”

Competition concludes on Sunday, November 12, with the final nine championship titles to be decided, from Training Level to Prix St. Georges. 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.