The 2025 U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions continued today at HITS Chicago Lamplight Equestrian Center with the conclusion of two national championships and competitive classes across several divisions with the Markel/USEF Young and Developing Horse Championship for 7-Year-Olds wrapped up.

Photo – Katie Duerrhammer & Rosebank VH, winners of the Markel/USEF Young Horse Championship for 7-Year-Olds (©Leslie Potter/US Equestrian)

Combinations in the Markel/USEF Young and Developing Horse Championships for 5- and 6-Year-Olds, and the Developing Grand Prix Championship continued their quests for national titles.

Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage National Championship for 7-Year-Olds

The entries in the Markel/USEF 7-Year-Old division completed their second of two tests on Friday. The FEI 7-Year-Old Final Test contributes 60% of the overall score with the remaining 40% coming from Thursday’s FEI 7-Year-Old Preliminary Test.

With wins in both tests, Rosebank VH (Revolution x Darling II VH), a 2018 Swedish Warmblood stallion owned by Kylee Lourie and ridden by Katie Duerrhammer (Greenwood Village, Colo.), secured the overall championship. The judging panel gave the young chestnut horse high marks across the board, including a score of 10 for his trot, for a total score of 82.815%.

“Usually his canter is the higher scoring gait,” said Duerrhammer. “We’ve been tweaking some things over the summer with his trot, and I feel like he’s gotten a lot stronger. What I think really sells him in all of his gaits is his overwhelming harmony. Hearing a 10 and hearing that he’s improved that much and that everybody is seeing him for the potential I know he has, is really exciting.”

Duerrhammer has worked with “Ross” since owner Kylee Lourie purchased him during the summer of his 5-year-old year, and it’s been a rewarding partnership.

Character

“He is just the most incredible character you could possibly want. He just tries his heart out all day long,” she said. “I haven’t ridden the preliminary test very much, and so I was a little nervous going into it because he’s a younger horse, and usually they like to really know where they’re going. But he stuck with me the whole time and tried really hard and had no mistakes. What I’ve been learning about him is he really wants to do the right thing. He’s shown me, especially this year, that if I do my job right and ride him like our plan and don’t override and get in his way, he’ll do the rest. That was exactly what my coach Adrienne Lyle and I planned going in today, was to keep it the same and turn up the heat on the trot a little bit, and then just let him do his job at the canter. He took me the whole way through, and it’s one of those rides I’ll remember for a long time.”

Sensible and Sensitive

Second place in the final test went to Saskatoon OMF (San Amour I x Dolce Nera), a 2018 Hanoverian gelding owned by Cecelia Stewart and ridden by Christopher Hickey (Wellington, Fla.). Their final test score of 78.200% moved them into reserve champion position overall. This year marked the third consecutive Festival of Champions outing for Saskatoon and Hickey, and the talented young gelding has made notable progress in that time.

“He’s always a very good, well-behaved horse at home, but we have a very quiet, private place,” Hickey explained. “In the beginning, he’d get to horse shows and he’d become undone and was very overstimulated, which took me by surprise because he was such a good boy at home. Each year that he’s been here, he’s been more and more calm and relaxed. He is quite a sensitive horse, and sometimes that hurt us in the early years, but now we can appreciate that sensitivity—he can be sensible and trained and still sensitive. It’s special for me and Cece, his owner. We bought him when he was a foal, so we’re very excited and proud to have him from foal though FEI levels.”

Hickey and Saskatoon are part of the USEF Dressage Emerging Young Horse Program, which he says has been an asset to his development.

“Through that I get help from Christine Traurig, and it’s really great to have her in my corner as well,” he said. “I’ve had wonderful lessons with her this week, and I get virtual lessons with her at home as well. I’m also very thankful to Markel, who have sponsored [the young and developing horse national championships] for so many years.”

The Stars Align

With two third-place finishes in the 7-year-old tests, Velantis N, a 2018 U.S.-bred Hanoverian stallion owned by Christiane Noelting and ridden by Christian Hartung (Vacaville, Calif.) secured the third spot overall. This year was the first time the stars aligned for Velantis and Hartung to make the trip to Festival of Champions.

“This was his first trip away from the West Coast,” said Hartung. “I was a little bit worried about the humidity and how he’d cope with that, but he was perfectly fine.”

The judges awarded high marks to Velantis for all three gaits in both tests, including a 9.0 for his walk in the preliminary.

“I really appreciated that [the judges] enjoyed his canter,” said Hartung. “The walk was a lot better than I’ve had in the past. He really started loosening up here on the second one.”

“I was there when he was born; we’ve had him since he was a baby and I have been riding him since he was three, so it’s just amazing to see the journey that he has taken,” he added. “He’s really relaxed—that’s just his character. He’s not fazed by this environment. It’s just amazing to see.”

Results

Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage National Championship for 6-Year-Olds

In the Markel/USEF Young Horse Championship – 6-Year-Old Preliminary Test, Petra Warlimont rode Deambulo PWD to an impressive win with an 88.200%. Charell Garcia and MW Mastermind placed second with 85.800%, while Mary Bahniuk Lauritsen and Oliver R Tambo SV earned third with 82.600%.

The FEI Intermediate II (Developing Grand Prix) class featured strong performances, with Quinn Iverson and Gremlin 41 taking first place on a score of 70.098%. Sarah Mason-Beaty and Kanjer TC finished close behind in second with 68.775%, and Kelly Layne and Living Diamond secured third with 68.431%.

View full results from all of the Friday classes here.

2025 U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions Live Stream

The 2025 U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions is streaming live on USEF Network, brought to you by Adequan®. US Equestrian fans, subscribers, and members can access the live stream, and subscribers and members will be able to watch replays on demand. Learn more here.

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