Martin Kuhn and Ronin Kicks Off First Championship of the Day at US Dressage Finals
Martin Kuhn of New Berlin, IL. (Region 4) and the six-year-old Hanoverian gelding Ronin (Romanov Blue Hor x Something Royal by Sir Donnerhall I, bred in the U.S. by Marcia Boeing) were a tough pair to beat at last year’s US Dressage Finals, winning both the 2018 Training Level Open and First Level Open Freestyle divisions. Their successful partnership has only continued to blossom as they returned to Lexington to cruise to victory in the First Level Open Championship with 77.130%. “He continues to be a real delight to train,” said Kuhn of his mount, who he owns with wife Kathryn Fleming-Kuhn. “He’s probably the most talented horse we’ve had to work with and to bring along. He’s just a pleasure to work with.”

Photo – Martin Kuhn and Ronin (Susan J. Stickle)

However, Kuhn’s proudest moment was not winning the championship title itself, but watching his student Jenna Upchurch of Chesterfield, Mo. (Region 4) claim Reserve honors aboard her own six-year-old Oldenburg gelding Dante Divino (Dante Weltino x Force Majeure by Furst Romancier) with 74.954%. “We’ve competed against each other a couple times, but it’s fun to compete against him and do so well,” Upchurch said of her coach. “There’s nobody I’d rather come in second to.”