On the second of two gala evenings at the 2024 US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan®, Saturday’s most prestigious class, the Open Grand Prix Freestyle, was led from the front. Nora Batchelder was first to go, and the 74.208% she laid down with her 16-year-old international partner Faro SQF proved too high a bar for her rivals to scale. The 2024 US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan® at the Kentucky Horse Park run through Sunday, November 10.

Photo – From first draw, Nora Batchelder and the 16-year-old Faro SQF nailed the Open Grand Prix Freestyle Championship with 74.208%, in what may be their last test together. (SusanJStickle.com)

Batchelder also scooped the Jazzman Perpetual Trophy for her win, presented by Donna Richardson. The reserve champion’s sash went to Kristin Wasemiller-Knutson and Vashti, her own 15-year-old Nico mare, who was bred by Sherry Koella, for their energetic 73.183% test. Heather McCarthy finished third with 71.442% aboard Sandi Chohany’s 13-year-old Ampere mare, Au Revoir.

Watch Nora Batchelder and Faro SQF’s technically complex winning Open Grand Prix Freestyle Championship test. Video by USEF Network/ClipMyHorse.tv.

Batchelder, from Williston, FL, said, “His test had a lot of energy, and he feels like he really wants to do it. For a 16-year-old grand prix horse, it feels good that he’s still so into it. He’s been with me since he was nine — we did the Pan American Games together — and my first Finals ever was with him at Prix St. Georges, so it’s fun to win at this level now. I love him so much; he’s my heart horse.”

Competition concludes on Sunday, November 10, with the final 10 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 of all the action from the Alltech Arena on USEF Network. To learn more about the US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan® and read daily news, visit the official US Dressage Finals event website. Start times and results can be found on www.horseshowoffice.com.