US Dressage rider and Olympian Lisa Wilcox and Horses Unlimited’s Pikko Del Cerro HU reached a new plateau in their partnership which began in September 2010, when Florida-based Mikayla Gundersen who is Danish passed on the ride to Wilcox so they can compete for the USA with the National Championships and Pan American Games in mind. Under Gunderson, Pikko Del Cerro HU won the 2008 Markel/USEF Young Horse Six-Year-Old Championships. For Wilcox, the Florida-based trainer who spent several years in Europe training and competing for the Gestuet Vorwerk home of her current mount’s grandfather Rohdiamant said of ‘Cerro” “I feel like I’ve known him all my life.”

Photo:  Lisa Wilcox and Pikko Del Cerro HU, 2011. (Photo Credit: bobtarr.com)

Lisa Wilcox and Pikko Del Cerro HU, 2011. (Photo Credit: bobtarr.com)

At the Kentucky Dressage Association CDI* held at the Kentucky Horse Park they scored a personal best topping a large class of 15 in the Intermediaire 1 with a whopping 76.624% under the scrutiny of a tough panel of judges: Joan McCartney, Lois Yukins, and Lelo Fore.Wilcox and “Cerro” were in good company with the top four horse and rider combination finishing in the 70’s showing the increasing depth of American dressage not only in Florida but throughout the country. Tom Noone and Fred Astair traveled to the home of the 2010 Alltech/FEI World Equestrian Games to continue his campaign placing second with a 72.85, and Markel/USEF Young Horse graduates Tami Batts and Ranko, from Greensboro, North Carolina with a 72.105 and Texan Claire Darnell and Calimar with a 71.666. Wilcox who continues to work with her long-time trainer Ernst Hoyos who visited frequently from Germany sticks with the training program she learned from her years at Gestuet Vorwerk. “Basically, consistency is the key,” explained Wilcox, “therefore the horse gains understanding and trust! We truly enjoy our work together!”

Lisa Wilcox and Rohdiamant at Aachen in 2000.

With the successful weekend under her belt, Wilcox and “Cerro” have returned to Florida to compete locally and prepare for the Developing Horse Championships in August at the Lamplight Equestrian center in Wayne, Illinois with their sights on the Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF National Championships in September the selection trials for the Pan American Games.

Wilcox was thrilled with her weekend in Lexington, Kentucky and had praise for the show and management. “I very much enjoyed my first experience at the Kentucky show. The organization is extremely friendly and accomodating!! Although the weather was rainy they made an effort to change arenas to make the situation acceptable for both horse and rider!”

For photos from the Kentucky Dressage Association CDI visit BobTarr.com, and Pikko del Cerro, with Mikala Munter Gundersen in the Saddle, is Crowned 2009 Six-Year-Old Champion in USEF/Markel Young Horse Championships