The U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions began Wednesday at the Lamplight Equestrian Center. Combinations from three divisions headed down centerline in the Kay Arena for the first test of their respective divisions. Early leaders in the USEF Intermediaire I Dressage National Championship, USEF Young Adult ‘Brentina Cup’ Dressage National Championship, and USEF Young Rider Dressage National Championship began their quest for a title, while five other divisions will begin on Thursday.USEF Intermediaire I Dressage National Championship.

Endel Ots and Lucky Strike (SusanJStickle.com)

Endel Ots (Wellington, Fla.) and Lucky Strike took the early lead in the USEF Intermediaire I Dressage National Championship following the FEI Prix St. Georges Test. He and the nine-year-old Hanoverian gelding owned by Max Ots earned a score of 74.500 percent.

“The trot work was a really good highlight, and the canter pirouettes were really quite exceptional for him today, said Ots. “It was a nice feeling, and I was just really happy with my horse.”

Sara Hassler (Chesapeake, Md.) and Harmony’s Boitano, Leslie Malone’s 13-year-old KWPN gelding, placed second with a score of 71.206 percent, while Kristina Harrison (Burbank, Calif.) and Finley, her nine-year-old gelding, rounded out the top three with a score of 70.294 percent.

The FEI Prix St. Georges Test counts 40 percent towards their overall score. They will complete the FEI Intermediate I Test on Thursday, which will count 45 percent. The division will conclude on Saturday with the FEI Intermediate I Freestyle Test, counting 15 percent.

Complete division results:
Ots: “I love competing, and he really likes competing, and it’s so much fun. I lived here for almost a decade, so there’s a lot of old memories and a lot of old friends. It’s been really fun to go through the [US Equestrian] Young Horse [Dressage] Program with him and [U.S. Dressage Young Horse Coach] Christine Traurig and then now starting to work with [U.S. Dressage Development Coach] Charlotte Bredahl in the [U.S. Dressage Development Program]. I love it. It’s been a wonderful journey.”

On plans for the FEI Intermediate I Test:
Ots: “I haven’t been working on everything full force or full power because I really just wanted to [go in] and [complete] nice clean rides, so I’ll probably continue with that same process and that same plan. He was very good in the warm up and had a lot of energy.”

On what went well in the test:
Anna Marek: “My strong highlight was how relaxed my horse was because he’s a pretty spooky horse, and so I’ve had some problems with flowerpots and clinking plates and [such]. He was really good. He had one little spook, but other than that, he was very relaxed. [I] probably [had] the best walk that I’ve been able to get in the ring in terms of the relaxation.”

Harrison: “Finley was very excited and very alert in the arena, and my goal was to just have a calm, smooth ride. Barnaby Wilde GCF was on his game. He’s my little engine that could. I was most proud of Barnaby Wilde’s GCF’s accuracy. He was just on my aids. Finley, I was happy with everything. He was super.”

Hassler: “We’re a really new pair. We’ve only started doing our first CDIs this year in Florida, and this was by far our cleanest test yet. I feel like he was just so with me; it was one of the best feelings I’ve ever had on him. I’ve never been [to Lamplight] before, so walking [into] that stadium, he and I both were kind of like, ‘Oh, we’re here.’ I think just that confidence and pride going into it made it really, really special. I loved every single second of it.”

Rebecca Rigdon: “In general, I was super happy with her because she sustained a bone bruise this past winter, and she had not shown since February, so I was very happy. She’s a very hot mare, and for not having shown in that long, I could not have been more happy with her … She’s really turning a corner in her training, and that when she starts to get a little too amped up, I now have the training tools to bring her back down and ride the test. I was absolutely thrilled with that.”

On their partnership:
Marek: “I started riding him when he was four, and it’s been an up and down road with us because he’s taught me a lot. He’s very spooky, and he’s very sensitive. He always has been. I’ve worked with my coach Anne Gribbons since he was really young. She’s helped me a lot, and I’ve tried to stay patient with him, let him grow up, and let him mature because he takes a little bit more time than the other [horses] I ride.”

Complete Schedule

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