The Markel/USEF Young Horse Four-Year-Old Dressage National Championship division closed out today with 15 exceptional youngsters having a second go at the USEF Four-Year-Old Test in front of the four-judge panel.

Photo: Alice Tarjan and Gjenganger. (Photo Credit: copyright – SusanjStickel.com)

Alice Tarjan (Oldwick, N.J.) rode her own Danish Warmblood mare, Gjenganger, to a score of 8.54, which was enough for second place in today’s class and a first-place finish overall for the division. The striking chestnut mare is by Grand Galaxy Win, and the judges believe she has strong potential for the future.

“I think this horse has got three solid gaits, and she’s quite rideable,” said Tarjan. “I think she’s a really good horse for the future.

“I think she was a little bit tired, so she got a little bit curly and the judges noticed that,” Tarjan explained. “I’m really happy; she still went in and did her job. That’s all you can ask of them.”

Tarjan is also the owner and breeder of the winner of Saturday’s USEF Four-Year-Old Test, Glory Day. Glory Day is also by Grand Galaxy Win, and was ridden to an 8.84 by Marcus Orlob. He finished the division as Reserve National Champion.

“He was more relaxed today. That made it much easier for me to just let him cruise around,” said Orlob. “The quality is amazing. He’s just sometimes a little bit spooky. He’s green. But he was very relaxed today and let me do my job much easier, so I was very happy with him.”

From the Mixed Zone:

Tell us about your test today.

Alice Tarjan: “I don’t think it was quite as good as the other day. I think she was a little bit tired…[but]I’m really happy. She still went in and did her job. That’s all you can ask for them. It’s a long week for them. She was a little bit tired. She’s four. You don’t have a lot of strength to go on. It’s a matter of making sure they’re not too wild and then not too tired. Maybe I went a little bit, a tiny bit too tired. She still went in, she did her job.”

Can you talk about how you’re feeling about owning first and second place?

Tarjan: “Yeah, I’m thrilled! It was a tough morning. It’s been a busy morning. But I’m really happy. I’m really happy for Marcus with Glory. He’s doing a great job with that horse, so that’s exciting.”

How did you decide to send him to Marcus?

Tarjan: “We brought the horse over last year. It’s a stallion. He was quite good for a while and then he started getting a little feisty and he was more than I wanted to ride, so I got Marcus to do it for me and he’s been doing it ever since. He’s been doing a good job.”

How did that partnership develop?

Tarjan: “He helps me with the other horses too. He’s been helping me with the horses for a while. It’s good. I train with Lars when I’m in Florida but then I kind of need some continuity with the training when we go to New Jersey, so he’s close in New Jersey so he comes over a couple days a week and helps me, and then he’s down in Florida, too. So that’s good for me.

Talk about Glory Day, watching him from the sidelines.

Tarjan: “I love watching the horse. I think it’s a really dynamic horse. He’s got three good gaits and he can really work for you. He’s just gotten a little bit too strong for me. I would say I admire the horse and I really enjoy watching them work, but it’s the first time I’ve ever really played owner, so it’s kind of fun to watch him go and succeed. It’s nice to be able to watch the horse go and compete and not have the stress of doing it myself. So I can see why people like to play owner!”

Were you able to watch his ride today? Did you have any thoughts about it?

Tarjan: “Yes, we were able to watch. The horse is a young stallion and sometimes the hormones get the best of him, so we had low expectations. We were just hoping to bring him for the experience and get him through the test. We know the horse has good quality, but just trying to get him in the routine of working all the time has sort of been the goal . And the other thing is, like I said last time, this is probably the best four-year-old class I’ve ever seen. There’s gotta be at least six horses in there that could win on any day. The horses are fantastic quality. Every single one you’re like, ‘Oh, I’d bring that one home!’ It’s really, really fun. That’s been fun.”

What is in the future once he grows up? Do you plan on taking over the ride of Glory Day?

Tarjan: “I like training my horses and developing a relationship with them and my guess is that by the time I feel comfortable riding that horse it’s going to be quite trained and I have no interest in taking somebody else’s training. No offense to Marcus whatsoever! He’s doing a brilliant job. I like the process myself. That’s why I do it. If he trains the horse, good for him, then he can do whatever he wants with it. It makes no difference to me.”

Grand Galaxy Win sired both of the top two horses in this class. Tell us a little bit about Grand Galaxy and the qualities he passed on to these two horses.

Tarjan: “Yeah, I think that both of them have three quality gaits. They have good rideability and they have good mechanics for the upper level work. I think both of them are solid packages. They’re not lacking anything really. I think Grand Galaxy makes a lot of good horses. He’s younger so the horses are just kind of starting to get out there and get under saddle. I think maybe a lot of people were hesitant to breed to him because of his breeding. Personally I’m a huge Apache fan. I love the breeding which is why I breed to him. I think he’s proving now that he can put quality on the ground and they’re ridable and able to do the upper levels, maybe.”

Anything else?

Tarjan: “It takes a village to do this. I brought five horses and Glory. My husband is here and the girls back at the barn, and my friend Lauren [Chumley] has been helping me out and running every which way to keep me on a horse. It’s been really busy. And Desi Olland helps me out. We’ve been keeping it running. Without them I couldn’t do this. You just see the tip of the iceberg. You don’t see the chaos back there!”

Tell us about your ride today.

Marcus Orlob: “He was more relaxed today that made it much easier for me to just let him cruise around. The quality is amazing, so he’s just sometimes a little bit spooky. He’s green. But he was very relaxed today and let me do my job much easier, so I was very happy with him.”

How does it feel riding Alice’s horse to a reserve championship?

Orlob: “It’s very nice. To be honest, she’s tough to beat. I guess she’s the king of the young horses here. To be honest, it’s an honor to ride this horse, so I think I got close but it’s a nice feeling to have a good horse be behind Alice is OK. She can win. Ladies first.”

Talk about your third-place horse as well.

Orlob: “I’m also very happy with him because he is more green to me than Glory Day. I’ve had him since the end of April but I was stuck in Florida and he went to New Jersey because I thought I would go home much earlier, but the COVID changed plans. So we still have to get to know each other, but, overall, I’m super happy and I never thought I would be in the top three with him here. I think he would be also in the future a very great horse. He’s just a little bit more green than Glory.”

Alice says Glory Day is pretty strong and quite a character. Can you tell us what it’s been like getting to know him and develop him?

Orlob: “To be honest, it’s a little bit like I would say we always call him Macho Boy in the barn. He’s just a young stallion. Pretty wild and playful. I don’t get mad at him. I let him play. I let him do his stuff, and then he settles quite nicely. Everything at first is a little bit of drama. ‘Oh, there’s a flower box.’ He just uses it as an excuse to play. Once he’s over this, then it’s really all easy for him.”

Have you felt like his confidence in you has been a contributing factor in him succeeding here today?

Orlob: “I know him now pretty good and I know when he wants to spook now and what I can do to protect this from happening. I think we have a good relationship now.”

How long have you had the ride on him?

Orlob: “I had him for a while in November. And then he was fine then he went down to Florida with Alice and then I believe I started riding him like in January again.”

Alice is on record as being very happy with your work with this horse. Do you have any aspirations for him?

Orlob: “That’s a question for the owner. I pray that I can keep the ride, but who knows. That’s up to the owner. I love riding this horse, always. He’s beautiful, he’s fun. Everything you want in a horse, I believe. He’s totally my taste.”

Markel/USEF Young Horse Five-Year-Old Dressage National Championships

In the Five-Year-Old Division of the Markel/USEF Young Horse Dressage National Championships, it was Cristina Danguillecourt and Yeguada Des Ymas S.L.’s black Rhinelander gelding, Easy Di Fonteabeti Ymas, taking the National Champion title with rider Pablo Gomez Molina (Wellington, Fla.)

“It’s the first big trip that we’ve done with him, and today I felt him a little bit tired,” said Gomez Molina. “The ride was a little bit more trying to keep him together and trying to get a lot of power. But even if he felt tired, he was with me all the time and I’m really proud of him because he was a pretty good boy today.”

Alice Tarjan (Oldwick, N.J.) added another success to her long list of Festival of Champions accomplishments, riding her own Summersby II, an Oldenburg mare, to the Reserve National Championship title in the division.

“I think this is a great show to bring the young horses to,” said Tarjan. “I think the championships are fantastic. It’s really good for the young horses to get the experience to show come out here and show in this type of environment. We really try to get them qualified to bring them out here for that aspect; to hope that when they become grand prix horses they’ll already have a lot of experience under their belt and seeing the bigger venues won’t be such an issue.

From the Mixed Zone:

How does it feel to come out of here with a big win today?

Pablo Gomez Molina: “I’m really proud because I think it’s the work of all the year with the horse and I think it’s a big thing for Yeguada Des Ymas. I’m really grateful to them because they’re giving me the opportunity to compete to go to shows and I think all of us should be proud.”

Tell us about your experience here.

Gomez Molina: “This is my third year that I’ve come. I’m really happy because every year I’ve been doing a little bit better. Now to top it with a win is really nice. I still have one more day to go. Tomorrow I have a six-year-old horse. But I’m really happy. I really enjoy coming here. This year was a little bit weird because of the situation. But I really enjoyed to come here. I think it’s a really, really good show. The organization does an amazing job too. I hope to keep coming next year.”

What is your goal for Easy going into next year?

Gomez Molina: “We want to just keep improving at the end of the day, and then the six-year-old will be our goal for the next year. The problem and the advantage is this season in Florida comes a little bit early, so when you come to the six-year-old it’s a little more difficult so we will see how he is. But our goal is to do the six-year-old, and then come here and maybe try to go to Europe too.”

Tell us about your test today:

Alice Tarjan: It was a little better than the first test. She settled pretty well. I think the connection is pretty solid. I’m really pleased.”

What’s next for you with her?

Tarjan: She’ll get a couple of weeks off and then we’ll kind of start training for the six-year-old test and start the changes and a little piaffe and stuff like that. She won’t show anymore for this year. Six year olds next year, I think.”

Competition concludes Sunday with classes in the Young & Developing Horse Arena beginning at 8 a.m. CDT and the Grand Prix Arena at 8:30 a.m. CDT.

Keep up with the 2020 U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions on USA Dressage Facebook and Instagram featuring Instagram Stories. Use #USADressage and #FestivalofChampions.