Wayne, Ill. – Aug. 27, 2022 – In the Markel arena at Lamplight Equestrian Center, three new national champions were crowned as part of the 2022 USEF/Markel Young & Developing Horse National Championship on Saturday. Top rider for the U.S. Dressage Team Adrienne Lyle had a stellar day with her young talents, earning two back-to-back titles in the Markel/USEF 4-Year-Old and 5-Year-Old Young Horse Dressage National Championships. Olivia LaGoy-Weltz closed out the day with a victory, taking home the Markel/USEF Developing Prix St. Georges Dressage National Championship title on Johnny Be Goode.
Kicking off the day of top competition, the 4-Year-Old horses battled it out in their second test of the week. Lyle rode Furst Dream, a Hanovarian stallion owned by Betsy Juliano LLC, to the win in Saturday’s Markel/USEF 4-Year-Old Young Horse Dressage National Championship, having a firm hold on the lead over both days of tests. The pair earned a 9.52 for their Preliminary Test performance worth 40% overall, and a 9.14 for their Final Test worth 60% overall, giving them a total of 9.292.
Alice Tarjan and Ice Princess, her own Oldenburg mare, were named the reserve champions with a total score of 8.976. Alyssa Doverspike Burkett and For Edition, a Westphalian gelding owned by Doverspike Burkett, David Wightman and Kimberly Pribble, finished with the third place ribbon and a total of 8.604.
In the Markel/USEF 5-Year-Old Young Horse Dressage National Championship, Adrienne Lyle took home her second tricolor ribbon of the week, this time aboard Valor, a Westphalian gelding owned by Kylee Lourie. The partnership held the lead in the division after receiving a Preliminary Test score of 9.26, and returned on Saturday to earn a 9.24 in their Final Test for a total of 9.248.
Tarjan donned the reserve champion cooler once again, this time with Ierland’s Eden, her own Oldenburg mare on a total score of 88.48. Lindsey Holleger took third place with Furstencharmant, an Oldenburg stallion owned by Jennifer Vanover with a total of 8.792.
Closing out the day in the Markel Arena, Olivia LaGoy-Weltz rode Johnny Be Goode, an 8-year-old KWPN gelding owned by Fritz Kundrun, to the championship title of the Markel/USEF Developing Prix St. Georges Dressage National Championship. Johnny Be Goode impressed the judges on the first day of the division, earning a 74.558% in the _ worth 40% of their total score. In their _ test Saturday afternoon, their consistency earned them a score of 72.333% and another blue ribbon, as well as the top spot on the leaderboard with a combined total of 73.223%.
Martin Kuhn and Ronin, a 9-year-old Hanovieran gelding owned by Kathryn Fleming-Kuhn, earned the reserve championship honors with a combined total score of 71.211%. Jackie Ahl-Eckhaus on Jett MVS, her own 8-year-old KWPN gelding, finished in third with a total of 68.642%.
The U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions will resume Saturday, Aug. 27, with the FEI 6-Year-Old Final Test at 8 a.m.
RESULTS
Markel/USEF 4-Year-Old Young Horse Dressage National Championship
Place / Rider / Horse / Owner / Total Score
1. Adrienne Lyle / Furst Dream / Betsy Juliano LLC /
2. Alice Tarjan / Ice Princess / Alice Tarjan /
3. Martin Kuhn / Vholt / Kathryn Fleming-Kuhn /
4. Michael Bragdell / Sir Real / Leslie Waterman /
5. Alyssa Doverspike Burkett / For Edition / Alyssa Doverspike Burkett, Kimberly Pribble & David Wightman /
6. Dawn White-O’Connor / Nobility LH / Tiggy Gates /
Markel/USEF 5-Year-Old Young Horse Dressage National Championship
1. Adrienne Lyle / Valor / Kylee Lourie / 92.48
2. Alice Tarjan / Ierland’s Eden / Alice Tarjan / 88.480
3. Lindsey Holleger / Furstencharmant / Jennifer Vanover / 87.920
4. Rebecca Rigdon / MSJ For VIPs / Lauren Fisher / 86.680
5. Marcus Orlob / Maximus / Alice Tarjan / 82.800
6. Madeleine Bendfeldt / Fontenay / Cesar Parra & Gina Raful / 81.840
Markel/USEF Developing Prix St. Georges Horse Dressage National Championship
1. Olivia LaGoy-Weltz / Johnny Be Goode / Fritz Kundrun / 73.223
2. Martin Kuhn / Ronin / Kathryn Fleming-Kuhn / 71.211
3. Jackie Ahl-Eckhaus / Jett MVS / Jackie Ahl-Eckhaus / 68.642
4. Callie Rose O’Connell / Iron Lady / Ruling Cortes LLC / 68.374
5. Karen Lipp / Inigo Montoya / Michelle Klasing / 67.870
6. Kimberly McGrath / MSJ Celebrity / Kimberly McGrath / 67.638
FROM THE WINNERS CIRCLE
Adrienne Lyle – Markel/USEF 4-Year-Old Young Horse Dressage National Champion
On her ride:
“I was really thrilled with him today. He was still full of energy today, which I was happy to see – we didn’t work him at all yesterday, we just kind of walked around the venue. He’s so young, I didn’t want to push him. So he was quite frisky today in the warm up and a little bit going around the outside, but then he really focused when we went down the center line. I thought I had him better balanced and more packaged than on the first day. And he’s just really rideable; he has such an incredible suppleness, especially for a four year old, he just feels like every part of him moves. And I love that feeling – for me, the suppleness is kind of my most important thing that I look for in a young horse. And he’s got an amazing brain.”
On her busy summer schedule:
“I definitely could not have done it without my amazing assistant, Quinn Iverson, who had between my horses and Katie’s horses, I think close to 25 Horses under her care this summer. And also my amazing team of grooms who also helped ride a little bit at home. I can be focused on something like the World Championships knowing that they’re 100% and the horses are in good hands. They were kept on light work, kept a little bit of fitness going, but really they have a little bit easier time when I’m gone in Europe. But the fact that I was able to come home (I was home for four days), get on them and get them ready for this is just a testament to what an amazing job Quinn does with them.”
On Furst Dream:
“He’s a super sweet stallion, but for sure with stallions you just have to be very on top of their handling. I spend a lot of time with all my horses, especially the young horses, doing groundwork. I’m really big on that – educating them on the ground, teaching them basic manners so that when they come to a venue like this they can handle it. And they handled it all really well because hopefully they’ve had tools at that point to handle their excitement. And he’s a really good boy so he gets to stay a stallion.”
On having supportive owners:
“I think it’s absolutely incredible. For me, what I find joy in is developing the horses from the youngest age, and the whole process of training. So to have owners that are on that same, same mindset is really exciting. And they have to be willing to be in it for the long haul. They’re buying these horses knowing they’re not going to be doing something for a while, at least not something at the top level. But I think they share that excitement in the training process, and that’s what makes it work for everybody.”
Alice Tarjan – Markel/USEF 4-Year-Old Young Horse Dressage Reserve National Champion
On Ice Princess:
“Super excited about that horse, I think she’s going to be a fantastic Grand Prix horse. I bought it as a yearling for my friend. She’s not an amateur horse, she’s pretty hot and super honest, but since she’s hot she can over boil really easily. So it’s taken her a little while to gain confidence and just learn the basics like contact and that type of thing in the movements.
On Ice Princess’ personality:
She’s definitely a princess. There is no question that horse thinks she is the most important horse in the barn and you’re kind of like, I mean, you’re in the wrong barn because we’ve got a lot of good horses and we’ve got some Grand Prix horses and stuff and they should all take priority. And she’s like, No, it’s all about her. Yeah, she thinks she’s special. I’ll give her that.”
On her horse’s progress:
“The horse tends to be a bit hotter, so the idea is to try to keep her a little bit more relaxed in the test. She’s a fire horse, so I’m really excited. I think that’s what we need for Grand Prix. Right now for four-year-olds, I’m just trying to keep her relaxed and you know, the horse only did two qualifiers to come here and I had two and a half months off all summer. I literally got like four rides on her last week or something. And then we came here so I mean, quite literally the horse hasn’t been ridden for two and a half months, she just sat around. So the fact that she can come here and basically not be trained all summer I think is fantastic.”
Adrienne Lyle – Markel/USEF 5-Year-Old Young Horse Dressage National Champion
On Valor’s performance:
“He was super again in the ring today, there is a little bit more atmosphere, even more people I think, more electricity, but he put his head down, went right to work and he’s so rideable. He’s such a kind and giving horse, and I think that’s what I enjoy the most about him.
On Valor:
“He’s owned by Kylee Lourie, who supports Katie Duerrhammer and owns the horse that she just was at the World Championships on. We bought him when he had just turned three, and had just started under saddle off a video from Germany. So I’ve been with them since then. And he’s just been just really fun to develop. It’s my first year ever doing the young horse classes or young horse championships, so I’m learning a lot as I go as well and am very happy to be here.”
On training young horses:
“I’ve always loved training young horses, and I’ve always trained young horses, it’s what I’ve done my whole life. I just hadn’t really ventured into the young horse competitions, so I got kind of brave enough to do that this year and give it a try. It’s been really fun to give them a specific goal to work towards that’s age appropriate. They all seem to be doing really well. You know, we didn’t have to change anything about our training in order to come here, so we’re just moving along in the progression that we would be. And it’s fun to get to showcase these horses a little bit. And we have owners like Betsy Giuliano and Kylie Lourie, who both had horses on the World Championship team, and they both just had champion young horses here. And that’s really exciting to have owners that support that kind of depth, it’s very appreciated.”
Alice Tarjan – Markel/USEF 5-Year-Old Young Horse Dressage National Champion
On Ierland’s Eden:
“I was really happy with him, he’s just perfect and he tries so hard every day, he has the biggest heart. He’s a 5-year-old stallion and he’s just behaving so well, and I couldn’t be happier with him.”
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