Wayne, Ill. – Aug. 27, 2022 – Competition at the U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions resumed Saturday, with the crowning of six new champions across both rings at the Lamplight Equestrian Center. In the Grand Prix Arena, the USEF Grand Prix Dressage National Championship, the USEF ‘Brentina Cup’ Dressage National Dressage Championship, and the USEF Pony Rider Dressage National Championship took place, with Alice Tarjan, Quinn Iverson, and M.K. Connatser taking the top honors in their respective divisions.
The USEF Grand Prix Dressage National Championship started off the day, with combinations returning for the final leg of competition, the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle worth 15% of their overall scores. Earlier in the week, the horse-and-rider pairs took on the FEI Grand Prix and FEI Grand Prix Special tests, worth 45% and 40% of their totals respectively. Tarjan and Serenade MF, her own 9-year-old Hanoverian mare, took an early lead in the division, scoring 73.869% in the Grand Prix, and held onto the top spot with a score of 73.467% in the Grand Prix Special. Performing a freestyle that was new to them, Tarjan and Serenade MF finished the division strong, once again taking the top score with a 76.985%. They finished on a combined total of 74.176%
Katie Duerrhammer and Paxton, a 10-year-old Westphalian gelding owned by Kylee Lourie, went home with the reserve championship. The pair took second place finishes for their Grand Prix Special and Grand Prix Freestyle performances, keeping them ahead of the competition to finish with a combined total of 70.597%. Emily Miles and Java Dulce, an 11-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding owned by Leslie Waterman, rounded out the top three, earning a total score of 69.036%.
In the USEF ‘Brentina Cup’ Dressage National Dressage Championship that followed, Quinn Iverson and Beckham 19 were the stars of the show. Iverson and the 13-year-old Hanoverian gelding owned by Billie Davidson held onto their lead all week, earning scores of 67.676% in the Intermediate I test worth 40% overall, and 70.102% in the Grand Prix 16-25 test worth 45% overall. They entered the ring eager to top their previous score and perform a harmonious test, succeeding with a score of 72.845% in the borrowed freestyle. The pair finished with a total score of 69.543% to earn the title of champion.
Callie Rose O’Connell and Eaton Unitechno, a 13-year-old KWPN gelding owned by Ruling Cortes LLC, won the reserve champion cooler with a combined total of 68.408%. Callie Jones and Don Philippo, her own 14-year-old Hanoverian gelding, finished in third place with a total score of 67.177%.
The final crowned division of the day in the U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions, the USEF Pony Rider Dressage National Championship, saw a familiar face leading the victory gallop. M.K. Connatser, who won the gold medal in the USEF Dressage Seat Medal Final 13 & Under the day before, returned to the ring for another national title, this time with Blitz und Donner.
Riding the 11-year-old German Riding Pony gelding owned by Linda Graves, Connatser earned a score of 65.713% in their Team Test worth 50% of their overall score, and 66.981% in their Individual Test worth 50% for a total score of 66.347%.
Maryn Geck and Whinny, an 18-year-old Welsh Pony mare, earned the reserve championship honors with a total score of 65.922%. Finley Peterson and Mystic Max, her own 16-year-old gelding, finished with third place and a total of 65.204%.
Competition at the U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions will continue Sunday, Aug. 28, with the FEI Children Individual Test.
RESULTS
USEF Grand Prix Dressage National Championship
Place / Rider / Horse / Owner / Total Score
1. Alice Tarjan / Serenade MF / Alice Tarjan / 74.176
2. Katie Duerrhammer / Paxton / Kylee Lourie / 70.597
3. Emily Miles / Java Dulce / Leslie Waterman / 69.036
4. Nora Batchelder / Faro SQF / Andrew Whitcomb / 68.403
5. Abraham Pugh / Elfenperfekt / Alice Drayer / 67.855
6. Michael Bragdell / Qredit Hilltop / Hilltop Farm Inc. / 67.694
USEF ‘Brentina Cup’ Dressage National Championship
Place / Rider / Horse / Owner / Total Score
1. Quinn Iverson / Beckham 19 / Billie Davidson / 69.543
2. Callie Rose O’Connell / Eaton Unitechno / Ruling Cortes LLC / 68.408
3. Callie Jones / Don Philippo / Callie Jones / 67.177
4. Emma Smith / Stedemann / Emma Smith / 64.817
5. Jordan Lockwood / Sagacious HF / Hyperion Farm Inc. & Jordan Lockwood / 63.475
USEF Pony Rider Dressage National Championship
Place / Rider / Horse / Owner / Total Score
1. M.K. Connatser / Blitz und Donner / Linda Graves / 66.347
2. Maryn Geck / Whinny / Laura Geck / 65.922
3. Finley Peterson / Mystic Max / Finley Peterson / 65.204
4. Hannah Muckler / Blitzwane / Sailor Boden / 64.087
5. Katia Szwejbka / Gamiro / Katia Szwejbka / 56.983
FROM THE WINNERS CIRCLE
Alice Tarjan – USEF Grand Prix Dressage National Champion
On winning the national championship:
“I’m just happy we got through it, it’s only the second time I’ve ridden that freestyle. We needed this to qualify for World Championships, so it was actually thrown together for me in like five days, that’s how it came to be.”
On her improvements:
“The balance, getting her hind legs underneath her, that’s getting better. Better overall but also keeping consistent energy, she kind of wants to be a show hunter so it’s been a real push to keep her in front of my leg. And when she gets hotter and hotter, then it’s like a different horse, which is sort of exciting that we’re finally breaking through that barrier with her. She definitely heated up this week actually which is different from last year I would say. Last time it would sort of wear off by the end of the week and you’d be really kicking around, but now I kind of have to hold her back a little bit.”
On riding in Europe this summer:
“Yeah, that was an interesting experience. I think that it just helped me have an idea of how much more compressed you have to keep the horses to get the quality of the higher competition rides. So that’s definitely been on my mind and more of my focus. It’s interesting because trainers can tell you so many times that it needs to be more like this or more like this, like until they’re blue in the face. But then, every once in a while, you see something that you kind of figure it out. For me, I’ve had horses that could do the movements for the Grand Prix levels for a couple of years, but to actually be able to put together a cohesive test is a challenge.”
Katie Duerrhammer – USEF Grand Prix Dressage Reserve National Champion
On her freestyle:
“I was really really proud of him today. He borrowed his uncle Quartett’s freestyle to qualify and ran it really fast. Terry Gallo made it for me. I wanted to use something that would be fun and people would know, and also wouldn’t overpower him because I feel like he is a very powerful horse but he’s very light footed. So I wanted something that would showcase his power but also how elegant he can be. Terry [Gallo] was very patient because I couldn’t really articulate exactly what I wanted, and she worked and worked until we found the pieces that work for him. I think some horses really say, ‘okay, this is my music,’ and with other horses, you’ve got to really figure out what you want to showcase with them. And kind of like Alice, he had not done the freestyle before. He’s not usually the most flexible horse, so I’m very proud of him – he tried very hard to accomplish everything in there. We had some mistakes but he really stayed with me and I really liked the music, so it was actually really fun.”
On riding in Europe this summer:
“The whole experience was really inspiring and I think to get to be on a horse like Cortez, who is super, super solid and is a very good partner, who always goes in there and tries his hardest to the best of his ability if you ride right is great. Paxton is obviously greener, hot, and a little spooky and can be very, very sensitive. As you get more mileage on a horse that really says, ‘you got this, if you sit down and ride I’m gonna do it,’ then that obviously gives you a lot of confidence coming into things like this on a greener horse.
“Getting to the championships I thought was going to be the pinnacle of my whole summer, getting to see all the incredible training. Not every horse is a superstar, but to see these riders and the top ones, the way they ride each horse that is different, and how they go at it in a little different way but they always end up in the same general direction, was really inspiring. I think here we watch a lot of finished Grand Prix horses, at least I have, so to be able to go over there and watch a lot of young Grand Prix horses, for me, was very inspiring. I feel like sometimes I have to make it look perfect all the time, and then you see riders out there that are like, ‘no you’ve got to get it done and give yourself confidence to work on these things,’ like that was really inspiring. For me, that was really helpful.”
Emily Miles – USEF Grand Prix Dressage National Championship Third Place
On her freestyle:
“Erin Boltik did the freestyle as well. Same idea, I said ‘I want it like this, or like this’ and we would find something that would match the passage for example that was super fun but went with nothing else, so it was really tough. I rode a different freestyle that she put together for me at the beginning of the year and then I was like ‘yeah, but I don’t like it very much.’ Then she put this one together for me. It’s always hard, you know, I would watch the video and watch the video but I’ve never ridden it before. But I was actually super happy with how we hit our marks and where we were with the music. It was a clean freestyle – we had a couple of moments, but we got it. We had a few wavering moments, but I have never ridden him to such big music in such an atmosphere and he was very hot but he did not have a meltdown or anything. So I was again, really proud of him. I’m so thankful for Leslie letting me take him and go and do it; it’s just really nice to have her support.”
Quinn Iverson – USEF ‘Brentina Cup’ Dressage National Championship
On winning the national championship:
“My trainer has been gone all summer in Europe so I’ve kind of been on my own, and thankfully we picked up right where we left off. A big thank you to Susie Dutta who let me use her freestyle because I don’t have one yet for this horse and it was amazing. He was such a good boy, he was there for me every step of the way. I’m very happy with it.”
On Beckham 19:
“I’ve had Beckham since December. My longtime sponsor, Billie Davidson, a really big shout-out to her – I’m thankful for her to sponsor me through this whole journey. We’re getting to know each other, but I’m really excited for the future, he’s a really cool horse.”
Callie Rose O’Connell – USEF ‘Brentina Cup’ Dressage Reserve National Championship
On her freestyle:
“Yeah, I’m a huge Queen fan, so we went with the Queen theme…I felt it was really fitting because he’s like a little pop star/rock star in the barn. It was a lot, maybe a little bit too much for today but it was a lot of fun.”
On Eaton Unitechno:
“It’s still a very new partnership, just five months together. And this is our, well my first time here at Nationals and just to be Reserve Champion to Quinn is amazing. And to Callie…I’ve been following both of them for a long time. I’m beyond happy with him and how he worked with me, and I just feel like our partnership is getting better and better. I’m very thankful, because none of this is possible without his owner, Betsy Dangel.”
Callie Jones – USEF ‘Brentina Cup’ Dressage National Championship Third Place
On her freestyle:
“So Cynthia Collins made this freestyle for me. It was actually my young rider freestyle and so now, to use it in the Grand Prix, it’s a really special freestyle for me, and I just love the music. And I think Phil (Don Philippo) really likes the music too.”
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