October 2020 Issue

Page 22 October 2020 EAST COAST EQUESTRIAN Email: eschfence@gmail.com - Fax: -- WHOLESALE & RETAIL Phone -- Locals Win National Championships at Dressage Festival of Champions Remember...tell our advertisers you found them in East Coast Equestrian! (Continued on page 31) The U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions was held August 18-23 at Lamplight Equestrian Center in Wayne, IL. Sunday’s schedule kicked off with the FEI Six-Year-Old Final Test for the Markel/USEF Young Horse Six-Year-Old Dressage National Championship. Of the thirteen combinations, the judges were most impressed by Marcus Orlob (Annandale, N.J.) and Spir- it of Joy’s performance. The dark bay Westphalian gelding earned high marks across the board to win the class and the National Champion title. Orlob and Spirit of Joy also won their FEI Six-Year-Old Pre- liminary Test on Friday morning with scores that included a 9.5 for the trot and a 9.3 for canter and a final average score of 8.96. The Developing Grand Prix horses closed out competition on Sunday afternoon. Twelve entries completed the Markel/USEF Developing Horse Grand Prix Test, and Alice Tarjan (Oldwick, N.J.) took home both the Na- tional Champion and Reserve National Champion titles. Her nine-year-old Oldenburg mare, Donatella M, scored a 71.708% to earn first place in the class and the division. With Harvest, her eight-year-old KWPN stallion, Tarjan was second in the class and reserve in the division. Tarjan first came to the U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions 10 years ago, with a four year old. Fifteen youth riders per- formed rail work and a pattern in the 14-18 division of the USEF Dressage Seat Medal Final. Seven- teen-year-old Emma Teff (Renfrew, Pa.) rode Beaudacious, Rhianna Pankhurst’s 11-year-old RPSI geld- ing, to reserve national champion honors on a score of 84.000%. Saturday The Markel/USEF Young Horse Four-Year-Old Dressage National Championship division featured 15 exceptional young- sters having a second go at the USEF Four-Year-Old Test. Alice Tarjan rode her own Danish Warmblood mare, Gjenganger, to a score of 8.54 earning second place in the class and first-place for the division. Tarjan is also the owner and breeder of Glory Day, the winner of the USEF Four-Year-Old Test, Glory Day was ridden to an 8.84 by Marcus Orlob and finished the division as Reserve National Champion. Friday Nine combinations performed the FEI Pony Rider Individual Test for the USEF Pony Rider Dressage National Championship. Abby Fodor (Bloomsbury, N.J.) and Slip and Slide held on to their top spot on the leaderboard with an overall score of 68.227% to take home the win. Fodor and Slip and Slide also won the FEI Pony Rider Team Test of the USEF Pony Rider Dressage National Championship with a score of 70.238 on Thursday. In the Markel/USEF Devel- oping Horse Dressage National Championships for Grand Prix, twelve combinations performed the first of two tests, the FEI Intermediate II Test on Friday. Alice Tarjan took first place with her 9-year-old Oldenburg mare, Donatella M, and second place with her 8-year-old KWPN stal- lion, Harvest. In the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle Test to decide the Adequan®/USEF Young Adult ‘Brentina Cup’ National Cham- pionship, Sara Hassler (Chesa- peake City, Md.) and Harmony’s Boitano were the winners with an overall score of 69.269%. Hassler and Leslie Malone’s 14-year-old KWPN gelding were third in the 2019 USEF Intermediaire I Dres- sage National Championship.