Competition in the Discover Dressage/FEI North American Youth Dressage Championship presented by USDF at the FEI North American Youth Championships (NAYC) kicked off on Wednesday during the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival (GLEF), presented by B&D Builders, with the junior and under 25 dressage athletes completing their first tests for team and individual scores.
FEI NAYC Junior Dressage Team Test
The team from Region 3 moved into a narrow lead after the first day, turning in four solid tests. Justine Boyer (Ocala, Fla.) and Campanero HGF; Alice Burley (Atlanta, Ga.) and S. Classic Conversion Cav-I; Alexis Troutman (Atlanta, Ga.) and Happy Feet; and Virginia Woodcock (Atlanta, Ga.) and Mollegardens Sans-Souci, finished the day with a collective score of 198.455, just a fraction of a point ahead of the combined team from Region 4, 5, and 7, which stood in second with a 198.060. Region 9 was also close behind in third position with a 197.302.
Woodcock is competing at NAYC for the second time with her own Mollegardens Sans-Souci (Sir Donnerhall x Sascha), a 2014 Danish Warmblood mare. The pair had the team’s top score in the first test with a 66.970%.
“It was just an incredible feeling,” she said. “I think everyone knows that horses are different every time you take them out and put their bridle on, and I just rode the horse I had today. She felt great and stayed with me as best she could.”
Fellow second-timer Boyer with Campanero HGF (Camaron IX x Quintera XII), a 2013 PRE stallion owned by Hampton Green Farm, was the final test of Wednesday’s junior section.
“I didn’t really mind going last today. I think it added a little pressure, and I like to compete under pressure,” she said. “I would always like to do well for the team, keeping in mind not to change anything and making sure that he’s with me all the time. I’ve been riding him since he was 7; he’s 11 now, and he’s super sweet.”
Troutman with Happy Feet (Totilas x De Lady K), a 2012 Dutch Warmblood mare owned by Alexis, Kevin, and Nina Troutman, and Burley with Classic Conversion Cav-I (Converter x Sweet Song), Grace Burley’s 2009 North American Warmblood mare, are both making their NAYC debut this year and contributed solid scores to the team effort.
“Happy Feet is 12 years old. I’ve had her about four years and we have a really good bond,” said Troutman. “Today, my test was the best test I could put out with what she gave me.”
Hailing from Region 6, Olivia Martz (Gig Harbor, Wash.) and Rihanna Ymas, a 2008 Brandenburger mare owned by Dressage4Kids, Inc., are the current individual leaders after a spectacular test that earned a 69.727% from the judges.
The juniors will return to the dressage arena on Friday, Aug. 2, beginning at 8:30 a.m. for their individual tests.
Christian Simonson Leads Off in FEI NAYC CDIU25
The under 25 dressage section took center stage on Wednesday afternoon for their Intermediate II tests. Christian Simonson (Ventura, Calif.) and Son of a Lady (Soreldo x Western Lady), a 2011 Danish Warmblood gelding owned by Christina Morgan and Clifton Simonson, impressed the judges to post a score of 71.412% and move to the top of the standings.
“It’s been an amazing team effort,” Simonson said, thanking his parents, his trainers Adrienne Lyle and Katie Duerrhammer and “Sonny’s” groom, Nicole Baergen. “I think a couple of the high points for me were the piaffe-passage transitions. That’s something we’ve been working on up until maybe a week ago, and then we finally got it dialed in. It’s like a whole new level of training and experience that I think we’re going to be able to show in the ring. I was very happy with it. And the canter tour always feels like you’re floating on clouds. It’s a really nice feeling with him.
“He is the absolute wonder horse that could,” continued Simonson of Sonny. “I feel incredibly grateful to have him and the people that have helped us as a combination throughout our career so far. He’s just been amazing. Win or loss, when I have that feeling of him trusting me and being with me every step, I feel like I’ve won already.”
Simonson has been an NAYC competitor multiple times over the years, dating back to his time in the junior ranks. More recently, he and Sonny have represented the U.S. on senior teams, including at the 2023 Pan American Games, and he credits NAYC with preparing him for the world stage.
“NAYC has been one of the most important things for my career so far to get experience. At my very first senior nations cup, I told George [Williams, USEF Dressage High Performance Pathway Development Advisor & Youth Coach], ‘This is just like NAYC except my teammates are twice my age, but that’s cool!’ It felt like I had so much experience already because of NAYC. I think it’s so important for the U.S. to have this championship, as well as the pipeline as a whole that Discover Dressage and USEF are working to develop.
Children and Pre-Juniors Kick off Competition at 2024 Gotham North/FEI North American Youth Jumping Championship
The 2024 Gotham North/FEI North American Youth Jumping Championships presented by USHJA got underway at Flintfields Horse Park on Wednesday morning with the first individual qualifiers for the children’s and pre-junior categories.
Topping the children’s section, Isabella Uhrig (Greenwood Village, Colo.), representing Zone 8, rode to a clear-round time of 74.39 seconds with Kapow (Brainpower x Regina Adelheid Z), a 2011 Zangersheide gelding owned by Laura Evans. Zone 4 rider Adele Dewar (Ocala, Fla.) was second with Freedom, a 2010 KWPN owned by Ali Nilforushan, while Zone 2’s Kaitlyn Linck (Clinton Corners, N.Y.) and her own Don Touch de Tiji Z (Don’t Touch Tiji Hero x Viva La Vida Hero Z), a 2016 Zangersheide gelding, took third.
Zone 2’s Tarin Kiely (Rumson, N.J.) took top honors in the pre-junior qualifier with Wonder If (Cevin Z x Ruby Ravel), a 2012 Anglo-European mare owned by Kiely Equestrian, with a time of 64.26 seconds. JJ Torano (Wellington, Fla.), of Zone 4, and JET Show Stables’ 2015 KWPN Kybalia Smh/svn (Baltic Vdl x Gin Gin Balia Smh) were second, while Zone 1’s Capri Truesdale (Greenwich, Conn.) and Belle Fayvinia Z, a 2010 Zangersheide mare owned by Jorge Matte, took third.
In the children’s team standings, following day one, Canada and a combined Zone 1, 2 and 10 team—with Linck’s performance on top—sit on zero penalties going into the team competition tomorrow, while Truesdale’s efficient round helped lead the combined Zone 1 and 7 team to the top of the standings for pre-juniors ahead of Thursday’s team competition. Also highlighting Thursday’s schedule, the junior and young rider categories will ride in their first individual qualifiers.
For NAYC results, click here.
Amanda Derbyshire Dominates in $32,000 CSI2* Speed
Competition in the Turtle Creek Casino & Hotel International Ring closed out on Wednesday with a win from Amanda Derbyshire (GBR) aboard her top partner, Otto BH, in the $32,000 CSI2* Speed. The win marked a successful start to Derbyshire’s time at the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival, presented by B&D Builders.
“I love Michigan and it was always in our show plan to do these couple weeks,” she explained.
Derbyshire’s partner, a 12-year-old Zangersheide stallion (Norton D’eole x Toulon) owned by Derbyshire and the Gochman Sport Horses, is well-known for his speed, and proved he has all the moves as he clocked in with a tidy time of 64.78 seconds over Alan Wade’s (IRL) single-round speed track.
“He’s naturally very fast and I sometimes have to watch that I don’t start off too fast because then we can sometimes get in our own way,” she described. “He is always fast, and always careful, so I was neat and did all of the leave-out strides. I respect his carefulness and don’t overface him; I normally try to use him in the welcomes and he’s been a great two-star grand prix horse.”
American rider Nikko Ritter jumped to the second-best time of 65.84 seconds with 10-year-old Zangersheide gelding, Aquiles Del Caribe Z (Action-Breaker x Gerlinus), owned by Gladewinds Partners. Making it a truly international podium, Arturo Parada Vallejo (MEX) piloted his own 11-year-old Hanoverian gelding, Crispero T to third place, rounding out the top three with a time of 66.24 seconds.
Two-star action resumes on Friday with the $32,000 Hippodata CSI2* Welcome. For full results, click here.
