November 18, 2018
New Jersey riders and trainers made their mark at the US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan®, winning an array of championships and reserves across a wide range of divisions. The show at the Kentucky Horse Park drew an impressive 387 competitors from 42 states for a shot at $100,000 in prize money and end-of-season glory.
Bridget Hay, who breeds her own mounts at her Hunterdon County farm, took the Intermediate II Open Championship on Faolan, an Oldenburg stallion. Faolan (Freestyle x Wyoming by Weltstern) is the full brother of Bridget’s Fitzhessen, who sadly died young. Faolan has proven to be a worthy successor, who took his title with a score of 67.794 percent.
Bridget Hay on Faolan. (Photo copyright 2018 by Susan J. Stickle)
“We’re both new to this level and we’re still gaining experience, but he’s unflappable so the atmosphere wasn’t really a concern for me,” said Bridget.
“He tries his heart out in the ring, and I was thrilled with him. He gives me everything. I don’t think I’ve ever smiled so much in a ride in my life. I just love this horse.”
Bridget’s close friend, Alice Tarjan of Oldwick, was a big winner. She earned the Intermediate II Adult Amateur division with a 69.069 percent on her 8-year old Hanoverian Candescent (Christ x Farina by Falkenstern II), then went on to take the Grand Prix Adult Amateur Championship (64.203 percent) with the mare.
“I’m thrilled, because she’s a young horse and the quality keeps getting better and better,” said Alice.
She bought Candescent with the idea of joining her friends who do show jumping, eventing and fox hunting. She was looking for a black horse with white socks, a favorite combination since her Somerset Hills Pony Club days with her quirky first horse, Licorice, who was marked that way. Candescent, who came out of the Hanoverian auction as a four-year-old, “she was quite sour when I got her and not so easy to ride,” she recalled.
“Then as we got going, it became clear she would be best as a dressage horse, so here we are. Even though it’s her first year at this level, so it’s still a work in progress, she does all the movements really well and now it’s just improving the transitions and consistency,” Alice said.
Alice Tarjan had many wins this year on Candescent, including Dressage at Devon, where she competed six weeks before the U.S. finals. (Photo©2018 by Nancy Jaffer)
She rode different horses in the Third Level Adult Amateur Championship. Alice was champion with a mark of 75.043 percent on her seven-year-old Oldenburg mare,m Donatella M (Furstenball x Dorina by Jazz Time) and reserve at 74.017 percent with her six-year-old Dutch warmblood stallion, Harvest (Connaisseur x Naomi by Ulft).
Donatella started her day by taking offense to a Kentucky Horse Park police horse and got so upset she was rearing in the warmup.
“But then once she was in the ring, she was fine,” commented Alice. “Harvest is such an incredibly good boy and very different from Donatella. He’s like a computer: whatever you put in is what you get out. There’s nothing lost in translation. He’s so straightforward – you just kick, he grunts, and off he goes.”
Alice is an extremely well-educated amateur, who knows how to pick young horses and bring them along.
“When I look for a horse, I have a certain type and presence that I like, and I know it when I see it. Then I enjoy teaching them how to show off the brilliance that’s inside of them, and I do it by focusing on bringing out movement, not necessarily dwelling on correctness of technique. It may be a little different way of approaching things, but it works for me.”
Reserve in the Grand Prix Open Freestyle Championship went to veteran trainer Heather Mason of Lebanon with her 15-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Warsteiner (Riverman-ISF x Welona by Roemer) on 71.542 percent.
“He was super, I’m so happy with him,” Heather noted. “He’s just a lot of fun. His energy level was good – we did 22 one-tempi’s, and I stopped counting the two’s.”
Heather took the Intermediate I Open Championship with a score of 72.157 percent on her 12-year-old Hanoverian gelding Romantico SF (Romancero H x Wesermelodie by Wenzel I), a fighter who won a battle for his life.
“He was laid up for a year with an injury, and I only had about two rides on him when he went in for colic surgery the week after I returned home from last year’s Finals,” Mason remembered. “But amazingly, here we are. He’s not an easy horse, which is how I originally ended up with him for just $1. He’s back and better than ever.”
In addition, Romantico won the Prix St. Georges open with a score of 69.926.
Heather also owns homebred Nicene (Nimbus x Pamela by Portofino) ridden at the championships by Alexsandra Krossen of Basking Ridge. Alexsandra was there when the now-six-year-old Oldenburg mare was foaled, a relationship that has matured to great effect. She won the reserve championship in the Second Level Adult Amateur Freestyle with 69.533 percent, and the championship in the First Level Adult Amateur Freestyle with 72.700 percent.
Alexsandra Krossen on Nicene. (Photo by Jennifer Keeler)
“We’ve choreographed her freestyle to suit her strengths,” said Alexsandra.
“She was the first foal I ever saw born, but I never thought I’d ride her because she was not an easy baby. She is a chestnut mare in every sense of the word. But she is also a worker when you ride her and usually doesn’t put a foot wrong.”
The points Heather’s horses earned at the championships put her at the head of the class in the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s Leading Dressage Owner standings—even in front of Betsy Juliano, who owns Adrienne Lyle’s FEI World Equestrian Games mount, Salvino, among her other horses.
Amy Gimbel of Tewksbury made a triumphant return to the championships with the U.S. bred mare, Eye Candy (UB-40 x Wednesday by Weltmeyer.)
“After Regionals two years ago, I was looking forward to coming back to the Finals after doing so well in both 2014 and 2015. But one day she came in from the field and wasn’t quite right. What we thought was cellulitis ended up being a much bigger issue, with a serious injury to her foot. We spent the winter hand-walking and she was laid up for eight months. It took so much time and patience, all the while wondering if she’d ever be able to come back. But here we are finally, and I feel so lucky to be here,” she said.
They won the Fourth Level Freestyle Adult Amateur Championship with 71.467 percent and also took reserve in the Fourth Level Adult Amateur Championship with 67.407 percent. “She can be a little sassy and sometimes I never know where that sass will come out, so we built our freestyle to allow for some flexibility,” Amy pointed out about the Dutch warmblood.
