Lots to applaud in the Dressage at Devon freestyle

It’s been 15 years since Kevin Kohmann last rode at Dressage at Devon, and now he’s busy making up for lost time.

The Floridian won Friday’s Prix St. Georges and Saturday’s Intermediate I, both with scores over 70 percent on Scala, an intriguing black mare, originally bought for resale but who now has a home with Kevin and his wife, Devon Kane (named after a soap opera character and not the show).

Friday night, Kevin took the Grand Prix for Freestyle riding Dunensee, a stunning black gelding, ending up on 69.761 percent. Saturday night was the high point of a successful weekend with a victory in the Grand Prix Freestyle (77.540), featuring 15 starters who earned cheers from a crowd undaunted by the occasional drizzle. They clapped along to Kevin’s music, a compilation of tunes, including Wake Me Up, from his favorites DJs.

“Nowhere else in the country is there an atmosphere like this,” said Kevin, who was among the riders characterizing Devon as similar to a European show in its ambience. The idea of his “happy music” is to “engage the crowd a little bit.”

Kevin, who is coached by Christoph Koschel, said he was worried “until the very last minute of the class” about whether his score would be surpassed. Coming closest, as she did in the Grand Prix for Freestyle 24 hours earlier, was Canadian Olympian Camille Carier Bergeron with her Finnlanderin. That combination was just short of victory with a percentage of 77.280.

The freestyle was a qualifier for the 2025 FEI World Cup final in Switzerland. Kevin rode in the 2024 final last spring in Saudi Arabia, and now has his sights sent on the 2025 edition in Switzerland.

“I’m more than thrilled. This horse was fantastic today. I’m a little bit overwhelmed right now,” Kevin recounted after a victory pass punctuated by raising his arm high in triumph.

“The horse didn’t let me down,” he said.

A change he made in his freestyle a week ago paid off. It formerly included a canter to piaffe transition.

“My horse did not like it,” he explained. “It was a very expensive mistake I had over and over again.We decided to take it out and it worked out fantastically. It flows very, very nice.”

The first time he competed at Dressage at Devon 18 years ago, Kevin turned the wrong way at the beginning of his Young Rider test, prompting the judge to ring the bell. He lost first place by a half-percent from because of that. The incident is indelibly inscribed on his memory. Since then, he always reminds himself of where he needs to turn at the beginning of his test.

Kevin’s wife, Devon (named after a soap opera character, not the show) was seventh in the freestyle on Giulietta. She also is his business partner at Diamante Farms. Kevin was honored with the new “US Happy Horse” award from BioStar, given to those who “promote horse welfare and exhibit a partnership that showcases happiness and harmony in the ring, regardless of placing.”

Of course, being a Happy Horse means Dunensee gets all the right supplements and care, but in his case, it also includes enjoying a collection of stuffed animals by his stall, including a giant alligator (Florida!)

The freestyle turned out to be a great showcase for amateur riders. Christina Morin-Graham, who works as managing principal at Graham Partners Inc., a private equity firm, felt it was possible she wouldn’t even qualify for the freestyle. Her third-place finish there was a testimony to her talent and that of her horse, DSP Dauphin, as well as coaching by Heather Mason for the occasion.

Christina, a volunteer for the DAD board, was marked at 74.785,  for her ride to a borrowed Beyonce freestyle.

But it was during the qualifier Friday night that she had “one of those Devon moments” and a great realization: ” Partway through, I looked around and I was like, `My horse is dancing and I’m under the Devon lights.’ It didn’t matter what the score was. I halted at the end and the judge in front of me stood up and smiled and I went, `Okay. We did it.'”

Christina is married to Steve Graham, a breaking (break dancing) enthusiast who was able to get top breakers for judging and demonstrations in Friday night’s Dance-Off. (Read about that here).

The rider, who also trains with Silva Martin and Tracey Olsen and works with barn manager Laura Murphy, sees similarities in the athleticism needed for both breaking and riding. While she hasn’t done any breaking floor work, she has dabbled a bit in “top rock,” a beginning stage of breaking.

Another amateur, Connecticut resident Allison Carmichael, who trains with Jennifer Williams, finished fourth with 74.735 percent on Figaro. Her freestyle, put together by Tom Hunt, started off with an attention-getting “Figaro, Figaro, Figaro” vocal as she came to a four-square halt on entering the ring. (Figaro is a character in the opera, “The Barber of Seville. And since her horse is named Figaro, it couldn’t be more perfect.)

Although she only got the music on Wednesday, Allison was spot-on with her timing, going into an extended canter on the diagonal from her halt and ending, appropriately, with another “Figaro.”

click here for the freestyle results

In the Grand Prix Special held Saturday afternoon, Ali Potasky and Inxs moved ahead of the Grand Prix for Special winner Tina Konyot with Grover. That flipped the order of finish from the Grand Prix. (Interestingly, both horses are by Everdale).

Amazingly, not only was it Ali’s first CDI  (international) Grand Prix, it was also the first for Inxs, who has done developing and national Grands Prix. He earned 69.638 percent, to 68.851 for Grover. And on top of that, neither Ali nor Inxs had shown previously at Dressage at Devon.

“I’m really surprised and wasn’t expecting it, even though I came in feeling ready. It feels surreal,” said Ali, a 33-year-old professional, who works for dressage trainer Kathy Priest, the horse’s co-owner, at Woodspring Farm in Kentucky. So they came a long way for a trip to the Philadelphia suburbs, but it was worth the trip.

The horse arrived from Europe as a six-year-old, and became the first Grand Prix horse that Ali trained.

“I’m having sort of a disbelief moment,” she said about her Dressage at Devon debut.

“It’s very surreal.”

Of the show, she commented, “I just think it’s really quaint and a fun atmosphere. It was also fun to ride with a crowd, I’ve never ridden with that atmosphere. I like it.”

 

Her horse, who originally was a resale project, adjusted well.

“He actually gave me confidence in there today. He didn’t bat an eye” when people clapped.

Ali explained she entered the Special because Inxs does not yet have a freestyle. But you can bet he will soon. It’s a work in progress as she prepares for the winter circuit in Wellington, Fla.

Click here for Special results

During the afternoon, Marcus Orlob—who has had quite a streak of bad luck—turned the corner with a 74.470 percent victory on Alice Tarjan’s JJ Glory Day in the CDI 2-star Intermediate A, earning a couple of marks of 9 for piaffe and collected trot. It was black horse day at Devon — Glory was the third black horse to earn a blue ribbon on Saturday.

The Danish warmblood stallion is only eight and part of the U.S. developing program. He has not shown for a year because Marcus is focusing on training, but he hopes to start the stallion at Grand Prix next year.

“He delivers every time I ask,” said Marcus, who was glad to get in the ring at the show. His ride for the Grand Prix, Jane, seemed to have pulled a muscle coming off the van on her arrival at Devon, so he withdrew her from competition. She’ll get a workup from her regular veterinarian on Monday.

Jane, also owned by Alice, was Marcus’ Olympic mount, but she never finished her Grand Prix test in Paris because she was eliminated for having a tiny scratch on her white hind leg.

Marcus takes it all philosophically, saying–as so many do–“You get used to it. That’s life with horses.”