The witch lost out to a rock star in the energetic Dance-Off during Dressage at Devon — at least that’s how the judges saw it.
But the spectators gave their enthusiastic voice vote to Silva Martin’s clever green-faced portrayal of the spooky central figure from “Wicked,” complete with flying monkeys and a broom.
Even with the qualifiers for the Grand Prix Special and the Freestyle on Friday’s schedule, the Dance-Off was a big attraction. In its third renewal at the USEF Heritage show, the fact that the class has become an anticipated part of the schedule proves D at D is not afraid of innovation, while marking its fiftieth anniversary in the Philadelphia suburb.
Judges George Williams and Janet Foy got an unusual greeting from the third judge, break dancer Box One, who joined them after performing his routine practically in their laps.
Box One greets Dance-Off judges George Williams and Janet Foy with his best break-dancing style.
Silva, the winner last year when she and her mare, Rosa Cha W were dressed as hippies, produced a fun mini-freestyle complete with a series of two-tempis, appropriately set to the tune “Dancing Through Life” that was a hit in both the Broadway show and movie of Wicked.
The witch and her flying monkeys was a real crowd-pleasing act.
Shannon Stevens was the winner this time, however, outfitted in black (including a leather jacket) as a Rod Stewart-esque rock star with a blond wig.
The Dance-Off involves two riders performing their routines in a face-off, with the winner going on to the next round. Silva bested Adriane Alvord as Barbie, while Shannon topped Jim Kofford in an outfit celebrating 50 years of Dressage at Devon before the winners rode against each other.
In that round, both George and Janet cited the dynamism of Shannon’s performance, and Box One voted with them to make her the winner.
Shannon Stevens the rock star.
“Shannon was amazing. She deserved it,” said Silva, while adding the obvious, “My costume was better, anyway.”
No contest there.
Cheryl Griffith, a friend of Silva’s who designed her outfit in 2024, did it again with gusto this year.
“It was so fun. And it’s fun to ride my old friend Rosa,” noted Silva, who said the Dance-Off is the only occasion when she gets aboard the 21-year-old mare.
Shannon said she was inspired to compete because she has ridden in another costume-centric class, the Challenge of the Americas in Florida.
“I had such a blast. To do it here for the fiftieth anniversary of Devon. What better?”
Her routine wasn’t planned, “I just went with the music (`Barracuda’ by Shark),” said Shannon, whose effort was highlighted by impressive piaffe and passage.
“The fact that I’ve only had about 10 rides on this horse (Leader) makes it even more incredible. It’s a testament to his character,” she said.
The two have a “fast-forming relationship.” The 14-year-old grand prix horse came from Shannon’s best friend, Karola Mazurek, who had trained him since he was a yearling. But when the Polish rider broke her back, she turned to Shannon and her sales business, Elite Expression Dressage, for help.
Shannon noted Leader had never been off her property in Hunterdon County, N.J., since she got him, but he weathered a monsoon during Thursday night’s Masterclass “like a champ. It’s incredible,” she enthused.
Back to the classes without witches or rock stars, Tina Konyot won the qualifier for the Grand Prix Special with Grover.
“It’s fabulous to be at Devon,” she said, noting she first rode in the show 33 years ago.
When I asked why she didn’t compete in the Freestyle Qualifier, she explained she was still in the process of paying for her music, and it’s only halfway finished. Tina is on her own without a sponsor, so she earns her keep through lessons and training.
Tina Konyot and Grover.
Grover was bought for her by Earle Mack, the former ambassador to Finland who also owned Joe Fargis’ 1984 Olympic double gold medal mount, Touch of Class. The deal was that Tina would have to pay all of Grover’s expenses.
Tina, based in Pittstown, N.J., still has her special mount, Calecto, now 27, who won the Dressage at Devon Freestyle in 2009. With Grover, her ambition is “to bring him to the top.”
But the 64-year-old rider confided that at first, he was “a very naughty boy. When I got him four and a half years ago, he had thrown five people. He got me off, also.
The first time she brought Grover to Devon three years ago, the technical delegate kept following her. She asked him why, and he replied, ” Because we’re worried about you.”
But with “knowledge, patience and courage” she got her 11-year-old gelding by Everdale in hand.
“I said, `No, Grover, we’re going to do this.’ It’s a wonderful journey. It’s tough doing it alone, when you don’t have support from a sponsor or money behind you. Unfortunately today, it’s a financial sport. God willing I can find some support to help us along the way,” she said.
In the Grand Prix for Freestyle, Ben Ebeling emerged victorious with Bellena, marked at 71.239 percent.
He has been together with the mare for a year, and benefited from a trip to Aachen this summer on the 5-star U.S. team. Although Devon is the initial qualifier for the FEI Dressage World Cup Finals in Ft. Worth next April, that isn’t in the forefront of Ben’s mind at this show.
“To continue consistency, a fault-free test, that’s really what I’m looking for. If that leads me down the road of going to Ft. Worth, I’m really excited about that.This is a delivery year.”
Ben Ebeling and Bellena.
Of Bellena, a 15-year-old Hanoverian by Belissimo NRW, he said, “She’s an amazing horse. What I love about her is she can come into an environment like tonight pretty much anywhere in the world.
“I think she is the same horse, in the arena, in the training. She’s fluid, she’s so naturally loose in her body. Piaffe/passage was good, I know there’s an extra gear in there. There’s always a next step we can keep working toward.”
The only other rider to break 70 percent was Camille Carier Bergeron of Canada on Finlanderin for a personal best of 70.130. Kevin Kohmann, the winner last year with Dunensee, had a few issues to wind up third with 68.913 percent.
Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu had a nice test with Jaccardo but was eliminated by unanimous decision of the ground jury after her ride “due to a significant amount of blood from a lesion under the saddle pad,” according to a statement from the show. Elizabeth Bortuzzo also was eliminated for failing to appear at the awards ceremony.
Click here for results of the Grand Prix Special qualifier
Click here for results of the Grand Prix Freestyle qualifier