RANCHO MURIETA, CA (Sept. 22, 2023) — When Day Two dawned at the Murieta Equestrian Center, the stage was set for spectacular competition at the CDS 56th Annual Show. Results did not disappoint. Christian Hartung of Vacaville, Caliif., rode the 12-year-old Oldenburg gelding Desario owned by Christiane Noelting to win the $1,000 CDS Grand Prix HOY Open sponsored by Rohan Dressage/Sherry DeLeon Memorial Trophy with a score of 63.967% in a class of seven. “We brought him over as a 3-year old and he’s moved up the levels. He’s very laid back. He’s a sweetheart,” said Christian. “Today, he got a little distracted, but overall I’m really happy with how the performance went. I’m hoping to improve it for the freestyle Saturday.” It will be one to watch and to hear. "We work with somebody very talented from Canada. She’s done freestyles for me before. I think this [music] is actually from a computer game. It’s a fun freestyle.”
JACKIE AHL-ECKHAUS / JETT MVS. GAIG/USDF Intermediaire 2
PHOTO BY TERRI MILLER
Second place in the Grand Prix Open with a score of 62.717% was Sarah Silva of Winnemucca, Nevada, aboard her 16-year-old American Warmblood gelding Royal Cavalier.
After a long hiatus from the CDS Annual Show, Alix Curry of Pescadero, Calif., made up for lost time winning the $1,000 CDS Grand Prix HOY A/A Rubenstein Memorial Perpetual with a 67.283% score on Don Frederic, a 16-year-old Rheinlander gelding owned by Charlotte McIntosh of the San Francisco Peninsula Chapter in a class of three. “Don Frederic was really good, but if I’m being totally honest his ‘party trick’ is piaffe and passage and that did not happen today. It did a little, but was not a showpiece. The drama of the day was that his shoe came off! 30 minutes before the class!” explained Curry, praising the on-call show farrier for speedy service. “He just turned up and .. ‘No problem, it’s going to be fine and it was. Then, he came back after the class to make sure it was still on!”
In second place, Elizabeth Gundry Jenkins of Riverside, Calif., landed a 63.370% on her 12-year-old Werbel FSTF, a 17.2 hand grey gelding.
Clearly, Alix Curry’s luck of the day continued. In the CDS HOY First Level Test 2 A/A sponsored by The Modern Horse/Full Cry Perpetual Trophy, Alix rode her 5-year-old Hanoverian gelding Dante Liebe, to a 77.045% score, winning the class of 13 competitors. “I think he’s the most beautiful horse. We had a very good day.”
Stephanie Crowder of Templeton, Calif., rode her 5-year-old Hanoverian gelding Valmont EMF to a second place in the class with a 72.045% score
In the Great American/USDF FEI Young Rider Team Test Regional Championship, Josh Peter Albrecht of Chico, Calif., earned first place with a 61.912% score on Espresso, a 14-year-old KWPN gelding owned by Coalcyn Equestrian LLC of the Sacramento Valley Chapter. “This is our third year competing together,” said Josh “He is very talented. When I went to Michigan for the Young Riders, they asked me to describe him in one word. I said, ‘Caffeinated!’ Not only is his name Espresso. He can be very hot and tense, but he also loves his job. He’s a unique horse to ride because he can be very excited about something, but also scared of something at the same time. The movements come easy. It’s all about his mental game. Having him mentally able to go. Today, he was a bit tense, so I just tried to move him forward.” Now 21, Josh contemplates his future. “This is my last year as a Young Rider. My goal is to hopefully become a professional dressage rider. We also have a breeding program—me and my mom. Dressage is something you can work on your entire life and always try to be better at. That’s what I like about it and what got me into it.”
In the CDS Futurity classes, young horses stole the spotlight. The Four-Year-Old Division with 14 entries, saw Willy Arts of Hanford, Calif., take top honors on Serupgaards Cezanne, earning an 82.600% in the Material with a combined score of 78.400% on the black Danish Warmblood stallion owned by Linda Nickerson. “He came to us as a 3-year-old, imported from Europe, not started. We got him started and he’s just been steady progress. I think he did his first horse show in April,” said Willy. “He’s a very talented horse, a complete horse. Good gaits, good character, good temperament He reminds me a little of Primo [L Primo DG]. He has a little bit of the same characteristics—very good work ethics, he’s very supple and a horse that’s elastic and always ready to go to work.
In the Five-Year-Old Futurity with a field of 20, Kelly Casey Mykrantz of Danville, Calif., rode the 17.3 hand KWPN mare Navannah owned by Pam Nootbaar to a victory with 81.000% in the Material and a combined score of 76.482%. “It’s a new partnership. Pam bought her in Holland about four months ago. We found her through my good friend Bob Tenwolde. We both went together,” remarked Kelly. This is our third show, so I tried not to have high expectations because she’s still a baby. She did one show in Holland before she came. She took everything in stride and was focused. She’s a big horse and gaining strength by the day. Navannah is 18 hands. She has a lot to give and I think she has a really bright future. She’s got a great temperament. She was excited this morning when she came out, so we had to change our warm up plan. I’m still learning her and she’s still learning me.” Already, a stellar partnership is in the works—one seemly scripted in Hollywood. Kelly described, “Pam had just won the I-1 Freestyle, so we actually got to do the victory round together. She was doing her I-1 victory round on her 16 hand chestnut [Ella Elle L’A B] and I was doing my 5- year -old victory round. on Navannah. I said to Pam then, ‘We couldn’t have written this.’’ Rounding out the CDS Futurities, the Six-Year-Old Division saw DG Bar’s 17 hand Maebria DG win first place in a field of 12, with a combined score of 72.238%. Ridden by Ashlyn Elizabeth Dodge (granddaughter of Tony and Betty DeGroot, who own DG Bar Ranch in Hanford, Calif.), the bay mare sired by Totilas, gained note as the CDS Annual Show’s highest scoring Futurity horse last year as a five-year-old.
High Score Awards for the GAIG USDF Region 7 and CDS Championships for Open, Adult Amateur and Young Rider were also made on Day 2 of the CDS Annual Show.
Christian Hartung’s win on Desario $1,000 CDS Grand Prix HOY Open brought him the GAIG USDF Region 7 and CDS Championships Open High Score Award with 588.5 points.
Alix Curry’s win in the CDS HOY First Level Test 2 A/A on Dante Liebe also earned her the GAIG USDF Region 7 and CDS Championships Adult Amateur High Score Award with 508.5.
Anika Meenal Mujumdar of Milpitas, Calif., made a winning ride with a 69.470% score in the CDS First Level Test 2 Jr/YR in a class of 12 entries on her 9-year-old German Riding Pony, Mr. Peabody 3. The win brought Anika, age 11, an added achievement. She earned the JR/YR High Score Award with 458.5 points.
The 56th Annual California Dressage Society Championship Show takes place this year Sept. 21-24, 2023 at Murieta Equestrian Center, in Rancho Murieta, California together with Great American Insurance Group/ USDF Region 7 Dressage Championships and qualifier for the 2023 US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan.
For full results from today’s classes and tomorrow’s schedule, visit our website at www.california-dressage.org.
