GAIG/USDF Region 7 & CDS 56th Annual Championships
Sends $30,000 in Prize Money, Awards, and Priceless Memories
Home with Competitors, Volunteers, and Staff
RANCHO MURIETA, CA (Sept. 26, 2023) —As horse trailers departed the Murieta Equestrian Center on Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, for destinations throughout California and Nevada and the 4-day GAIG/USDF Region 7 & CDS 56th Annual Championships came to a close, they took along memories of 238 horses and 170-plus riders competing for over $30,000 in prize money and awards in a beautiful setting, interwoven with social events. For some, the experience spelled landmark dressage achievements, for many it instilled inspiration and new connections. At every turn, master storytellers seemed at work.
Tracey Hill on Gorklintgards Kiwi Photo by Terri Miller
CDS Prix St George Horse of the Year Open
Alix Curry of Pescadero, Ca., rode the 16-year-old Rheinlander gelding Don Frederic owned by Charlotte McIntosh to win the Great American/USDF AD/AM Grand Prix Regional Championship in a field of three with a 64.946% score, seemingly still touched by the “lucky” shoe the 17 hand chestnut got replaced two days earlier, less than 30 minutes, before her winning ride in the CDS Grand Prix HOY A/A. Fortune smiled again. Curry explained, “We were very lucky, because I made a giant mistake in the pirouette. He changed leads coming out of it. Then, I was dithering, ‘Should I change back?’ I didn’t, but still won by the skin of my teeth.” Indeed she did.
Elizabeth Gundry Jenkins of Riverside, Ca., took a very close second in the class with 64.674% on her 12-year-old grey gelding Werbel FSTF.
Even with the two Grand Prix Championships on Don Frederic, Curry was clearly smitten with the win on her 5-year-old Hanoverian gelding Dante Liebe in the CDS HOY First Level Test 3 A/A sponsored by The Modern Horse, with a combined score of 74.564% in a field of 14. The victory also earned Curry the Full Cry Perpetual Trophy award. Stephanie Crowder of Templeton, Ca., took second place in the class with a combined score of 71.474% on her 5-year-old Hanoverian gelding Valmont EMF.
Curry bought Dante Liebe from breeder Eliza Rutherford (Foxwood Farm) as a foal, bringing him to California soon after was weaned. “It’s family affair. We played with him as a 3-year-old, then we ‘turfed’ him out (pasture) and brought him back in as a 4-year old. My husband actually does all the ground work. I do the getting on,” she explained. “I’d say temperament is his best thing. Super sweet. Follows you around. He’ll do anything. All he needs to do is stop growing now. He’s 16.3!” said the petite Curry. There are idiosyncracies. “He likes to remove all of his boots and throw them into the water trough. You can never get him ready in advance because he’ll tear them all off. The beautiful championship ribbons. . . he was busy pulling them off his chest while we were out there!” she remarked. “I’m hoping that’s a baby characteristic. We have high hopes for him, but you can never tell. He’s only been to four shows—enough to qualify. He’s not very experienced, but he came here and was great.” Curry’s already contemplating 2024. “We’re going to try to qualify him for the 6-year-olds.”
In the Great American /USDF Open Fourth Level Regional Championship, Sarah E. Mason of Danville, Ca., scored a first 70.069% on her 7-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Liang in a field of 10. Ashlyn Elizabeth Dodge of Hanford, Ca., placed second in the class with 69.722% on L Primo DG, a 7-year-old chestnut stallion owned by DG Bar Ranch. For Mason, there was a sense of deja vu on Sunday, given her first place victory a day earlier in Saturday’s $1,000 CDS Fourth Level HOY Open Fourth Level Test 3 when Liang scored 71.250% over Dodge’s second place 68.125% on L Primo DG.
Mason shared heartfelt words about her back-to-back Fourth Level Championships over the weekend. “I lost my mom to cancer in March. I came out of the test and just felt so at peace. The first thing I thought about was that she would have been so proud of it.” She’s bonded deeply with Liang since purchasing him in 2020 in the midst of Covid after seeing a video of the 16 hand chestnut. “This horse has been an incredible partner. He’s a yes man. Every single day he gives 100 percent, under saddle or on the ground. Two years ago, he won the Futurity at First Level. This year, both CDS and USDF Fourth Levels.” Competition aside, what Mason calls Liang’s most prominent trait invariably makes her smile. “As soon as he hears my voice, he starts whinnying,” she said.
In the CDS HOY Training Level Test 3 A/A sponsored by Click Hock Shield, Karen J. Nocket of Placerville, Ca., rode to victory on the final day of competition with a combined score of 70.867% on her 6-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare Margaux in a class of eight. Nocket also received the Creswick Perpetual Trophy for her win on the 16.2 hand chestnut. Scoring a close second, Meredith Delich of Kensington, Calif. earned a combined score of 70.333% on Dogwood, a 4-year-old Oldenberg gelding owned by Katy Barglow.
Less than an hour later, Nocket rode Margaux to an 83.000% second place in CDS A/A Dressage Seat Equitation Challenge 22 & Over class won by Ellie Hardesty of Encintas, Ca., with an 85.000% on her Hanoverian gelding Barrington.
Nocket shared the inspiration behind Margaux’s name. “I went to The Netherlands to find her and sat down with Norbert Gieling.” Their decision to choose the mare out of 18 horses being considered, happened over a bottle of Château Margaux. “She was extremely spicy at the beginning of this show,” said Nocket. "We came out the other end with ability to do better work. She’s a good girl.”
In the Great American/USDF JR/YR Prix St. Georges Regional Championship, Alyssa Nicole Bunting of Reno, Nv, tied for first place on her 15-year-old Hanoverian gelding Del Mar, together with Josh Peter Albrecht of Chico, Ca., aboard Espresso, the 14-year-old KWPN gelding owned by Coalcyn Equestrian LLC. Both riders scored exactly 64.044% in the class of three.
“This is our first year back after a 2-1/2 year break. I’m happy to be back,” said Bunting who took time off when she started college at University of Nevada Reno, majoring in Mechanical Engineering. “It was just too time consuming to continue dressage. I’m switching to Finance now, so I’ll have more time for my horses.” Describing her Sunday Prix St. Georges victory, she explained, “Saturday, our first day, was little bit rough starting out. My first day is never the best, but Del Mar came through and pulled it all together today.” Bunting’s had the16.3 hand gelding five years. “I can take him anywhere, any type of trails. He gets along with everybody. He’s an angel. I can put anybody on him. He’s an all around sweet guy.” Come winter, they even ride in the snow.
When not in the saddle, Bunting enjoys other forms of horse power. “I love cars! My dad and I are restoring a 1960 C1 Corvette. It’s the first generation Corvette.” The lifelong Reno native is also keen on riding motorcycles, dirt bikes, and simply being outside. Skiing, of course, in winter. “I like to read too. I'm a big fantasy person,” she admits. Her focus ahead is clear. “I’ve always had a passion for horses, even as a little girl. “I feel that I’m ready to take my riding to the next level. I’ve done Regional Championships for quite awhile and really want to take that next step. Next year I’d love to try out for Young Riders. It will be my last year I will be able to do that. So, why not? We will definitely have to put a freestyle together. . . . but, if the Olympics are in my future (Bunting giggled) . . . great! I feel that’s an inspiring thing for a lot of other young riders.”
A virtual air traffic controller at the CDS hospitality tent, Debbie Murphy of Loomis, Ca., worked as Volunteer Coordinator for CDS throughout the 4-day show. “We had 30-plus volunteers and they were spectacular—particularly when we had to make adjustments. They’ve been wonderful to work with. Plus, the CDS members stepped up and volunteered in different areas,” she remarked. Murphy, who spends a week each month in Las Vegas working with entertainers like The Righteous Brothers, was a welcoming presence at the CDS tent—be it for information, directions, or a cold beverage. “I think the most joy that I’ve gotten is with the young riders and seeing the looks on their faces. It really inspires them to see some of these upper level riders. Having them here is really important,” Murphy reflected about the upcoming riders she met “They are not full of themselves. They are here to learn, like we all are.” Murphy gave the pivotal behind-the-scenes CDS staffers a shout out. “Show management has been a pleasure to work with. These ladies work so hard in the office and they always have a smile on their faces. I don’t know how they do it. It’s all for the horses and the riders.”
Southern California’s Patricia Hart, CDS Vice President and Director at Large, added a tribute, “I live in the Fullerton area (Orange County). I’m really pleased with how it turned out. It was an upbeat show. There were a lot young riders here. That’s very exciting,” Hart remarked. “We want to encourage that and to bring out the new up and coming riders. They are very talented and their parents are very supportive.”
In 2024, the 57th Annual CDS Championship Show returns to Southern California, in line with an alternating North/South location schedule that subsequently brings the competition back north in 2025.
For full results for the 56th CDS Championship Show and upcoming events visit our website at www.california-dressage.org.
