USEF Preliminary Single Horse Combined Driving National Championship

Raymond Helmuth, of Cambridge, Iowa, and Kendro earned the USEF Preliminary Single Horse Combined Driving National Championship with an overall score of 108.89 penalties. Helmuth guided the young, but sensible, five-year-old KWPN stallion owned by Helmuth Equine to a solid dressage score of 54.22 penalties for third place in the dressage phase. They went on to win the cones phase and add no penalties to their score. They closed out the competition by winning the marathon phase and adding 54.67 penalties to their overall score.

“He was just an absolutely rock star,” said Helmuth of Kendro’s marathon performance. “He is a small horse, and he is so handy and quick in the hazards that it is work to stay with him. He gave me absolutely every ounce that he had in the marathon, and he wasn’t even out of gas when we were done. It was fantastic; it was just unbelievable!”

Jan Hamilton, of Alva, Fla. and Icen, her seven-year-old KWPN gelding, earned the reserve champion title with an overall score of 112.28 penalties. Ellen Epstein, of Ocala, Fla., and Uncle Leo, her 11-year-old KWPN gelding, finished in third with an overall score of 115.61 penalties.

USEF Preliminary Single Pony Combined Driving National Championship

Leslie Berndl, of Lexington, Ky., added a USEF Preliminary Single Pony Combined Driving National Championship to her resume with the help of Sweetwater’s Maraduke and an overall score of 107.17 penalties. Berndl and Teressa Kandianis’s five-year-old Norwegian Fjord gelding scored 51.11 penalties to place second in the dressage phase. They won the cones phase and added no penalties to their score. Berndl and Sweetwater’s Maraduke finished Sunday’s marathon phase with 56.06 penalties to win the phase and the national championship title.

“For the marathon, I really had no expectations of how he would do because we had only done training level at Grand Oaks [CDE earlier this month],” said Berndl. “I tried to move a little more forward in the hazards, and he picked it up like he had been doing it for 100 years. I kind of let him pick his pace in the obstacles, and he stayed forward and light and answered everything I asked of him with 110%.”

Denice Klinger, of Alpharetta, Ga., and Ironwood Xander, her eight-year-old Norwegian Fjord gelding, were the reserve champions with an overall score of 114.98 penalties. Janet Crumpton, of Alachua, Fla., and FRF Donnar, her 12-year-old Norwegian Fjord gelding, finished in third place with an overall score of 122.51 penalties, making it a podium sweep for Norwegian Fjords in the national championship division.

Roberta Greeno, of Ocala, Fla., and her American Shetland ponies took home the USEF Preliminary Pair Pony Combined Driving National Championship title with an overall score of 124.57 penalties. They began the competition by earning a dressage score of 52.22 penalties, then tallying 3.00 penalties in the cones phase. Greeno and her ponies finished the competition by tallying 69.35 penalties in the marathon phase.

“Marathon was a blast,” said Greeno. “[The courses] are all challenging at prelim level, but it wasn’t too much of a challenge. It was a beautiful course. I live right here by the park, and I have nothing but admiration and respect for how it is being run these days.”

USEF Preliminary Four-in-Hand Pony Division

Louise Blankinship, of Live Oak, Fla., and her Welsh and Dartmoor team claimed the USEF Preliminary Four-in-Hand Pony Combined Driving National Championship title with an overall score of 150.17 penalties. They scored 58.20 penalties in the dressage phase, driving in the rain on Friday for an added challenge. Blankinship and her ponies had no penalties in the cones phase for a stellar performance. The ponies tallied 91.97 penalties in the marathon to close out the competition.

“When we did cones, it was the best phase that I have ever driven,” said a thrilled Blankinship. “My goal was to go in and be as fast as I could and as accurate as I could, because I would like to move up to Intermediate soon. We came in, and it was going well, and it was just like floating. We came in 51 seconds under time. It was just amazing!”

Blankinship believed that her success at the show was due in part to being a member of the Developing Athlete Program for Combined Driving. “Since I got into the program and started doing the clinics just last month, I have gotten so much better, especially with my cones,” said Blankinship. “It is amazing how much I have learned. I hope more people join the program because look how much it has helped me already.”

View the results from the Florida Spring Fling CDE.

The USEF International High Performance Programs are generously supported by the USET Foundation, USOC, and USEF sponsors and members.

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Further Reading

• Jennifer Thompson Captures USEF Advanced Single Horse Combined Driving National Championship

The post Four USEF Preliminary Combined Driving National Championships Crowned at Florida Spring Fling CDE appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

The top saddle seat equitation riders in the U.S. faced a rigorous challenge on Saturday, November 16, as they competed for top honors in the USEF Saddle Seat Medal Final at the United Professional Horseman’s Association (UPHA)/American Royal National Championship Horse Show. Twelve of the 19 horse-and-rider combinations in the preliminary ride-offs were called back for the final round of competition by judges Kim Cowart of Statesville, N.C.; Michael Craghead of Fresno, Calif.; and Elizabeth McBride Jones of Raeford, N.C. The stakes were high as these elite riders performed rail work and a complex individual pattern for a chance at the championship title and the prestigious Adrian Van Sinderen Trophy.

Michael Arquilla of Woodridge, Ill., was crowned champion in the 2019 USEF Saddle Seat Medal Final. Trained by Sheri Brandl, the judges saw Arquilla’s depth of skill and finesse as he performed every test with grace and precision. Arquilla was presented with the Helen K. Crabtree and Adrian Van Sinderen trophies by 2018 USEF Saddle Seat Medal Final champion Haley Berget.

Seventeen-year-old Arquilla had an outstanding competition year culminating with the Medal Final win, as well as a win in the UPHA Challenge Cup Final on Thursday.

“All of this is about hard work, and I’m glad that it paid off,” said Arquilla. “I know I put in the work and sometimes [the results] weren’t what I wanted, but in the end, things have worked out great.”

Arquilla rode ^CH(EQ)Mooi Mooi, Sharon Arquilla’s 14-year-old American Saddlebred gelding, in the preliminary round but elected to ride another horse for the final round when he felt the gelding was slightly lame. “^[CH(EQ)Mooi Mooi] has the heart of a champion,” said Arquilla. “Even when he’s tired, he still tries his hardest just like any great athlete.

Arquilla began working with “Nelson” when he was just 10-years-old. Arquilla, his mother, Sharon, and his trainers saw the horse had incredible potential, but the gelding had a long way to go before he was ready for the equitation ring. “I’ve had Nelson for seven years,” he said. “He came to us as a driving horse, and he didn’t even know how to canter! I’m proud of how far he’s come.

Alayna Applegate, of Ewing, Ky., claimed the reserve champion title and the silver medal for the second consecutive year. The youngest competitor in the field of 19 rode Kalarama’s New Moon, her nine-year-old American Saddlebred gelding. “I am always working on rising to the top, but if I can stay right here, I’ll stay right here as long as I can,” said Applegate. “It is so much fun.”

“Moonpie” and Applegate are a relatively new partnership of six months. “This was only [Kalarama’s New Moon] third equitation final ever, with the other two being this year! I’m so proud of him,” said Applegate. “He went in there and totally knocked those patterns out today. He is amazing.”

Visit the USEF Network to watch the USEF Saddle Seat Medal Final on demand.

2019 USEF Saddle Seat Medal Final Top 10

Champion: Michael Arquilla (Woodridge, Ill.)
Reserve Champion: Alayna Applegate (Ewing, Ky.)
Third: Isabella Privitera (Mission Hills, Kan.)
Fourth: Finn Cooper (Denver Colo.)
Fifth: Sophie Yi (Alamo, Calif.)
Sixth: Gabriella Snyder (St. Louis, Mo.)
Seventh: Dawson Archibald (Andover, Kan.)
Eighth: Ashley Perry (Londonderry, N.H.)
Ninth: Kaylee Atkinson (Oro Valley, Ariz.)
Tenth: Ella Hampton (Sheridan, Ind.)

Complete Results of the USEF Saddle Seat Medal Final

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The post Michael Arquilla Rides to USEF Saddle Seat Medal Final Win appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Jennifer Thompson, of Lodi, Wis., and her driving horse, Funnominial CG, added the title of “national champion” to their resume in the 2019 USEF Advanced Single Horse Combined Driving National Championship at the Katydid CDE. Thompson’s strong dressage test helped the pair earn the tricolors to finish with a final cumulative score of 156.87 penalties.

With a banner year for the newly partnered Thompson and Funnominial CG, her nine-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, the duo left everything on the table for the win in this combined driving national championship. In dressage, Thompson and Funnominial CG sat in second place with 55.13 penalties heading into Saturday’s marathon. The marathon saw a slight shake up in the leaderboard, with Thompson taking the lead after two days of competition with a cumulative score of 146.34 penalties heading into the third and final phase, cones.

“I felt that we had our best dressage test yet,” said Thompson. “The horse seems to be coming along well, developing both physically and mentally in the marathon. He really gives it 110%.”

Thompson’s cones phase proved to be a bit challenging as she and Funnominial CG added 10.53 penalties to their overnight score to end with a final 156.87 penalties for the title.

Taylor Bradish, of Windsor, S.C., and Katydid Duchess, Katrina Becker’s 10-year-old Welsh pony-cross mare, were hot on the heels of Thompson throughout the competition. With only 0.21 penalties between Bradish and Thompson, Bradish ended the weekend in reserve with a final score of 157.08 penalties. Donna Crookston, of Saltsburg, Penn., and Viktor, her 11-year-old Dutch Harness gelding, put in the only fault-free cones round to secure a third-place finish with a final score of 160.84 penalties.

Complete scores can be found online (via PDF).

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The post Jennifer Thompson Captures USEF Advanced Single Horse Combined Driving National Championship appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.