BY REGINA ANTONIOLI
You could feel the electricity in the air from the first notes of “God Bless America” as the Painted Ladies Rodeo Performers on their flashy Paints dazzled the crowd at opening ceremonies, Saturday night at the Great American/USDF Region 7 & CDS Championships. Following a beautiful rendition of the National anthem by Pam Porter-Englund, those seated in the 42 sold out VIP dinner tables along with spectators in the bleachers, quieted to see the costumed Grand Prix Pas De Deux performed by Shae Lovazzano and Manuel Pena. Between the eight competition Grand Prix Freestyles, the Show Time Vaulters wowed the crown with their exhibition. While the final scores were tallied, Willy Arts and Team did a salute to the great DG Bar mare, Valeska DG, with great demonstrations and explanations of Dressage movements and gaits.
In the end it was Ari Lopez (Vacaville, CA) on Carolyn McMullen’s Duarte Monterrey winning the featured Grand Prix Freestyle with a 70.750%. Ari and the Lusitano gelding performed to an upbeat melody of dance music leading oa with the Dancing With the Stars theme. Their Freestyle and earlier Grand Prix win also earned them the overall Grand Prix Grand Champion. In addition to the beautiful, embroidered dress cooler from Riding Warehouse, and CDS Championship jacket, the winners name will be engraved on the Keen Perpetual Trophy, the encased Pan American Gold Medal won by Hilda Gurney and Keen in 1975. “It was incredible,” Ari said about the experience, “beyond my wildest expectations,”
Two additional CDS Grand Championships were awarded earlier in the day. Natalya Slipchenko (Davis, CA) won the Intermediaire I on Lori Kornblatt’s Fortunatto EDI. The Westphalian gelding earned a 67.279% in Friday’s Intermediaire I and a 73.375% in today’s Freestyle for a combined score of 70.327%. Fourteen-year-old Bea Freels (Santa Barbara, CA) was the First/Second Level Grand Champion, earning a combined score of 65.613% on her mom’s Welsh Cob, Figgy Pudding.
Other highlights of Saturday competition included the Open High Score of 77.292 % in the CDS First Level Championships for Futurity winner, Rachel Wade (West Sacramento) and her Dutch Warmblood Paradigm. Rachel captured two of the CDS Horse of the Year state championships; Training on Paradigm and First on Reminiscence. Sixteen-year-old Gace Wiseman (Visalia, CA) earned the Jr/YR highpoint honors riding First Level on her own black KWPN gelding Orlando DG (71.389%) while Alyssa Nicole Buentin (Reno, NV) competing at Third Level (73.250%) on her own Oldenburg gelding, Marokko captured the Amateur High Point.
