The final 2012 American Young Horse Dressage Selection Trial will be held this weekend at historic Morven Park in Leesburg, VA. Five and six-year-olds will have the opportunity to showcase their talents in hopes of earning a place on the USEF Young Horse Dressage Short List, and ultimately vying to represent the U.S. at the World Championships for Young Horses in Dressage in Verden, Germany.
A small but strong field of three top young horses has lined-up to compete for top honors in the five-year-old division. Brandi Benedict will ride her own Hot Mama (by Hotline-SPS Ladybug by Londonderry) and looks to showcase the form that guided the Hanoverian mare to fifth place honors in the 2011 National Young Horse Dressage Championship four-year-old division.
In the six-year-old division, six horses will square-off for a chance to compete in Verden in August. The third and fifth place finishers from last year's National Young Horse Dressage Championship five-year-old division will compete in Virginia this weekend. Alice Tarjan has entered 2011's third place finisher Somer Hit (by Sandro Hit-Rhussia by Rotspon), a Hanoverian stallion which she owns and rides. Biscaya (by Johnson-Audrey by Argentinus) will once again be ridden by Ulla Parker, who guided Nancy Holowesko's Oldenburg mare to fifth place honors in last year's Young Horse Championship.
Horses in the selection trials will compete in two tests in their respective age divisions. With the Preliminary Test counting towards forty percent of the overall score and the remaining sixty percent being earned in the Final Test.
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