Suchanek, Hicks, Thornlow, Hickok Earn FEI Level Titles at the 2016 U.S. Dressage Finals

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2016 U.S. Dressage Finals

Mike Suchanek captured the Inter I Open Championship, Rachel Hicks won the Inter I Championship for Adult Amateurs, Lauren Thornlow took out the Grand Prix Adult Amateur Championship and Chase Hickok won the Grand Prix Open Championship at the the 2016 US Dressage Finals, a unique national head-to-head competition for exhibitors of all levels being held being held November 10-13 in Lexington, Ky.

Suchanek Takes Intermediaire I Open Championship

In the lavish Alltech Arena, FEI-level competition kicked off the morning schedule with hard-fought Intermediate I Open Championship. As the last competitor to enter the arena, Mike Suchanek of Cambridge, Minn. (Region 4) didn’t let the pressure of the moment, or a bobble down centerline, get in the way of earning a winning score of 71.798% aboard Hero L (nine-year-old Hanoverian gelding [His Highness x Waterlily L by Wolkenstein II] owned and bred in the U.S. by Leatherdale Farms).

“By the time I got to C I thought to myself, ‘okay, I’ve got to pick it up and come together on this.’ And the rest of the test went great. I’m amazingly proud of my horse and happy for the entire Leatherdale team to get this win for them,” said Suchanek, who also credited his special relationship with his mount. “When I started working for the Leatherdales in 2010, Hero was the first horse I ever sat on there. He was just three, and we’ve built up quite a connection over the years. To now enter into the FEI levels, I’m just so proud and I enjoy all of the challenges that come with that.”

Finishing as Reserve Champion was Ashley Wimmer of Winston-Salem, N.C. (Region 1) who earned 71.096% with her own 11-year-old Oldenburg mare Somerhall (Sir Donnerhall x Arantscha B by Archipel) who she has also developed from a young age.

“I brought her up through the young and developing horse program, and I think that experience and exposure definitely helped prepare her for this moment,” said Wimmer. “She was impressed with the atmosphere in the Alltech but she’s matured enough to where she came back and let me ride her anyway. In Europe the horses are used to this type of environment, but in the U.S. there’s not many places like this, so it’s great experience for us.”

Rachel Hicks Tops Intermediaire I Adult Amateur Championship

Twenty-four talented competitors from across the country vied for the Intermediate I Adult Amateur Championship, but it was last year’s champion Rachael Hicks of Prospect, Ky. (Region 2) and her 11-year-old Westfalen gelding Fabio Bellini (Fuerst Heinrich x Dakota by Davignon I) who came out on top with 69.123%. But Hicks almost didn’t get the chance to defend her title.

“I’m not up to date on my rules so I thought since he won last year that we were no longer eligible at this level, and I wasn’t ready to move up to Grand Prix. So I didn’t pursue qualifying at all,” she explained. “All of a sudden I read something USDF sent out right before the last weekend of the qualifying season which said that I could win three times. I literally ran out, loaded him on the trailer, drove all the way to a show in Michigan, and got my qualifying scores in one weekend. And here we are! So now I’ve learned my lesson – read your rules! It worked out well and I was pleased with our ride. He’s such a trier and has gotten more confident in himself over the last year.”

Jessica Nilles took time off from her job as a physical therapist to come to the Finals for the first time, and now will go home to Franklin, Wis. (Region 2) with a Reserve Championship title earned with her 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Wish (Flemmingh x My Fonsa by Voltaire) on 68.421%.

“We received a wild card and we just had to come, and we’re both so excited to be here,” said Nilles. “I think my horse has the biggest heart of any horse I’ve ever known, and our test felt like the most expressive and fun that we’ve had all year. It was a great feeling to have him so ‘up’ and feeling powerful with me in there.”

Thornlow Bests Grand Prix Adult Amateur Championship

Perhaps the most dramatic turnaround performance of the Finals so far was Lauren Thornlow and her 13-year-old Oldenburg gelding Royal Konig (Rubin-Royal by Pica Ramira by Pablo). Their long trip from Snohomish, Wash. (Region 6) may seem shorter on the way home after earning the Grand Prix Adult Amateur Championship with 64.000%.

“It definitely was the ‘comeback kid’ ride,” said Thornlow. “I had a freestyle ride yesterday and everything that could have gone wrong did. It’s the first time I’ve ever gotten below 60% on this horse in the 10 years I’ve owned him. I was definitely not in a good place yesterday, so I told myself that I had to pick myself back up and get it together.” A short morning schooling session seemed to get Thornlow and her sensitive mount back on the same page, and it paid off in spades when the afternoon’s championship title was on the line. “He can be a very difficult ride and sometimes he thinks he can just get by on his good looks,” she laughed. “But today it felt like he was with me the whole time in there. I think as far as our connection and communication went, it ended up being our best Grand Prix ever. We’ve grown together since I was a young rider and everything in our relationship has seemed like it’s meant to be. It’s been a little bit of a roller coaster but we’ve found a good balance, and I’m so happy to have him in my life.”

Kristy Truebenbach Lund of Wellington, Fla. (Region 3) also rebounded from a tough first day to ride her 13-year-old Spanish Warmblood gelding Akvavit (Sylvester x Onni by Jazz) to the Reserve Championship with 62.700%. “We also had a disaster ride yesterday in the Intermediate II, but I’m so pleased with him today,” Truebenbach Lund said of her mount, which she “got out of a bankruptcy sale in Spain and bought off a video. He’s a hot horse, but he will do anything for me, and if you ask him to jump he says ‘how high?’"

Chase Hickok Wins Grand Prix Open Championship

Capping off evening festivities, 15 horse/rider combinations contested the Grand Prix Open Championship where Chase Hickok of Wellington, Fla. (Region 3) rode Hyperion Farm Inc.’s 17-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Sagacious HF (Welt Hit II x Judith by Cocktail) to a top score of 70.667% to win the Veronica Holt Perpetual Trophy (presented by USDF Region 5 and Friends).

“We wanted to focus on positive, harmonious performances with Sagacious and I felt like we really accomplished that tonight, especially given the atmosphere,” said Hickok. “I can’t really put into words what an incredible opportunity it’s been for me to ride this horse. From day one he’s been such a generous teacher, and it’s a testament to him that we’ve accomplished so much together.” This was Hickok’s first trip to the Finals in Lexington, but it won’t be her last. “We graduated last year from the Under-25 division and were looking for a new goal to set for us. This felt like a natural choice because I think it’s an awesome program, it’s a great way to cap off the season, and we were really excited to come and see it for ourselves,” she explained. “Everybody’s been so nice, from the volunteers driving the coffee cart in the morning to the staff handing out carrots for the horses, we’ll certainly be coming back. This will now have a permanent spot on our calendar.”

Anna Whit Watkins of Moody, Texas (Region 9) was equally pleased with her performance with her 20-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Oublette (Amulet x Jinnardi by Expo), earning 68.000% for Reserve honors.

“He was really on tonight – he likes his job and loves a crowd,” said Watkins, who also earned the Reserve title at this level at the inaugural Finals in 2013. “It’s great to come back again. Everyone that I’ve spoken with is just so excited to be here because it’s such a unique experience. For competitors who don’t usually the chance to get out of their home state or region much, to come here and see the diversity from across the country in such a supportive atmosphere is an incredible experience.”