In last weekend's national competition at the 2021 Global Dressage Festival in Wellington, the USA’s Lehua Custer posted a win in the Grand Prix on Saturday, March 13.
Custer rode F.J. Ramzes, Wendy Sasser’s 2010 American bred KWPN gelding by Juventus x Rampal, to first place after earning a score of 69.456% from the judge at C.
“I felt like I focused on making him rideable throughout our test,” said Custer, “so we didn’t nail every movement the way that I wanted to. It’s so important to school him and to make him the horse that I know I can do that with. I trust him so much and know every detail, so now it’s just about finding that brilliance within the power without letting him take over.”
Cornell University Bred
Custer and Sasser picked the gelding out as a yearling, and the U.S. bred KWPN has come up the levels with the 42-year-old as his guide. “He was actually bred at Cornell University; his sire (Juventus) and his dam (J Rambianca) were both donated to the University by Iron Spring Farm,” explained Custer. “They use the mares and stallions as a part of their veterinary program, and we picked him from a woman who had purchased him from the University.”
She continued, “The intention was for his owner Wendy to eventually take over the ride, but she kept entering us in competitions even after I got the foundation under him. I feel really lucky to continue to ride him and compete. We’ve moved up the levels, and it’s nice to be here now. We started schooling a bit of Grand Prix last spring, but then things got shifted around with COVID, so we decided to just take our time with things.”
From California to Florida
Custer does not have a set schedule for the gelding and concluded by explaining that she will let him decide if he is fit for the international ring when the time comes.
“We are just so thrilled that he’s gone from a yearling to competing here at GDF,” she expressed. “It’s huge for us. I moved here to Wellington from California so we could get him more experience. He’s a very large horse, almost 18hh, and up until he was seven, he wasn’t being trained for the big ring. He is quite rideable, and we are just taking our time with him. He’s really willing and energetic, and so I just make sure he stays under control. We are going to let him tell us if he is capable of going into the international arena. He’s got a lot of strengths that would carry us into that realm successfully, but we are going to go one step at a time.”
The 41-year old Custer made her international show debut in 2013 on Winona (BAWU, by World Class x Brentano II) and Dance with Me (OLD, by Dream of Love x Rohdiamant). She competed in California CDI's through 2014 but has been focusing on national showing since then. In 2019 she became the recipient of the Carol Lavell Advanced Dressage Prize which gives her financial support to further her education.
National Action in Wellington
Second place in that national Grand Prix class went to Michael Bragdell (USA) and Faberge Blue, William Mitchelson’s 2010 KWPN gelding by Contango x Democraat with a 68.913%. Faberge Blue is another American bred Dutch warmblood, born at Marie Emrey's farm out of her mare Kroniek U.
Third place went to Susanne Hamilton (USA) and her own Lesath, a 2009 Hanoverian gelding by Legat x Derwisch, scoring 68.478%.
Friday’s Prix St. Georges class awarded a victory to the USA’s Sarah Daehnert and her own and Bob Price's 2009 KWPN gelding by Vivaldi, Evander 3, after the pair earned a 74.411%. Second place was captured by Kelly Layne (AUS) aboard Anne Barrett’s 2012 Hanoverian by Quarterback, Que Jolie, with 72.794%. Bianca Tota (USA) earned third riding Westerberg, her own 2008 Danish Warmblood gelding by Welser, with 72.794%.
Related Links
Twenty-One Riders Selected for 2020 Kundrun USEF Dressage Development Program
Lehua Custer Awarded 2019 Carol Lavell Advanced Dressage Prize
Riders Announced on Updated Dressage Development Program List