-- press release by Kim Miller, edited by Eurodressage
In topping to the Grand Prix and Freestyle at the 2025 Pacific Coast CDI in Temecula on 2 - 4 May 2025 Geñay Vaughn and Gino continued to polish their place as US Team prospects. Their excellent outings here come just a month after finishing 14th in their FEI World Cup Dressage Finals debut in Switzerland.
The Pacific Coast CDI at Galway Downs was yet another new leg on the pair’s whirlwind tour. Vaughn and her 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood (by Bretton Woods x Haarlem) scored 74.040% in the Kur on Saturday.
“I loved everything about that test,” said Vaughn after Saturday’s ride. “The fact that he can go to new venue after new venue and stay with me is great.” Her freestyle music featured R&B classics from several eras and has been a favorite since she debuted it last year. “I enjoy every moment of this Freestyle.”
The judging panel for Saturday’s Grand Prix Freestyle consisted of Hanna-Mari Kiuttu, Michael Osinski, Agnieszka Majewska, Marian Cunningham and Anne Gribbons. Friday’s Grand Prix panel included Cunningham, Kiuttu, Majewska, Jane Weatherwax and Sandra Hotz.
Since entering the Grand Prix ranks in 2023, the pair has been a presence. Vaughn and her mother, Michele Vaughn, are fixtures on West Coast dressage scene. Based at their Starr Vaughn Equestrian in Northern California, they contribute as competitors, coaches, show organizers and supporters.
Vaughn is especially excited about the USEF’s inaugural US Open of Dressage, set for this fall at the Desert International Horse Park, in Thermal, CA. “We’re so grateful to have it for our sport and especially to have it on this coast.”
Having missed a few qualifiers while on the World Cup trek, Vaughn is playing catch-up on needed scores. That was a major motivation for coming to Temecula and the young professional was impressed by her first visit. “This is really a beautiful venue and a very well-run event.”
Good Outing for Seidel on Cuddle Monster
Six-time Olympian Guenter Seidel and Louise Leatherdale’s 13-year old Jack (by Johnson x Dimension) finished the freestyle in second on a 73.510%, a high point especially considering “it was brand new and we’ve never really done a Freestyle together. I was very pleased and it was a good outing,” Seidel said.
It followed a less consistent effort in Friday’s 3* Grand Prix, in which the pair was third on a 67.043%. “I just have to get cleaner in the Grand Prix, but he was very consistent in his piaffe and passage work.”
The 13-year-old Rhinelander is a cuddle monster in the barn, Seidel shared. “He’ll put his nose on your shoulder or armpit for an hour.” Out in the world, he’s curious about his surroundings, especially when Seidel hand-walked him within sight of Saturday’s soccer games. “He looks at everything and grows 18-hands tall. But he’s never mean or bad about it. If anything, he internalizes all that, and gets a little stuck, rather than silly or stupid.”
The ”big” feel of Galway’s Grand Prix Arena and the sounds and sights of youth sports nearby are good experiences that simulate a European show environment, Seidel said. “It can be good because that’s a little bit what you deal with in Europe where there is a more crowded atmosphere.”
US Open of Dressage Contenders
Kristina Harrison-Antell and Finley (by Don Jovi x Rubels) were third in the Freestyle on a 72.715%, following a 67.522% that set them second in Friday’s Grand Prix.
Harrison-Antell, Seidel and Vaughn are now in good position to be among the 18 contenders eligible to ride for the US Open’s $200,000 in prize money. Harrison-Antell sits second after Temecula, Seidel is 7th and Vaughn is 9th. Six qualifiers remain before the qualifying period ends in late October, but just one on the West Coast – in Oregon at the end of May. (You can follow the leaderboard here.)
Schut-Kery Debuts Jojoba De Massa
Competing on a cool Saturday early evening with fog creeping down the surrounding hills, “Jojo” showed his tendency “to get excited,” she explained. “I call it hot flashes!” Sustained relaxation is a work in progress. Anticipation made his 3-tempi changes a little tense in Saturday’s Intermediaire I test, “But what I still appreciated was that he stayed with me. He started calming down a little bit so it didn’t lead to mistakes.”
The Tokyo Olympic Team USA silver medalist was more upset with herself for an off-course step early in the test. Their 66.324% reflected that toll, while leaving them atop the leaderboard and adding to Friday’s Prix St. Georges 70.853% effort.
Riding Jojo on a long rein back to the barn, Schut-Kery described her partner of one year as a “really sweet horse who tries really hard.” They concluded Sunday with a 73% in the Freestyle, putting them in good stead for a US Festival of Champions invite.
Kennedy and Dr. Davidoff Follow
San Diego-based Heather Kennedy and the 11-year old Hanoverian Dr. Davidoff (by Dante Weltino x Wolkentanz II) were second in the PSG and Inter I tests, with a 68.206% and a 66.147% respectively. The latter test is a better one for the approximately 18-hand, 11-year-old Hanoverian owned and brought along by Kennedy since the horse was six. “Today, (Saturday) the trot work was good and it’s getting stronger, and the canter work was not as strong as I needed it to be.”
They’ve had a circuitous path to this level, with their early years together spent in Mississippi before Kennedy returned to San Diego in 2023. Her current coach, veteran US Olympian Steffen Peters, is among the influential friends who’ve helped the pair, but the in-the-saddle work has been all hers. “From falling flat on his neck when first teaching him flying changes, to where we are now, it’s really fun to have it be my own horse.”
Nick Wagman and Elizabeth Keadle’s Belvedere NRW finished third both days, with a 65.382% in the I1, and a 66.824% in the PSG.
Yost and Chacon Stand Out in Youth Classes
College junior Anna Yost and Irieno-S (by Davino VOD x Facet) topped the Young Riders Team and Individual tests with a 63.647% and a 67.382%. The results set them up nicely to once again represent USDF Region VII at the North America Youth Championships this summer.
Yost developed the 12-year-old KWPN since he was four. “We’ve grown up and learned everything together,” Yost said after Saturday’s Individual ride. “He really felt with me, and more responsive and connected. Today, it just all clicked a bit better.”
Runner-up Emme Chisholm also rides with Kathleen Raine and David Wightman at Adventure Farms, but she keeps and cares for her horse at home in Ramona. Her horse, the 19-year-old Trakehner Improv (by Incantare x Hailo), came by way of Lendon Gray’s Dressage4Kids Foundation. “He was super spooky and kind of crazy when we got him, and we were told he would not go above 2nd Level.”
Their 62.735% reflected an upward trend that thrills the pre-nursing student. “Every test he gets better and better and I’m so proud of how far he’s come. And I am so grateful to Dressage4Kids. Without him, I would never be able to compete in the FEI levels.” They earned a 61.324% in Friday’s Team test.
Chisholm describes the bond born of at-home, 24/7 care as the source of their great relationship, in and out of the dressage court. “We find safety within each other. When one gets nervous and backed off, the other can be there for support.”
Sophie Shohet and Whitney, a 14-year-old Hanoverian mare (by Weltruhm x Pygmalion), earned a 62.413% in the Individual test for third, following Friday’s 60.050% in the Team test. Katherine Nayak and Flower-Power, a 15-year-old Dutch Warmblood by United x Gribaldi previously shown by Laura DeCesari, were a very close second in the Team test on their 63.529%, but some spookiness in the Individual test contributed to a 58.088% for a fourth rank on Saturday.
The Junior division’s only CDI contenders, Sage Chacon and 20-year old KWPN bred Apfelkorn (by Sandreo x Goodtimes), had a spooky Saturday in the Individual test for a 58.265%, but Friday’s team test earned a solid 64.545%. “Sometimes, he has days like this,” Sage said of what will be a drop score in their NAYC pursuit. In bringing Sage along from the Childrens division, the horse “has taught me how to do all the movements correctly.”
Saturday’s FEI Young Rider and Junior Individual judging panel consisted of Hanna-Mari Kiuttu, Michael Osinski, Agnieszka Majewska, Marian Cunningham and Anne Gribbons.
Photos © Terri Miller
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