NEDA Fall Festival 2011 - New England Dressage Association

photo by Carole MacDonald
(Fall Festival continued from page 1)
Germany and who placed second with
Winyamaro on a score of 71.475, and
Canada’s Jacqueline Brooks who rode
D-Niro to third place with a score of
67.579 per cent. Haddad took first
and second in Friday’s CDI Grand
Prix with Winyamaro and Cadillac.
Lyle and Wizard rode their
freestyle victory at NEDA to music
originally used for a previous horse
competed first by McDonald and then
by Lyle – Felix.
“It was a last
minute decision to
use this music,”
Lyle said. We’ve
been working on a
new freestyle for
next year. But this
music was used
for Felix and he’s
not competing
now so it was just sitting around. I
thought we should try it with Wizard
and see if it might work. Terry Gallo
does our music and she tweaked the
tempo a little bit for him.”
In CDI Prix St. Georges competition,
Northeasterner Sharon McCusker
took the win with Wrigley and a score
i The New England Dressage Association j
Mendiburu and What
Happen have been steadily
moving up the levels, but they
have a strong support team
behind them. Mendiburu is
the mother of four and all of
her children ride, so too does
her husband.
of 70.158. The pair also took second
in the CDI Intermediaire competition
with a score of 67.325 behind winners
Caroline Cheret and Sandokan with a
score of 68.728. NEDA was Wrigley’s
first CDI. “And he got over 70 percent
yesterday in high winds. I was thrilled
with how he kept it all together. And
today he was a little tired so I kept my
warm-up pretty short and it turned out
that he wasn’t tired. He was a little
fresh in the I-1
and it cost us
some points,”
McCusker said.
McCusker
acquired Wrigley
from a former
roommate during
one of her stays in
Florida and while
she knew he was a
good horse, she
didn’t know how good he was until she
had him in training for several
months. “And then he really started to
take off,” she said. “Last year I knew
what I had and this year it was solidified.
He got 70s consistently at First
Level the first year and a lot of 70s
last year at Fourth Level. He’s getting
Adrienne Lyle, long-time working student of Olympian Debbie McDonald won the popular
CDI Grand Prix Freestyle at NEDA with her partner Wizard and a score of 74.925.
Hannah McCabe and GB Classic – Jr/YR
3rd level winner.
a lot of 70s this year in Prix St.
Georges and Developing Horse classes.
His quality is good enough that as
long as my training stays I see his
future as a grand prix horse.”
A number of New Jersey residents
also came up to compete in the
Region 8 Championships and it paid
off. Heather Mason, of Lebanon, New
Jersey, took four regional championships
– Third and Fourth Level
Freestyle championships, Fourth
Level Open and First Level Freestyle
regional champion. “I like it,”
Heather said of her many wins. When
asked her secret, she said, “Good
horses and consistent training. The
horses have been really good.”
Another New Jersey resident, also
named Heather, was just as thrilled
with being crowned both this year’s
Region 8 Fourth Level Adult Amateur
(Fall Festival continued to page 8)
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photo by Carole MacDonald