Wayne, Ill. - The 2025 U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions continued today at the HITS Chicago Lamplight Equestrian Center, showcasing top talent across multiple divisions, including the conclusion of the Adequan®/USEF Para Dressage National Championships, as well as the start of the Neue Schule/USEF Grand Prix, the Adequan®/USEF Brentina Cup, and the Markel/USEF Young and Developing Horse Championships.
Adequan®/USEF Para Dressage National Championships
In the Adequan®/USEF Grand Prix Para Dressage National Championship, Kate Shoemaker (Wellington, Fl.) and Supreme earned the national title with a strong winning score in the FEI Para Grand Prix Freestyle of 74.425%. Though Shoemaker has owned Supreme, her own 2016 Westphalian gelding (Sezuan x Deja Vu) for almost five years, the championship is their first together. “He’s only been with me full-time for about three weeks,” she explained, “Every day has been about building trust and learning more about him. I just feel like I’m living a fairy tale every time I ride my big, beautiful black horse. Supreme has exceeded every expectation [this week.]”
Winning the national title has long since been a goal for Shoemaker, but at one point, it was one she wasn’t sure would happen. “This is my first national championship title at this level, and I had to kind of let it go before it could happen,” she says, “For so many years I wanted it and sometimes I’d be in the lead, then something would go wrong. This year, to be able to add this title to my resume just feels so special.”
Close behind, Paralympic gold medalist Roxanne Trunnell (Wellington, Fla.) and Rumour Has It secured the reserve championship with 73.988%. ‘Rumour’, a 2012 U.S.-bred Hanoverian gelding (Romancero H x Inkka), owned by Simone van der Schalk, is a new partner for Trunnell, who explained that her ride in the Freestyle was actually her seventeenth on the gelding. “This is still a very new partnership,” she said, "Today was only our second time showing this freestyle. There are some tweaks I’d like to make, but overall, it went even better than I expected. I’m really pleased with him and excited to keep building this partnership.”
Rounding out the podium, Eleanor Brimmer (Wellington, Fla.) and My Moment, her own 2010 Hanoverian mare (Furst Romancier x High Sun), produced a steady test to finish third with a 70.810%. “My mare, who we call Minni, can get a little tense in the freestyle, so we deliberately chose soothing Enya music to help her relax. It created such a nice, spa-like atmosphere.” When asked about how their week had gone, Brimmer was all smiles and expressed their immediate plans, “I’m really happy with how she’s performed all week, and now I’m looking forward to getting her home for a well-deserved vacation.”
Adequan®/USEF Intermediaire I Para Dressage National Championship
The debut year of the Adequan®/USEF Intermediaire I Para Dressage National Championship concluded on Wednesday with the FEI Para Intermediate Freestyle Test. The freestyles contributed 15% to the overall score, along with 40% from Monday’s Test A and 45% from Tuesday’s Test B, to determine national championship placings. The final overall results were less than a point apart, making for an exciting finish for the new division.
After their win in the Test B and solid scores in the Test A and Freestyle, Divino (De Niro x Hauptstutbusch Welle), a 2000 Hanoverian gelding owned by Roberta Clark and ridden by Sienna Busking (Owasso, Okla.), secured the overall championship title. Busking, who trains with Clark, has been riding “D” for just over a year.
“One of the highlights of this week was getting to show with other para riders, because I don’t have that in Oklahoma,” said Busking. “It was fun to get to compete with a bunch of people that I’m neck and neck with.”
In D’s younger days, he helped his owner Clark earn her USDF gold medal. He was briefly retired, but the quiet life didn’t suit him, and a return to the arena as a para dressage horse turned out to be a good fit for his golden years.
“He loves having a job,” said Busking. “He’s forward and still super energetic and full of life. Being a pasture pony was not what he wanted to do. He lives outside, and he’s honestly a pretty healthy, easy 25-year-old.”
Busking and D performed an energetic freestyle to songs from the Austin Powers soundtrack that suited the bright chestnut gelding.
“We had an Austin Powers themed freestyle,” said Busking. “I wanted something that would be fun and upbeat.”
The reserve national champion title went to Carrera GH (Contucci x MS Mocha RH), a 2005 Hanoverian mare owned by Tami Glover and ridden by Victoria Yu (Coatesville, Pa.) Yu is new to para dressage and started riding Carrera last fall. The big atmosphere at Lamplight didn’t phase the FOC first-timers.
“She was a pro. I think I was more nervous than she was, and I wasn’t sure how she’d handle it,” said Yu. “She’s never done anything like this before. This was her time doing more than a weekend away at a show and being in a stall all week. She lives outside 24/7, so that’s a huge difference for her, and she handled it like a pro.”
Carrera and Yu performed their freestyle to iconic, empowering pop songs including Fight Song and Girl on Fire.
“My freestyle was choreographed by Nicole Sweeney,” said Yu. “I wanted to do a girl power song, and I did Fight Song because it’s kind of been my battle since I had my stroke and trying to get my power back to being independent and getting the horses back. It rang true to me a little bit.”
Winning second in the freestyle and third overall was Baltico BRH (Kabul BRH x Tibetana), a 2018 PRE (Pura Raza Española) gelding ridden and owned by Elizabeth Welch (Summerville, S.C.). Welch has been developing “Bee” since he came to the U.S. from Spain.
“I purchased him as a 3-year-old stallion,” she said. “I imported him in the fall of 2022, and that’s when I started riding him. He is a very responsible young horse. He just turned 7, but he’s got a very good brain, and he’s been great with everything we do with him.”
The pair’s freestyle was set to cinematic music including pieces from the Moana soundtrack.
“This was really my first time doing a freestyle,” said Welch. “That’s a new experience for me. It was fun. I thought the music suited him.”
For these athletes, the Intermediaire I Para Dressage section is a welcome addition to Festival of Champions and the Adequan®/USEF Para Dressage National Championships.
“I knew Para Nationals existed, but when I realized this was the first year that they were offering Intermediaire I, that was great, especially for me,” said Welch. “I’m not new to riding, but I’m new to dressage, and I also have a very young horse who is new to dressage, and so we certainly weren’t ready for the Grade V Grand Prix test. It was a good goal and a good opportunity to be able to come and do a bigger show. If you’re not ready for the next level, for whatever reason, it still gives you a big goal to work towards.”
Busking agrees and sees this as an important bridge to the higher levels.
“It gives another level to work toward, and to get to show alongside people who have competed in the Paralympics—getting to learn and watch them ride,” she said. “And that’s my ultimate goal. But this made it a little more accessible versus doing my first big show at Grand Prix.”
“It’s a great steppingstone,” said Yu. “This was my first year actually competing in para dressage and not just competing with able-bodied riders. So it’s the goal of being able to compete with other paras and on a level playing field, and to get here and compete alongside Olympic riders or people that have gone all the way, which is my ultimate goal as well.”
Neue Schule/USEF Grand Prix Championship
In the FEI Grand Prix, Christian Simonson (Ventura, Calif.) and his newest partner, Indian Rock, a 2013 KWPN stallion (Apache x Crisjena), owned by Zen Elite Equestrian Center, impressed the judges with expressive passage and collected canter work to secure the win on a score of 73.783%. This marks a strong start for the duo as they continue to build their partnership at the championship.
Meagan Davis (Loxahatchee, Fla.) and Toronto Lightfoot, a 2013 Oldenburg gelding (Totilas x Okima Lightfoot), owned by Scott Durkin, delivered a polished performance to claim second place on a score of 67.565%. Rounding out the top three, Karen Lipp (Ball ground, Ga.) guided Infinity, her own 2013 KWPN gelding (Dream Boy x Ultraster) to a 67.565%, earning third place in a competitive field.
Adequan®/USEF Brentina Cup Championship
The U25 Brentina Cup saw a tightly contested class in the FEI Intermediate II. Josh Albrecht (Oroville, Calif.) and Goldenboy Vinckenburgh (Apache x Tandafanory), a 2011 KWPN gelding owned by Coalcyn Equestrian LLC, topped the leaderboard with a 69.177%, impressing the judges particularly in the pirouettes and extended trot and canter work. Close behind by a fraction, Christian Simonson rode Fleau de Baian, a 2010 Dutch Warmblood stallion (Jazz x Fidora), owned by Zen Elite Equestrian Center, to second place with a 69.176%, while Caroline Garren (Wellington, Fla.) and Quantaris, a 2010 Oldenburg gelding (Quarterline x Super Susi), owned by Oded Shimoni, secured third place on a score of 66.353%.
Markel/USEF Young and Developing Horse Championships
In the 7-Year-Old Preliminary Test, Katie Duerrhammer (Greenwood Village, Colo.) and Rosebank VH, a 2018 Swedish Warmblood stallion (Revolution x Darling II VH), owned by Kylee Lourie, delivered a winning performance, scoring 78.518%. The pair had a lovely test, showcasing the stallion’s development, forward movement, and their growing partnership together. Kathryn Fleming-Kuhn (New Berlin, Ill.) and Vholt, her own 2018 Oldenburg stallion (Vitalis x Rhiddle) followed closely behind them for second place on a score of 77.343%, while Christian Hartung and Velantis N rounded out the top three with a score of 76.365%.
2025 U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions Live Stream
The 2025 U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions is streaming live on USEF Network, brought to you by Adequan®. US Equestrian fans, subscribers, and members can access the live stream, and subscribers and members will be able to watch replays on demand. Learn more here.
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