Glory Day (JJ Glory Day) with Marcus Orlob and Gjenganger with Alice Trajan - photo credit: Annan Hepner / PS Dressage
Part of news article at psdressage.com
Alice Tarjan is no stranger to success at the championships and she added another 4-Year-Old National Champion tricolor to her wall with her win on her Danish Warmblood mare Gjenganger (Grand Galaxy Win–Donna Dee, Blue Hors Don Schufro). The pair received an 8.84 in the Preliminary Test earlier in the week, but the young mare was a bit tired in Saturday’s test and was docked points for curling behind the bit. Despite the occasional shortness of the neck, the judges praised Gjenganger as a “beautiful picture we enjoyed watching.” Her highest individual score of 9.0 came from her bounding, expressive canter and her total for her second test was 8.54, which was enough for her to seal the win.
Tarjan not only played the role of rider in the division, but she also was a proud owner of the reserve champion, Glory Day (Grand Galaxy Win–JJ Dolche Gabbana, Deemster). Ridden by Marcus Orlob, Glory Day moved up from Day 1’s third place with his top quality performance in the final test, scoring the highest of the day, with an 8.84. The stallion was more confident and relaxed in the ring, allowing Orlob to showcase his powerful 9.1 canter and 9.0 trot.
“He was more relaxed today so it made it easier for me to do my job and let him cruise around. The quality is amazing but he’s green and spooky,” Orlob said. “I’m proud of him. It’s very nice [to win reserve alongside his owner]. Alice is the king of the young horses and it’s an honor to ride this horse. It got close but it’s ok to be behind Alice. She can win!”
Marcus Orlob and Glory Day - photo credit: Annan Hepner / PS Dressage
Tarjan typically develops her string of young horses herself as she enjoys the progress and building relationships with her mounts from a young age. However, Glory Day proved to be a bit too overpowering and she invited Orlob to take over the reins in November 2019.
“I’m really happy for Marcus and Glory. He’s doing a great job with that horse. We brought the horse over last year and he’s a stallion. He was quite good for a while but he started getting a little feisty and he was more than I wanted to ride,” Tarjan explained. “I love watching Glory. He’s very dynamic.
👀Watch the winning performance from Gjenganger and Alice Trajan here.
Read the full article here.
Markel/USEF Developing Prix St. Georges Dressage National Championship
Stenagers Wyatt Earp with Christopher Hickey - photo credit: Annan Hepner / PS Dressage.
Part of news article at psdressage.com
Hickey and the 8-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding were awarded a score of 72.55% in their first test, worth 40% of their overall score for the championship. Bred by May-Britt Christensen, Stenagers Wyatt Earp (Wilkens–Stenagers Santana, Sandro Hit) competed as a 6-year-old at the Longines FEI/WBFSH World Breeding Dressage Championships in Ermelo before being purchased by Stewart in October 2018.
Hickey detailed how special it is to have another talented young horse with such amazing quality and a promising future to continue along with in the Developing Horse Program.
👀Watch the winner performance test here.