Dressage at Devon Born in the USA Awards Recognize World-Class Talent
RELEASE: July 28, 2009
AUTHOR/ADMINISTRATOR: By Christine DeHerrera
For more than 30 years Dressage at Devon has been one of the most important dressage and sport horse breeding shows in North America. As the event has grown, the breed show has expanded to include nearly 70 classes and is considered one of the most prestigious sport horse shows outside of Europe. With world-class competitors, the event showcases the talents of horses such as Idocus, the 1994 Breed Show Grand Champion. The KWPN stallion competed in the Olympic Games and the World Cup Finals and returned to Dressage at Devon in 2006 to win the grand prix. He is also the sire of numerous Dressage at Devon winners.
In 2003, the Dressage at Devon Committee developed the Born in the USA Breeders' Awards to recognize and reward the achievements of American breeders. More than $25,000 in prize money has been awarded since the program's inception.
"We are very proud of the Born in the USA Breeders' Awards," said Lori Kaminski, President and CEO of Dressage at Devon. "American breeders have always supported Dressage at Devon and have made our breed show one of the largest in the world. These breeders are producing world-class horses and we wanted to showcase their accomplishments."
Horses of any breed that were conceived and born in the United States are eligible to receive a Born in the USA Breeders' Award. The highest-scoring horse from the open classes is the overall winner, and prize money and special awards are distributed in 14 categories. Complete rules can be found on the horse show website.
The high-score Born in the USA Breeders' Award winner in 2008 was Showgirl, bred by Maurine Swanson and owned by Marianne Butterworth. The mare, by Scimitar out of Acapella by Arrian, also won the three-year-old filly award.
The Born in the USA Breeders' Award winners are progressing from sport horse breeding classes to performance careers. One high-profile Born in the USA Breeder's Award winner is Hilltop Farm's Cabana Boy, bred by Doug and Sharon Langer and shown by Christopher Hickey. The seven-year-old gelding, by Contucci out of Britannia (Bordeaux/Weltmeyer), claimed the two-year-old colt/gelding award in 2004 before continuing on to an impressive dressage career that has included two Markel/USEF National Young Horse Dressage Championships in 2007 and 2008. Cabana Boy continues to move up the levels and qualified for the 2009 U.S. National Dressage Championships at Prix St. Georges and Intermediaire I.
Pikko del Cerro HU, by Pik L out of Rohweena (Rohdiamant/Grundstein II), was the Born in the USA Overall Champion in 2005 with a score of 90.00% as a two-year-old. Last year he returned to earn the four- and five-year-old stallion materiale award and finished fourth in the Markel/USEF National Young Horse Dressage Championship in the five-year-old division. Kaminski continued, "Good conformation and movement should translate into success under saddle and both Cabana Boy and Pikko del Cerro HU are models of that. This is what the Dressage at Devon breed show is about—identifying and rewarding talent."
The breed show classes take place the first three days of Dressage at Devon, September 22-27, 2009, with the Born in the USA Breeders' Awards being distributed on Wednesday evening. Knowledgeable horsemen and women from North America and Europe attend the event to watch entries from coast to coast and Canada."There isn't another show like Dressage at Devon outside of Europe," Kaminski added. "This is the ideal place to see horses from many bloodlines in action."
Judges for the 2009 edition of the breed show include Jayne Ayers, Cara Witham, Janine Malone and Christhof Umbach. The prize list for Dressage at Devon, including the breed show, is available online at
www.dressageatdevon.org. The closing date for entries is August 14. Tickets for the breed show are $8 and may be purchased online. Childre