Day 1: Kayla Dumler Leads CCI3*-S at Aspen Farms Horse Trials

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 16, 2023
Aspen Farms, Yelm, WA, USA

Twelve horse and rider pairs contested the CCI3*-S dressage test under judges Helen Christie and Bea DiGrazia on a sunny afternoon at Aspen Farms Horse Trials in Yelm, WA.

Kayla Dumler and her off-the-track-Thoroughbred gelding, Faramir, (pictured above) secured the overnight lead in the CCI3*-S with a score of 30.8.

“He was stellar,” Dumler said of Faramir’s test. “He was very rideable. I couldn’t have asked for anything more.”

Dumler explained that the season leading up to this show has been a little up and down for them in performance as they have navigated changes such as Dumler being in school in Arizona.

“We’ve struggled in the past with show jumping,” she said. “But he has been jumping very well at home, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Sabrina Glaser and Rather Be Cooley, owned by Hildegard Johnson, are second in the CCI3*-S on 31.9 and Sophie Click and Tarantino 54 are third on 32.3. With close scores throughout the division, the show jumping track designed by Chris Barnard could be influential on the leaderboard tomorrow.

In a competitive CCI2*-S division, Stephanie Goodman and Elwenda DP scored 25.7 to secure the overnight lead in the field of 24 starters. Goodman has had the ride on Elwenda DP, a 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare owned Deanna Briggs, for two years.

“She was excellent today,” Goodman said after their test. “We had a couple of bobbles in our walk, but other than that, I thought she was very rideable and comfortable in the ring.”

Goodman is confident going into show jumping tomorrow.

“She’s a great jumper; a good competitor,” she said. “She is still kind of green at this level, but I feel excited. It should be a fun test.”

Tommy Greengard of California is tied for second in the CCI2*-S with scores of 26.1 on two of his rides, Joshuay MBF and Kremer VD Falieberg, owned by Morgan Wenell. He also is tied for ninth with Count Me In.

“Kremer is new to the level,” Greengard said of the 8-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding. “This is his first 2-star short. He was great! He has been awesome all spring, so it’s fun that he took that into his first full court test today.”

 

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Greengard was also thrilled with Joshuay’s dressage test.

“Joshuay is just coming back,” he said. “This weekend is his first full event since Tryon last November. He was great. He’ll hopefully have a nice prep-run here, and we’ll see what’s left for his summer plans.”

Jordan Linstedt and Lovely Lola, owned by Lovas Partners LLC, are leading the Open Intermediate on a score of 29, just ahead of Erin Grandia and Hyacinth, owned by Jessica Rosch, in second on 31.2. Alyssa Schaefer and Fuego are third on 32.8.

“Lola is always very good on the flat,” Linstedt shared. “She is absolutely wonderful to ride and lovely. She was a little sassy today, so not her very best. I think as riders we always come out of the ring knowing what we could have done a little better. She was a little distracted today, but she was wonderful to ride and tries hard. I’m so lucky to ride her.”

Kristin Joly of California and Czechers of Cellar Farm are the overnight leaders in Open Preliminary on 23.2, followed by Todd Trewin and Cooley High Society, owned by Tracey Trewin, in second and Meika Decher and Verily in third.

This is Joly’s first time competing at Aspen Farms, though she has groomed at the show before. “I was really happy with our test,” Joly said. “Czechers can be difficult on the flat, so I am very happy he was a good boy today! He was great.”

Joly also shared she’s happy with the warm weather this weekend, and she’s particularly excited to run cross-country on Sunday with Czechers on the grass, which is hard to come by in California.

In the Preliminary Rider division, Harper Padgett and her young Irish Sporthorse, Cooley Starship, scored 24.5 for the overnight lead. Madison Langerak and Normandy Kivalo are second, and Kristen Davignon and Fürst Floid are third.

“Usually he’s explosive in the ring,” Padgett said about her 7-year-old gelding. “Today was one of the good days. He was super quiet, which felt great. It was a highlight.”

Padgett is hopeful they can deliver another solid performance show jumping on Saturday, but admits that the cross-country phase is her horse’s strong suit. The pair’s goal is to work toward a 2-star later this year.

Aspen Farms Horse Trials also boasts strong turnout in the lower-level divisions, which include four distinct classes at each level. These divisions laid down competitive dressage performances in the sand and grass rings. Junior Beginner Novice will contest dressage first thing on Saturday.

Day 1 Overnight Leaders:

Scores from all divisions are available on Startbox Scoring, here: https://eventing.startboxscoring.com/eventsr/aspen/ht0623/