Dressage at Devon Breed Division Wraps Up as Performance Classes Begin on Day 3

Breed Classes for Haflinger

It goes without saying that the people at Dressage at Devon – competitors and spectators alike – love horses. But then there are the breeders that have chosen to specialize in a particular breed. Each breeder has their own reasons for their choice. L Hunter Wilson, owner, trainer and rider from Margaux Tip LLC, based in Martinsburg, West Virginia, loves her Cleveland Bays. The breed originated in England, where they were used for carriages and as fox hunters – in fact, they pulled the carriages to the hunt, did the hunt, and pulled them home again. 

Wilson and her husband have bred Cleveland Bays for 12 years. “My husband had a mare that was half Cleveland Bay and he fell in love with them – he made it his personal passion. And passion is important with this breed. Today it is estimated that there are only about 250 breedable pureblood Cleveland Bay mares in the world.

Another crowd-pleaser is the Haflinger - a relatively small horse, always a flaxen chestnut in color with distinctive gaits. The breed traces its ancestry to the Middle Ages and there are several theories for the breed's origin. But today, Chelsea Deephouse, Assistant Trainer at Dreamfield Manor Farm in Coopersburg, PA, just knows that she loves the breed. “They’re smart and kind,” she said, pointing out that she has evented and done hunter classes as well as dressage – and done well with her horses.

Aesthete and Silva Martin

The individual classes showed off the beauty of 20 breeds including the Warmblood Horse of Trakehner Origin, the German Oldenburg Verband, Morgan, Rheinland Pfalz-Saar International, and even Spanish Mustangs. And the day was not over yet as Dressage at Devon moved into the Performance Division.

Aesthete, by Trento B out of Unusual, took home two blues tonight. The first was the FEI Young Horse Test for 6-Year-Olds, where he scored an impressive 87.200. The second win was in the USEF Fourth Level Test 1 Open. Ridden in both classes by Silva Martin, she also rode Duvent, by De Niro out of Heidekind by Rubinstein in the USEF Fourth Level Test 1.

From Martin’s September 11 blog, “I am very much looking forward to showing Duvent at Devon. Duvent has come such a long way in a very short amount of time. He is a very attractive and very talented horse but he gets worried at times. I have been working very hard to understand him and he has been trying very hard to work with me. I really think we are having a breakthrough and he is getting more and more confident.” Her efforts paid off today.

Somer Hit

Somer Hit, a black Hanoverian by Sandro Hit out of Rhussia, won the honors in the FEI Young Horse Test for 5 Year Olds, with a score of 83.800. Ripley HTF, by Royal Prince out of Komtess V by Riverman, achieved a high score of 85.80, winning the USEF Young Horse Test for 4 Year Olds.

Complete results are available at www.dressageatdevon.org. As the performance division gets into full swing, all day performance classes begin Friday, September 30. Dressage at Devon runs through Sunday, October 2.