DEVON, Pa.--Ben Ebellng on Bellena, Anna Marek on Fayvel and Iron Spring Farm's Temptation were the major winners at Dressage at Devon.

Ben Ebeling on Bellen won the GP Freestyle (Photo by Susan J Stickle)Ebeling on Bellena won the Grand Prix Freestyle in a closely fought competition on Saturday evening, Sept. 27, while Marek on Favvel won the Grand Prix Special on Friday and Iron Spring Farm's Temptation was the Grand Champion in the Breeding division.

Saturday evening began with an opening ceremony featuring a color guard and a choir from nearby Villanova University singing the National Anthem, after which 17 competed in the Freestyle to a musical score of their choosing.

Ebeling on Ann Romney’s 15-year-old Hanoverian mare Bellena scored 77.665% for the win.

“That was an electric environment to be sure,” Ebeling said. “There’s no place like Dressage at Devon. This was a big step in getting my horse acclimated in big environments in an arena like this.”

Kevin Kohmann on Dünenesee, whose barn name is Denzel, placed a close second with a 77.005%. 

“I’m super thrilled,” Kohmann said. “It feels like a big show in Europe. I love it here. This was the show where I rode this freestyle the first time and I’m here one year later to ride it again.”

Meagan Davis on Toronto Lightfoot was third with a score of 73.315%. 

“He was actually pretty electric but rideable, which I’ve been looking to find in the ring,” she said. “I wanted to add a little power and keep that softness, because I’ve worked really hard on building a relationship with him.”

 

THE BREEDING division opened Dressage at Devon on Sept. 24 with Iron Spring Farm's Temptation ISF being named Grand Champion on Thursday. 

Temptation ISF (Photo by Anna Smolens)The crowing point at the end of Day Two closed with a tearful celebration by the Iron Spring Farm staff as Temptation ISF capped her extraordinary afternoon by winning the Grand Championship 

Temptation, handled by Quinnten Alston, is a 2023 Dutch Warmblood filly by Kaiman out of Love Dance by Vitalis and was bred and is owned by Iron Spring Farm of Coatesville, Pa.

Reserve Grand Champion was awarded to Nala BDL STER, whose consistency across multiple divisions won her the award.

Nala BDL STER, is a 2018 KWPN mare by Vitalis out of Heavenly ISF by UB40, owned and bred by Frank Burns of Burns Dressage located in Spring City, Pa, and handled by Bruce Griffin III and Rebecca Arnold.

Temptation ISF previously had won both the ProElite/USDFBC Filly Championship and the Young Horse Championship.

On opning day, Silva Martin on Valballa won over a packed field to win the Four-Year-Old Materiale Championship

In a class full of promise, Martin, who is married to eventing champion Boyd Martin, won the ProElite/USDF Four-Year-Old Materiale Championship on a score of 80.30%, narrowly edging out Bridget Hay  Vanessa, who scored 80.15% on her Oldenburg mare (Negro–Vinja OLD by Antango du Feuillard), bred by Andre Gervais.

 

MAREK won the Grand Prix Special late Friday afternoon over a field of 10 with a score of 68.851%.

“Today, I wanted to kind of push a little bit more, take a little bit more risk, and just kind of see if I could get that extra flair in the ring,” Marek said. “I was very careful in the warm-up not to overdo that. I felt like today was one of the better feelings that I’ve had with the energy level.”

Tina Konyot on Grove placed second on 67.021%.

During the test, straight one-tempi changes and a soft connection had her score climbing its way to the top of the leaderboard when Grover’s foot hit the rail near “H” and it affected their score.

“That was just one of those things that he had to face,” she said.

Ali Potasky on Inxs was third place with a 66.255%.

“Yesterday I had a few bobbles and I wanted to clean it up,” Potasky said. “I’ve been practicing it more and more to get more technical. So today, I was happy that I rode with a plan and he was really on the aids.”

Canadians made a clean sweep with two riders capturing the top four places in the CDI1* FEI Prix St. Georges Class.

Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu won on Knight with a 71.569%, Camille Carier Bergeron on Pilegardens Dreamer wa scon with a 71.079%, Fraser-Beaulieu and Fürst Foundation placed third on 70.09%, and Bergeron was fourth with a 69.510% on MSJ Valentina Roma.

 On the final day, Sunday, Sept. 26, Elizabeth Bortuzzo on Degenhardt, whose barn name is  Doc Doc, won the CDI1* FEI Intermediate I Freestyle with a 70.220%.

“I am absolutely thrilled with him,”Bottuzzo said. “He’s just a wealth of talent and I can’t wait to work on all of it until we can develop it. And he’s been just maturing and coming along and I’m just so excited about him.”

Elizabeth Hotchkiss on Backstage Beaudi was second with a 70.145%. 

Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu on Harmoniums won the CDI2* FEI Intermediate with a 67.412%.

“He’s new at this level, so I’m showing him to get some experience,” she said. “He’s a Jazz, so yesterday he just had a little bit too much tension. Today, I was focusing on making the half-halt work and trying to get him to take a breath and relax and to go clean. He has so much expression and so much quality, it’s just making him wait and listen to me. So I was really happy with his performance.”

JJ Tate on Romeo was second with a 65.235%.

After the awards ceremony, Father Larry McCormick, also known as Father Mack of Holy Trinity Parish in North Bergen, N.J., enjoyed his fifth year celebrating a traditional Blessing of the Animals in the Dixon Oval.

A horse enthusiast and avowed Corgi lover, Father Mack mentioned Corgis several times during the ceremony.