TRAVERSE CITY, Mich.--Erin Nichols of Wellington, Fla., on Kind Pleasure won the CDIOU25 Grand Prix Freestyle with a personal best score of 73.530%, sweeping all five judges’ panels and capping a triple gold week for the pair.

Erin Nichols on Kind Pleasure (Photo by Centre Line Media)“This show is so special, and to come home with three gold medals is more than you could ever dream of,” Nichols said. “I’m so proud of my horse. He really shined tonight and enjoyed himself, and that’s what we’ve been working on. I’m really excited for the future with him.”

“We bought him when he was nine years old to develop, and now to have our first championship under our belt, you can’t ask for anything more," said Nichols of the now 11-year-old Kind Pleasure. "He’s such a cool horse, and he’s starting to really shine in the ring and show off.”

Nichols rode to a freestyle built around Elton John’s music, designed with Karen Robinson.

 

“MY GOAL was to use music everyone knows, and everyone can enjoy it," she said. "It’s some of my favorite music too. I was listening to it while braiding Kind Pleasure and dancing along.” 

Alicia Berger of Wellington, Fla., on Aqua Marin won silver with a personal-best score of 71.640%, riding to an Avatar-themed freestyle.

“I just love the music, and I think it fits him well,” Berger said.“The first part is actually Collier Wimmer’s voice; she voices it over just like in the movie, and she says, ‘Are you ready to fly?’ I love that, because that’s exactly what it feels like passaging on Aqua. You’re just flying.”

“Any time you get the chance to passage with him, is amazing," said Berger. "You really feel like you’re floating on clouds, taken in such a powerful but graceful way. There’s nothing like it.” 

Brooke Mancusi of Canada on DeJohn Ymas won the bronze with a personal-best score of 70.460%, riding to a Guns N’ Roses freestyle.

 Eila Fisk of Aiken, S.C., on Quaresma won the Young Rider Individual gold medal with a score of 68.382%, earning her second individual medal of the week on Saturday, Aug, 1 at the North American Youth Championships.

“It literally feels crazy. I legitimately would never have thought I would be here,” said Fisk. “My concern was really just trying to qualify for NAYC this year, because it is both my horse’s and my first year at this level. I spent my winter training, trying to get some pirouettes and tempi changes, and I never thought we’d be able to polish it up in just the past couple of months so we could be here.”

“He was a little stoic in the barn, but after six to 12 months, he really opened up," sai Fisk. Now he’s very cuddly, affectionate, and it really comes out in the ring, too. He’s not a big fan of strangers, but when you get his trust, it’s there for a million years.”

Alison Campbell-Wright of Canada on Vintage won the silver medal with a personal best score of 67.177%.

“NAYC is such a fun experience, and representing Canada, it’s great to be wearing the red and white,” Campbell-Wright said. “It is really nice to see all the different countries come together and have such camaraderie for each other. Even though I’m Canadian, some of my biggest cheers today were for Americans. I always try to watch as many rides as I can and cheer everybody on, because this is such a great experience for youth coming up through the programs.”

“We’ve only had Vintage since December, so it’s been interesting trying to figure out each other,"said Campbell-Wright. "He’s a bit of a character; he loves people, but only once does he get to know them. He’s very opinionated; he has what he likes and what he doesn’t like, and he decides what we’re doing. I love him.”

Allison Berger of Wellington, Fla., on Delacure won the bronze with a personal-best 67.030%, marking Berger’s second medal of the week.

“It was so fun just to compete this whole week,” Berger said. “It was a little different to compete as a team, but much like on team day, I had my whole team and lots of others cheering me on today as well, and that felt amazing. I just wanted to put together a clean test, and he really tried hard for me. I’m happy with how it turned out.”

Berger has ridden Delacure for four years, moving through the levels together after competing with him at NAYC as a Junior.

“He’s so patient with me, and he’s teaching me," she said. "We’re learning together. I’m so grateful to him, and to my coach, Jan Ebeling, and my family. It really takes a village to make it work, and I’m so grateful to everyone who makes this possible.”

Austin Hermann of Cumming, Ga., on Genevieve HF won the gold medal in the Children’s Individual Test with a score of 72.914%, adding to a strong week of results.

“I know it’s a huge deal to win a gold medal, and even multiple medals, at this show,” Hermann said. “I’m so very thankful for everybody who came together to put this on for us, and congratulations to my fellow competitors for coming here.”

"Genevieve will always come to you, rub on you for a bit, and beg for treats and when you don’t have treats, she’s like, okay, I’m done with you," said Hermann. “We just said, ‘let’s go big or go home.’ I really went for it, and we came together to achieve a great result.”

Roberta Carrillo Morales of Mexico on Artillero Mor won the silver medal with a score of 72.732%.

"My test today was so fun. I was hoping I could make it to the podium, and it was so amazing,” Carrillo Morales said. “It feels so good. I was dreaming of winning a podium spot, and thank God I got there. He’s a very good horse. He’s so fun to ride.”

Annabelle Gauthier of Canada on Northwind Marrakesh won the bronze medal with a personal-best score of 71.874%.

“I wasn’t ready for it, but it wasn’t that bad; it’s a great feeling,” Gauthier said, “Monty is so nice to ride because he’s a bit funny.”