Source: USEF

Gladstone, NJ- The 2012 USEF Dressage Festival of Champions continues this week with Young Adult "Brentina Cup" and Intermediaire I competition and the conclusion of the USEF National Grand Prix Dressage Championship.  Riders will again perform their tests in the Dick and Jane Brown Arena at the USET Foundation Headquarters in front of an international judging panel.

National Grand Prix Dressage Championship

Competition heats up in the National Grand Prix Dressage Championship as riders vie not only for a National title but also for a chance to represent the U.S. at the 2012 Olympic Games. This championship also serves as the USEF Dressage Selection Trial for the US Dressage Team for the 2012 Olympic Games. Just as last weekend competitors will perform the FEI Grand Prix Test and the FEI Olympic Grand Prix Special Test, with each test counting for 25% of the championship average.

In the Grand Prix, 12 competitors are trying to catch Steffen Peters and Four Winds Farm's Legolas 92. The California-based pair holds a commanding lead following the first half of competition which was held June 9-10. Currently, lying second is Peters' teammate from the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, Tina Konyot and Calecto V. Konyot finished in runner-up position to Peters in both the Grand Prix and the Special last weekend.

Read about the first weekend of competition here and here.

The Veterinary Inspection for the Grand Prix will be held at 2pm ET Thursday June 14 and competitors will ride the Grand Prix Test on Friday.

National Intermediaire I Championship

The National Intermediaire I Championships gets underway Thursday with all competitors contesting the FEI Prix St. Georges Test. In the Veterinary Inspection held Wednesday afternoon the 14 horse presented were all deemed fit and sound to compete.

Intermediaire I competitors will ride three tests over the course of the week. Thursday's FEI Prix St. Georges Test will count for 45% of the overall average, the FEI Intermediaire I Test performed on Saturday will count for 40% and the remaining 15% will be determined by the Freestyle ridden on Sunday.

Caroline Roffman will ride the 2011 USEF National Developing Horse Dressage Reserve Champion, Pie, in the championship. Roffman, the 2011 National Young Adult "Brentina Cup" Dressage Champion, and the 10-year-old Hanoverian gelding helped the U.S. to secure a Team Gold medal at the 2012 Nations Cup in Wellington, FL.

Roffman is thrilled to be in Gladstone again this year and looks forward to the competition.

"I am very excited to be here. I've been lucky to compete here for several years and every year is special. So many amazing combinations have competed in this arena and I think this year is especially exciting because the entire group is very competitive."

Another former USEF National Dressage Champion, Chris Hickey, will also be vying for top honors in the Intermediaire I Championship with Hilltop Farm Inc's Witness Hilltop. Hickey was the winner of this championship in 2007 with Regent, that same year they went on to win Team and Individual Gold medals at the Pan American Games.

National Young Adult "Brentina Cup" Dressage Championship

Competitors in the National Young Adult "Brentina Cup" Dressage Championship will complete two tests over the weekend, the USEF Young Adult "Brentina Cup" Test and the FEI Young Rider Grand Prix Test. Both tests will count for 50% of the championship average.

Leif Aho has travelled from his base in Wellington, FL to Gladstone to compete at his first Young Adult "Brentina Cup" Championship. Aho will ride his own Friesian gelding, Taeke V.

Twenty-one-year-old, Ari Lopez brings her partner of eight years, Corlander II to compete in the championship aimed to assist and encourage U.S. Young Riders in making the transition to the Grand Prix level.  Lopez has a diverse history with the 11-year-old Rheinlander gelding having evented through the Training Level before switching to dressage.

The National Young Adult "Brentina Cup" Dressage Championship competition gets underway Saturday.

Competition for the second week of the 2012 USEF Dressage Festival of Champions begins Thursday at 10am ET with the FEI Prix St Georges Test.

For live streaming, photos, results and news visit;
http://usefnetwork.com/featured/2012USEFDressageFestivalofChampions/

Founded in 1973, the United States Dressage Federation is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to education, recognition of achievement, and promotion of dressage. For more information about USDF membership or programs, visit www.usdf.org, email [email protected], or call (859) 971-2277.