Lyle and Horizon performed well and showed much promise for the future on their way to winning the USEF Intermediaire I Dressage National Championship with a score of 70.967%. They had an unfortunate bobble in their changes in the FEI Prix St. Georges Test but recovered well to finish in fifth place with a score of 69.763%. The duo had a fantastic performance in the FEI Intermediate I Test to win with a score of 70.526%. Lyle rode Betsy Juliano’s 2007 Oldenburg mare to flashy music, including “It’s Raining Men.” They wowed the judges with difficult movements, such as canter pirouettes into tempi changes, to win the FEI Intermediate I Freestyle with a score of 75.500%.
“That mare is so fun in the ring. She loves to get out there and perform. When she is on, you just have to sit there and pilot her through it,” Lyle said. “I borrowed that music from Katherine Bateson-Chandler, so thank you to everyone who helped me get to the championships.”
Jane Cleveland (Wellington, Fla.) and Monique earned the Reserve Champion title with a score of 70.768%. They painted a lovely picture, aside from one bobble in the change after the medium canter, to win the FEI Prix St. Georges Test with a score of 70.789%, then had a solid test to finish fourth in the FEI Intermediate I Test with a score of 69.947%. Cleveland and her own 2009 Danish Warmblood mare had an impressive freestyle performance with upbeat music coming from Cleveland’s barre class, finishing second in the FEI Intermediate I Freestyle with a score of 73.175%.
“[My ride] was so much fun. We did better today than before. She was better today than she has been all week,” Cleveland said. Elaborating on what it is like to ride at the USET Foundation headquarters, Cleveland said, “It is special for a few reasons. The barns are exquisite and they have so much history. There is a plaque of famous horses on each stall…I had the opportunity to ride here five years ago, and I learned that if you get the opportunity to ride here, you get here.”
Lyle also finished third in the championship with Harmony’s Duval on a score of 70.466%. She finished second with Harmony’s Duval in the FEI Prix St. Georges Test with a score of 70.605% and finished in third in the FEI Intermediate I Test with a score of 70.132%. Lyle and Duval Partners LLC’s 2008 Dutch Warmblood gelding performed their freestyle to dramatic music that complemented the gelding’s movement to place fourth with a score of 71.100%.