Kasey Perry-Glass takes top honor in Grand Prix Dressage National Champions

Kasey Perry-Glass takes top honor in Grand Prix Dressage National Champions
A talented field of seven combinations competed for top honors in the USEF Grand Prix Dressage National Championship with 45%, 40%, and 15% of their overall championship score coming from the Thursday’s FEI Grand Prix Test, Friday’s FEI Grand Prix Special, and Sunday’s FEI Grand Prix Freestyle, respectively.

Perry-Glass (Orangevale, Calif.) and Goerklintgaards Dublet added a USEF Grand Prix Dressage National Championship title to their resume by winning with an overall score of 71.575%. They put in a lovely test to win the FEI Grand Prix Test with a score of 73.700%, and had a few bobbles in the trot work of the FEI Grand Prix Special to finish fifth with a score of 68.529%. The duo did not have a completely clean performance in the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle but high degree of difficulty movements and a great artistic flow allowed them to finish second in the class with a score of 73.325%.

“The whole entire show was really not our best show, but you kind of need those, especially since it is our second year at Grand Prix; our first year was kind of a whirlwind. We have been picking on the small stuff and sometimes it all gets little bit dysfunctional when you are picking on the small stuff,” Perry-Glass explained. “I am proud of us for fighting through it and keeping our heads up and going. Having the support of [Adrienne Lyle and Olivia LaGoy-Weltz] and my other teammates has been great, and it is fun to compete here. I feel pretty lucky.”

Adrienne Lyle (Ketchum, Idaho) and Salvino received the Reserve Champion title after finishing on an overall score of 71.344%. They had a flowing performance in the FEI Grand Prix Test to finish second with a score of 70.600%, and were second again in the FEI Grand Prix Special, despite bobbles in the first piaffe and the one tempi changes, with a score of 70.314%. Lyle and the Salvino Partners, LLC’s 2007 Hanoverian stallion finished the championship on a high note by winning the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle with a score of 76.325%. Lyle used the music from her freestyle with Wizard, her longtime partner and 2012 Olympic Games mount, and changed the timing to match Salvino’s movement.

“I had a blast in my test today. We have never done the freestyle, so we pulled it together quickly. It was Wizard’s freestyle and we edited it time-wise to match his big stride. Terry Gallo did a great job with me calling last minute,” Lyle said. “I was thrilled with how Salvino handled it. I wasn’t sure what he was going to be like with the music and the crowd, there was a lot of stuff happening. I couldn’t be happier with what he gave me.”

Olivia LaGoy-Weltz (Haymarket, Va.) and Lonoir finished third in the championship with an overall score of 70.927%. They performed a smooth test to finish third in the FEI Grand Prix Test with a score of 70.400% and won the FEI Grand Prix Special with a score of 70.686%. LaGoy-Weltz and her own 2004 Danish Warmblood gelding gave another solid effort in the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle, highlighted by passage half-passes and quarter turns in the piaffe, to finish third with a score of 73.150%.