The United States Equestrian Federation has announced that two horses that will represent the U.S.A. at the 2015 World Championships for Young Dressage Horses in Verden, Germany, on 6 - 9 August 2015.
Host to many elite equestrian events, Verden has organized this prestigious competition for 16 out of the 18 years it has been held, to the accolades of the equestrian community. This year the turnout is again very strong with 42 entries from 19 nations competing in the five-year-old division and 36 young horses from 14 nations in the six-year-old division.
The United States will be represented by Endel Ots as he competes Max Ots’ five-year-old Hanoverian gelding Lucky Strike (Lord Laurie x Heidi/His Highness) and Gary Vander Ploeg and his own six-year-old Oldenburg gelding Samhitas (Sir Donnerhall I x Heidebluete/Abanos). Ots is an accomplished rider and trainer who has won numerous national awards with his young horses, including Reserve Champion in the 2012 USEF Developing Horse Grand Prix National Championship and Champion in the 2014 Markel/USEF Developing Grand Prix Horse National Championship.
The young horses will be masterfully guided through the competition in Germany by a rider who has had exceptional results with them. Lucky Strike and Ots had much success in 2014 culminating in an overall fourth place finish in the Markel/USEF Young Horse Four-Year-Old National Championship. Now competing as a five-year-old, Lucky Strike has earned numerous top placings including winning both the both the preliminary and final FEI five-year-old tests at the CDIYH Adequan Global Dressage Festival with impressive scores of 8.140 and 8.700, respectively. Competing this morning in the preliminary test, the pair scored 8.600 to tie for 15th and move forward to tomorrow’s Small Final.
Samhitas is a new mount for Ots as they have just begun their partnership this year. Yet, they have made quite an impression in the U.S. dressage world. They won the FEI six-year-old young horse final test at week ten of the Adequan Global Dressage Festival with a score of 8.120. Heading to the CDIYH Houston Dressage Society Spring Classic I, Ots and Samhitas claimed top honors in the FEI six-year-old young horse preliminary and final tests with scores of 8.080 and 8.560, respectively. The pair will contest the Preliminary test tomorrow with the top 12 qualifying for the Final on Sunday.
Related Link
Eurodressage Coverage of the 2015 World Young Horse Championships