-- USEF press release, edited by Eurodressage
Sienna Busking and Kate Shoemaker became the winners of the U.S. Para Dressage Championships in Wayne, ILL, on 21 August 2025. The two dominated their respective divisions at Intermediaire and Grand Prix Para level.
Shoemaker: Para Grand Prix Champion
In the U.S. Grand Prix Para Dressage National Championship, Kate Shoemaker (Wellington, Fl.) and Supreme earned the national title with a strong winning score in the FEI Para Grand Prix Freestyle of 74.425%. Though Shoemaker has owned Supreme, her own 2016 Westphalian gelding (by Sezuanout of Deja Vu) for almost five years, the championship is their first together.
“He’s only been with me full-time for about three weeks,” she explained, “Every day has been about building trust and learning more about him. I just feel like I’m living a fairy tale every time I ride my big, beautiful black horse. Supreme has exceeded every expectation [this week.]”
Winning the national title has long since been a goal for Shoemaker, but at one point, it was one she wasn’t sure would happen.
“This is my first national championship title at this level, and I had to kind of let it go before it could happen,” she says, “For so many years I wanted it and sometimes I’d be in the lead, then something would go wrong. This year, to be able to add this title to my resume just feels so special.”
Close behind, Paralympic gold medalist Roxanne Trunnell (Wellington, Fla.) and Rumour Has It secured the reserve championship with 73.988%. ‘Rumour’, a 2012 U.S.-bred Hanoverian gelding (Romancero H out of Inkka), owned by Simone van der Schalk, is a new partner for Trunnell, who explained that her ride in the Freestyle was actually her seventeenth on the gelding.
“This is still a very new partnership,” she said, "Today was only our second time showing this freestyle. There are some tweaks I’d like to make, but overall, it went even better than I expected. I’m really pleased with him and excited to keep building this partnership.”
Rounding out the podium was last year's champion, Eleanor Brimmer (Wellington, Fla.) and My Moment, her own 2010 Hanoverian mare (by Furst Romancier out of High Sun), produced a steady test to finish third with a 70.810%.
“My mare, who we call Minni, can get a little tense in the freestyle, so we deliberately chose soothing Enya music to help her relax. It created such a nice, spa-like atmosphere.” When asked about how their week had gone, Brimmer was all smiles and expressed their immediate plans, “I’m really happy with how she’s performed all week, and now I’m looking forward to getting her home for a well-deserved vacation.”
Busking: Para Intermediaire Champion
The debut year of the U.S. Intermediaire I Para Dressage Championship concluded on Wednesday with the Para Intermediate Freestyle Test. The freestyles contributed 15% to the overall score, along with 40% from Monday’s Test A and 45% from Tuesday’s Test B, to determine national championship placings. The final overall results were less than a point apart, making for an exciting finish for the new division.
After their win in the Test B and solid scores in the Test A and Freestyle, Divino (by De Niro out of Welle), a 2000 Hanoverian gelding owned by Roberta Clark and ridden by Sienna Busking (Owasso, Okla.), secured the overall championship title. Busking, who trains with Clark, has been riding “D” for just over a year.
In D’s younger days, he helped his owner Clark earn her USDF gold medal. He was briefly retired, but the quiet life didn’t suit him, and a return to the arena as a para dressage horse turned out to be a good fit for his golden years.
“He loves having a job,” said Busking. “He’s forward and still super energetic and full of life. Being a pasture pony was not what he wanted to do. He lives outside, and he’s honestly a pretty healthy, easy 25-year-old.”
Busking and D performed an energetic freestyle to songs from the Austin Powers soundtrack that suited the bright chestnut gelding. “We had an Austin Powers themed freestyle,” said Busking. “I wanted something that would be fun and upbeat.”
The reserve national champion title went to Carrera GH (by Contucci out of MS Mocha RH), a 2005 Hanoverian mare owned by Tami Glover and ridden by Victoria Yu (Coatesville, Pa.) Yu is new to para dressage and started riding Carrera last fall. The big atmosphere at Lamplight didn’t phase the FOC first-timers.
“She was a pro. I think I was more nervous than she was, and I wasn’t sure how she’d handle it,” said Yu. “She’s never done anything like this before. This was her time doing more than a weekend away at a show and being in a stall all week. She lives outside 24/7, so that’s a huge difference for her, and she handled it like a pro.”
Carrera and Yu performed their freestyle to iconic, empowering pop songs including Fight Song and Girl on Fire.
“My freestyle was choreographed by Nicole Sweeney,” said Yu. “I wanted to do a girl power song, and I did Fight Song because it’s kind of been my battle since I had my stroke and trying to get my power back to being independent and getting the horses back. It rang true to me a little bit.”
Winning second in the freestyle and third overall was Baltico BRH (by Kabul BRH out of Tibetana), a 2018 PRE (Pura Raza Española) gelding ridden and owned by Elizabeth Welch (Summerville, S.C.). Welch has been developing “Bee” since he came to the U.S. from Spain.
“I purchased him as a 3-year-old stallion,” she said. “I imported him in the fall of 2022, and that’s when I started riding him. He is a very responsible young horse. He just turned 7, but he’s got a very good brain, and he’s been great with everything we do with him.”
The pair’s freestyle was set to cinematic music including pieces from the Moana soundtrack.
“This was really my first time doing a freestyle,” said Welch. “That’s a new experience for me. It was fun. I thought the music suited him.”
New Intermediaire Division
For these athletes, the Intermediaire I Para Dressage section is a welcome addition to Festival of Champions and the U.S. Para Dressage Championships.
“I knew Para Nationals existed, but when I realized this was the first year that they were offering Intermediaire I, that was great, especially for me,” said Welch. “I’m not new to riding, but I’m new to dressage, and I also have a very young horse who is new to dressage, and so we certainly weren’t ready for the Grade V Grand Prix test. It was a good goal and a good opportunity to be able to come and do a bigger show. If you’re not ready for the next level, for whatever reason, it still gives you a big goal to work towards.”
Busking agrees and sees this as an important bridge to the higher levels.
“It gives another level to work toward, and to get to show alongside people who have competed in the Paralympics—getting to learn and watch them ride,” she said. “And that’s my ultimate goal. But this made it a little more accessible versus doing my first big show at Grand Prix.”
“It’s a great steppingstone,” said Yu. “This was my first year actually competing in para dressage and not just competing with able-bodied riders. So it’s the goal of being able to compete with other paras and on a level playing field, and to get here and compete alongside Olympic riders or people that have gone all the way, which is my ultimate goal as well.”
Results - 2025 U.S. Para Dressage Championships - Wayne
Grand Prix
- 1. Kate Shoemaker - Supreme - 74.444% - 74.324% - 74.425% --- 74.38
- 2. Roxanne Trunnell - Rumour Has It - 69.583% - 69.583%- 73.988% --- 70.24
- 3. Eleanor Brimmer - My Moment - 68.850% - 66.666% - 70.810% --- 68.16 3/3
Intermediaire
- 1. Sienna Busking - Divino - 62.936% - 63.962% - 63.477% --- 63.477%
- 2. Victoria Yu - Carrera GH - 63.570% - 61.451% 66.999% --- 63.12
- 3. Elizabeth Welch - Baltico BRH - 61.606% - 63.029% - 66.150% --- 62.92
Related Links
Scores: 2025 U.S. Dressage Championships
Ellie Brimmer is the 2024 U.S. Para Dressage Champion
Cynthia Screnci Wins 2023 U.S. Para Dressage Championship