The Nicaraguan born American rider Jorge Arauz as well as Christina Morin-Graham and Heather Mason collected more FEI level titles at the 2025 USDF Finals on Friday and Saturday 31 October - 1 November. The USDF Finals have one more day of competition to go.
Open Grand Prix: Arauz and London do Vouga Win
A multitalented “sweetheart” Iberian stallion new to the level this summer was crowned the Grand Prix Champion under rider Jorge Arauz on Friday 31 October 2025.
Of the 14 starters, Arauz coaxed the winning 65.036% performance in the Open Grand Prix Championship aboard Dulce Borjas’s Brazilian bred Lusitano stallion, London Do Vouga, despite the 11-year-old’s inexperience. Two mares joined them on the podium: Kristin Wasemiller-Knutson and her 16-year-old Trakehner Vashti slotted into the reserve spot with 65% and Laura Abner finished third with 64.891% on her 11-year-old Danish-bred mare, Bellina.
It has been an amazing journey with this horse,” said Arauz, who works for Borjas at her Los Encinos Equestrian Hacienda in Magnolia, TX. “He came to us from Brazil three or four years ago as a kind of average horse schooling second level for Dulce to ride.”
Arauz soon realized that London Do Vouga had the quality and talent for upper levels, and in a few short years he learned all the grand prix work. Borjas also earned her USDF silver medal on the horse 18 months ago. Finals was the horse’s third show at grand prix level.
“Honestly, we were very happy and humble to be here,” explained Arauz, who is originally from Nicaragua and now rides for the USA. “We are new in this, so we had no big expectations, but we tried our best and the test went really well — his best so far. Obviously, there’s always room for improvement, but from his breed the piaffe/passage are strong exercises for him. He’s a sweetheart.”
For the past six months, while they made the step up to grand prix, Arauz has been London’s sole rider and has benefitted from training with Rafael Soto as well as riders from the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art.
“Hopefully we will get him to some CDIs next season in Florida,” he added, “and we would like to get him qualified for the USEF Grand Prix Dressage National Championship at WEC – Ocala in May of next year.”
More Wins For Morin-Graham and Mason
Christina Morin-Graham brought her winning show tally to five on Saturday when she headed up both the AA Grand Prix Freestyle and the Intermediate I Freestyle on her talented mares.
In the Grand Prix, she topped the class riding her 16-year-old Damon Hill daughter DSP Dauphin to 72.633% and slotted into the reserve spot on her other horse, the 15-year-old Mondlicht, by Sarkozy x Ravallo, with 71.192%.
Morin-Graham maintained her unbeaten 2025 Finals record on her 12-year-old mare, Ici De La Vigne, with 70.3% in the Intermediate I. The daughter of Jazz will have the chance to make it a hattrick when she contests the AA Prix St. Georges Championship on Sunday.
Heather Mason logged two more wins bringing her Finals titles total to four. She lay down an unassailable ride as the first to go in the Intermediate I Open Freestyle Championship on Manuskript SCF. The eight-year-old Jazz gelding scored 73.325%.
Soon after, she climbed aboard the 17.2hh four-year-old Rock It P — the youngest horse in the class — and bagged the First Level Open Championship with 73.194%.
-- Jump Media press release - Photo © Sue Stickle
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Morin-Graham, Chumley, Mason, Calao Take First Titles at 2025 USDF Dressage Finals