The Cornerstone Woodside Dressage show season kicked off May 21-23 with Woodside Spring Dressage. Some great horses went up center line to pull off excellent scores, and one of the highest of those was earned by 14-year-old Gabriela Glumac (Gina Duran, trainer).

After earning very respectable scores in the 70s in her training and first level tests on Friday and Saturday, leaving her competition far behind, she reached for the sky on Sunday. As though 76.842% weren’t high enough in her First Level Test 4, she scored 81.143% in her First Level Test 3. Glumac’s efforts won her the Junior/Young Rider Cornerstone/Markel High Point Series Champion and Lower Level Junior/Young Rider High Percentage Champion. 

Glumac’s mother, Charley Cooper explained, “When we purchased Zodessa in January, Gabby fully expected not to show at all this year.  She had already determined it would probably take about a year to get to know her new horse and bond with her, and then learn training and first level with her.  But after ZoZo arrived at Greenville, it was quite obvious that she and Gabby had some kind of connection.”

Although she and her horse are a new partnership, Glumac’s scores show that her future is bright. She has set her sights high, heading toward a spot on the North American Junior and Young Rider Championships , with a dream of continuing on to the Brentina Cup, the World Cup and the Olympics. “She eats, sleeps and breathes dressage,” said Cooper. “She just loves it.”

Cooper added that not only does her daughter love to ride, she is also highly involved in all aspects of her horse’s care and takes lessons three days per week with her trainer, Gina Duran of Topline Dressage Training. Duran commented, “Gabby and I are a great team. Zodessa has been a super star horse from the day she arrived at our barn, and it couldn’t have happened to a more deserving young lady who has been on the sidelines cheering her fellow competitors on for the last five years. It was amazing.” 

Duran enjoys showing at the beautiful Horse Park at Woodside facility, but the setting is only part of the equation. “Cornerstone Events runs a great show, and I love the fact that they have started a trainer incentive program.  It’s nice to be recognized for supporting a show when in these times, it’s not always so easy financially for clients to show.”

After the Woodside Spring Dressage show, Duran is in the lead for the Maui Trainer Incentive with 15 points. Katie Hoefs-Martin is hot on her trail with 10 points, while Heidi Knipe-Lyons, Tracey Hill and Christine Rivlin are all tied for third.

The Maui Trainer Incentive awards a trip to Maui for the trainer whose students amass the most points at the Woodside Dressage shows.  Last year’s winner, Christine Rivlin said, “We don’t win very much in dressage shows—we consider ourselves lucky if we get a cooler. Having a trip to Maui for a prize was great. I would encourage everyone to go for it.” Information on the Maui Trainer Incentive can be found at http://www.cornerstonedressage.com/congratulations.asp.

Rivlin had a great show at Woodside Spring Dressage, winning the Open Grand Prix with a 67.872% aboard Lyra (Stacey McCarthy, owner). This is the second year this mare has been at this level, and Rivlin has been training her for the past seven years. Rivlin noted that Lyra’s best scores come from the one tempis and passage, which are trouble spots for many horses. McCarthy will be showing her in Prix St. Georges this summer. 

Rivlin also showed Mimosa (Michele Martin, owner) to dual wins in the Green Horse/Green Rider Training Level Test of Choice with scores of 72.000% and 78.4000%.  As a result they finished as the High Percentage Reserve Champion.

The home bred Mimosa is a six-year-old Arabian-Trakhener cross, smaller than many of her competitors at 15.2 hands. Although Rivlin started her as a three-year-old, the mare went home to have two babies. She had only been back to work for six months when she came to Rivlin one week before the Woodside Spring Dressage show.

“She’s a little workhorse,” Rivlin explained. “On Saturday morning, we were in the warm up when a horse got loose and ran through the show arenas while people were showing. Other horses around us were scared, but Mimosa didn’t care. She’s bomb proof.”

On the other end of the dressage spectrum, two Open Grand Prix blues went to Tanya Vik aboard her Divinity 3, a horse she has been bringing up the levels since she purchased him in 2002. She earned 67.872% and 64.894% for her rides, edging out Barbi Breen-Gurley and Octango with 66.596% in one class, and Rivlin and Lyra with 61.702% in the other. 

In the junior rider ranks, Stephanie Early showed that she was at the show to win, taking first place in the NAJYRC/USEF Jr. Rider Individual Test with a 62.895% on Panash, well ahead of Madeline Hays and Zino Interagro with 59.474%. However, Early had to settle for second in the team test, where she earned 64.189% to Jamie Pestana’s 72.432% on Winzalot. Winzalot is aptly named, carrying Pestana to win the FEI Cornerstone/Markel High Point Series Champion and the FEI Junior/Amateur High Percentage Champion with that score. Ashlyn DeGroot dominated the young rider classes on Devon Heir, winning the team test with 66.447% and the individual with 68.289%. They are all vying for spots on the Region 7 teams headed to Kentucky this summer for the North American Junior &Young Rider Championships.

Whether in the junior, amateur or professional ranks, exhibitors at Woodside Dressage enjoyed a great show in a beautiful facility.

For complete results for all Cornerstone dressage shows, visit http://www.cornerstonedressage.com/show_results.asp.
The show season returns to Woodside July 16-18 for the Woodside Summer Dressage & Breed Show. Cornerstone moves to Colorado for the weekend of June 4-6 for High Prairie Dressage I, II and III. They will return to Southern California for the Cool August Nights Dressage & Breed show, which features the Markel/Cornerstone Championships, August 26-29.