Dancing into State Dressage Championships

Several retired racehorses entered the State Dressage Championships hosted by Dressage WA in September. With horses entered in every level from Prelim to Medium, it was super to have retired racehorses competing at such a prestigious championship in Western Australia.

Proudly sponsoring off-the-track exclusive classes, along with champion and reserve awards for each level, retired racehorses were celebrated at this event by Off the Track WA.

The preliminary classes saw the most entrants, with horses such as Seattle Sound, Star Operative, Garage Days and The Verdict competing for the Champion Off the Track Preliminary title. Seattle Sound claimed this win after securing the highest scores in both prelim off-the-track classes.

Seattle Sound	Jasmin Holland	Preliminary 1.2 & 1.3	1st Place	CHAMPION
The Verdict	Rhyianyd Davies	Preliminary 1.2 & 1.3	2nd Place	RESERVE CHAMPION
Star Operative	Davina Baxter	Preliminary 1.2 & 1.3	3rd Place
Garage Days	Cassie Easthope	Preliminary 1.2 & 1.3	4th Place

 

In the Novice classes, seasoned dressage competitor Tabannan competed against Tsubame for the Novice Off the Track Champion award. These two went head-to-head, both winning one class each.

Tabannan	Hayley Wassink	Novice 2.2	1st Place	CHAMPION
Tsubame	Bianca Gales	Novice 2.2	2nd Place
Tabannan	Hayley Wassink	Novice 2.3	2nd Place
Tsubame	Bianca Gales	Novice 2.3	1st Place	RESERVE CHAMPION

 

Unfortunately, only one horse competing in the elementary classes, though this was a great opportunity for Tenille Smith and Questor to progress with their training and arena work. Questor is an Oratorio gelding who retired from racing after only seven unsuccessful starts. He’s now an active competitor in dressage.

It was exciting to see competitors in the medium levels, with eventer, Lost East Estees dancing in the sand arena alongside long-term dressage competitor, L’Varss. Despite their focus on eventing, Lost East Estees produced some lovely medium work to secure the Champion OTT Medium title.

Lost East Estees	Kate Joyce	Medium 4.2	1st Place	CHAMPION
L’Varss	Imogen Freeman	Medium 4.2	2nd Place	RESERVE CHAMPION
Lost East Estees	Kate Joyce	Medium 4.3	1st Place
L’Varss	Imogen Freeman	Medium 4.3	2nd Place

 

Other notable off the track results included Madamchino winning the elementary freestyle class in the open section of the competition with new owner, Chloe Gee. Kate Joyce and Hayley Wassink also received stewards’ awards for their horsemanship and sportsmanship throughout the competition.

Congratulations to everyone who competed at this event on a retired racehorse.