2003 Festival of Champions

Leslie Morse, 2003 American Grand Prix Champion

Californian Leslie Morse believes dressage is a sport where risks make the winner. So the two-time national champion put it all on the line with her FEI Grand Prix freestyle on her Kingston to get the overall 68.711 percent for the 2003 national title.

She and her Dutchbred stallion son of Voltaire and Ginsette poured everything into what the tired dark mahogany bay could give on his third consecutive day of competition at the Bayer/USET Festival of Champions. They hit the centerline, exploding from the halt and salute before the judges to an extended trot, and then into an immediate transition to a passage followed by a piaffe.

"That showed his dynamics," said Morse who rode to the appropriate tunes of "Catch Me If You Can." Winning the title was part of her game plan after she left her lucrative training business to concentrate on perfecting her horse to make the US's 2004 Olympic squad.

Jan Brons and Fernando (Fruhling - Fleur) won the reserve title with a 66.427 total after a ride to the tunes of "Star Trek" and "2001; A Space Odyssey" that disappointed the Long Island man. He and the gelding hydroplaned their way through the kur which was punctuated by a slip on a turn. Sensing his tired horse's insecurity, Brons kept to a conservative approach. Yet no sooner had the horse regained his balance than a brilliant bolt of lightning ripped through the sky over the arena.

"My ride was what it was," said Brons. Despite his first in the Special and second in the Prix, "I wasn't sure my scores were high enough to get the reserve."

The question left to be settled Sunday in the Intermediaire championship is whether Olympic bronze medalist Carol Lavell can hold the lead she seized Saturday with her Much Ado (Quattro - Varla). The final portion of the Intermediaire is also the last Pan American Games selection trial for the US squad.

Lavell, a Vermont ex-eventer, had a 71.15 from the Intermediaire which boosted her two-day average to a 55.5 over her nearest rival, Kristine Harrison-Nanesss on Kantor (Ferro-Fleur). Standing right behind them is Jan Ebeling who wrapped up third in the Intermediaire I with a 68.850 for third on Liberte (Flemming- Evelina) and fourth with 68.800 on Feleciano (Florestan I - Barette).

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