Led by Noel Williams on Pik-L, Team Liberty grabbed the top spot in the USEF Junior Team Dressage Championship at Dressage At Devon today, Oct. 2. Joined by Amanda Stearns on Nice Catch, Reena Idnani on Levant and Ryan Michelle Eskridge on Rubin, Williams anchored the gold medal effort with a 73.12 percent in the Junior individual test. She also won the individual gold medal, adding to the Williams’ family accolades this weekend. George Williams, Noel’s father, won the Grand Prix freestyle last night on Rocher at the venerable Devon, Pa., showground.

Team Independence (Cadanz/Ana DiGironimo, Arianne Weiss/Du-Fox Paw, Nero/Jami Edwards, Troll/Jennifer Danier) finished second, leaving Team Freedom (Crocodile Dundee/Eloise Aud, Lerro/Jordan Meadows, Irioso/Kelly Gormley, Caroline Roffman/Bulgari) the bronze.

Sponsored by Collecting Gaits Farm, the Dutta Corporation and Performance Sales International, the competition featured the best 12 junior riders in the country who qualified for their spots throughout the year at shows across the country.

Once selected, the riders were then split into three teams using a handicapping system that ensured the teams were equally balanced.

As always the best thing about the championships was watching the young riders root each other on in a truly touching display of camaraderie and sportsmanship. While the competition is intense and tensions and expectations run high, one senses that gleeful, campy, sorority-slumber party vibe and there is a great deal of fun had.

Noel said she and her fellow Team Liberty members even gave each other piggyback rides so they could all better memorize their tests.

Noel trains with Cesar Parra, who trained the black Dutch Warmblood stallion to great success on the small tour. Owned by Horses Unlimited, Noel said Pik-L’s owners wanted the horse to finish his career under a young rider and they approached her, offering the ride.

“It was really intimidating to come here and compete,” she said. “This is only my fourth show on the horse and this qualifying season is the first time I’ve regularly showed in two years. I have the horse that can do it, so I should be able to too.”

Noel, 17, handled all the expectations with aplomb and rode a superb test. Pik-L was engaged with great self-carriage throughout the test and Noel rode each movement for as many points as she could muster.

DiGironimo, 15, took home the silver individual medal with help from her regular trainer, Lendon Gray. On Cadanz, her petite, gray Dutch Warmblood gelding, she too rode a quality individual test, earning a 70.05 percent. From Turnersville, N.J., DiGironomo was positively beaming with praise for her horse.

“When he’s hot he’s so hot, but today he listened. He just tuned in on me and did his very best,” she said. “This is an unbelievable place to ride. There’s so much pressure and you can feel the crowd ride with you.”

Danier, 17, is a veteran of the junior team championships, having ridden in them for the last two years. Last year at Pebble Beach, Calif., she earned the individual and team gold medals on her gelding Gable. This time she returned to the Dixon Oval on Troll, a Rhinelander gelding. She said he’s green and their partnership is new, but the pair did enough to earn the bronze individual medal. They scored a 66.67 percent in the individual test today to finish fourth in the class.

Both the individual and the team test are weighted equally in tabulating the team scores. Each team gets a drop score for each test and the remaining scores are then averaged. The individual placings are simply the two test scores averaged.