Julia Warter hadn’t ever earned a 70 percent before. Achieving that landmark was thrilling–doing it at the California Dressage Society Northern Junior/Young Rider Championships in Rancho Murieta, Calif., on Aug. 10-13 was even more so.

“I couldn’t believe that I got high point!” exclaimed Warter. She rode her Clover Creek to win the 16-year-old training level championships with an average score of 71.20 percent. The championships are calculated from scores from the two highest tests of that level.

Warter earned a 71.87 percent in training level, test 3 and 70.57 percent in training level, test 4. These were also the highest scores in these tests from all 37 of the training level riders in the five divisions of the training level championships, giving Warter the overall training level championship award.

Warter also competed on the second-placed training level team, The Cross-Cruz, and received scores of 69.77 percent and 70.00 percent in training level, tests 1 and 2. Her combined score with her equitation score gave her the individual reserve championship ribbon in the training level team competition also.

“My horse and I have come so far,” said Warter. “At the beginning of the year we were in the very low 60s and 59 percent for ever. I’ve shown him so much this year–everywhere–just trying to get our scores. It was so hard for us to get here.”

Riders in the training level division must receive three scores of 62 percent or higher from two different judges to qualify for the championship show. First level qualifying scores are 60 percent and above. Second level and above qualifying scores are 57 percent and above.

Clover Creek (Afleet–Maizelle) is a 16.3- hand, 12-year-old Thoroughbred gelding bred by Clover Creek Ranch in Santa Ynez, Calif. Warter bought him two years ago as a jumper and event horse prospect. He’d been on the track and won one race and done some jumping. Warter had done a little bit of eventing at the beginner novice level on various horses but had never had consistent lessons.

“I’m so proud of him because he’s never been a dressage horse before,” said Warter. “In the past year I started working with Sandy Howard and he’s really gotten so much better. The first year he was really hard for me to work with because he’s kind of a handful. It’s just been a real breakthrough for me to have Sandy. She’s really turned us around a lot. It’s been really hard in our lessons, but it’s been so worth it. I love dressage now.”

Warter is 16, and spends alternating weeks with her parents. Her mother lives in Capitola and her father lives nearby in Aptos, Calif. She trailers to Howard’s barn in Watsonville, Calif., each week.

“This was my favorite show of all time,” said Warter. “When I walked out of the arena I was bawling. I was so happy. I’ve never cried at any show about anything. It was just the greatest experience I’ve ever had. I worked so hard to get here.”

Warter competed at the CDS Junior Championships with the help of a scholarship offered by the CDS. “We had to write about ourselves and what we are doing, and about why we deserved the scholarship,” said Warter. “If it hadn’t been for that I don’t think I could have afforded to come here. The scholarship was such a help. I really, really appreciated what CDS did for us.”

Working Hard To Win
Holly Perry, 20, of Orangevale, Calif., rode her Thoroughbred-Belgian Draft cross mare Gwendolyn to the third level high point and the high point trophy for third through FEI levels with a combined score of 66.83 percent.

“I’m really happy,” said Perry. “We’ve been working a lot on trying to get her collected. She really did well for me today and yesterday. She works hard–that’s what I love about her.”

Perry trains with Gina Duran of Pleasanton, Calif. She has been with Duran for five years. Perry purchased the 11-year-old, 16.2-hand, bay mare six years ago from event trainer Gina Miles. Perry competed with Gwendolyn (Roka Zaka–Fresca) through the preliminary level in eventing.

“She loves to jump, that’s why I bought her,” said Perry. “She’s very sensitive and she really moves off of my leg. She likes to move forward from all of that cross-country. She’s got a little personality to her too.”

This is the pair’s fifth year competing at the junior/young rider championships and their first try at third level. Perry also qualified “Gwen” at fourth level but thought it would be a little too much to ride her in both levels in the heat.

“I love this show,” said Perry. “I meet new people every time–great, talented riders. I have one more year here and then I’m out with the big dogs!”

Ashlyn De Groot, 12, of Hanford, Calif., won the fourth level championship with a 66.29 percent and was reserve champion in the 16 and under division of third level with a 65.86 percent average. De Groot rode Jasper (Wolfgang–Enola), a 15-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Willy Arts and her family’s DG Bar Ranch in Hanford, Calif. Jasper has previous junior and young rider experience with De Groot’s cousin, Stephanie Hamar, who rode him on the 2004 gold-medal team at the North American Young Riders Championships.

De Groot has only been riding Jasper since February. Last year she competed at training and first level. She started riding a little bit when she was 5 and she started showing when she was 8.

“Jasper’s been teaching me a lot,” said De Groot. “And I also have Willy [Arts]. It’s really nice to have a good trainer.”

De Groot has a lesson almost every day that Arts is home. Arts’ schedule takes him to numerous shows and clinics and on frequent buying trips to Holland. During the summer De Groot rides three or four horses a day, but during the school year she just rides Jasper. She will be starting the seventh grade at Central Valley Christian in Hanford in September.

A Diva Does It
It was Katherine Sievers’ first year competing at the CDS Junior Championships, but that didn’t stop her from claiming the second level overall high point. Sievers, 18, rode her Westphalian mare Diva, 9, to an average score of 69.79 percent at second level. The pair also placed second in the 18-21-year-old first level championship with a 68.31 percent average.

Sievers, of Cordelia, Calif., has owned Diva (Dream Of Heidelburg–Penny Lane) for a year and a half. Her family went on a vacation to Germany over Christmas of 2004 and bought Diva.

“It was a really cool experience,” said Sievers. “Diva was my Christmas present and birthday present and graduation present and a whole lot of presents combined!”

Sievers has been training with Anne Reynolds of Fairwind Farm in Cordelia, Calif., for the past year. She has ridden for 11 years, but this last year has been her only serious dressage training.

“We’re working on getting Diva’s energy level up,” said Sievers. “She’s somewhat of a lazy horse sometimes. She’s definitely a diva in the fact that she’s like ‘oh, I don’t want to work today.’ The name fits her perfectly.”

Sievers just finished her freshman year at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Diva stayed in northern California in training with Reynolds, while Sievers joined the women’s rowing team at Santa Barbara to stay in shape.

“It’s really weird,” said Sievers. “I disappear for a few months at school and then I come back and I have three days to ride and my riding posture and everything improves. Ann asks me, ‘What have you been doing?’ I guess I think about it in my head. I improve every time I take long breaks, which is really weird.”

Rowing regattas prevented Sievers from competing in dressage during the school year, so she came home in June and qualified Diva at first and second levels for the championships in two months. And this was her first season of showing Diva.

“She’s really a perfect horse to learn on,” said Sievers. “She gets ‘cute’ points too. She really is a diva.”

Sheri Scott