Birgitt Dagge and Laxwell
Lexington, Ky. – Nov. 13, 2016 – Birgitt Dagge traveled all the way from Bonita Springs, Florida, with her own Laxwell, a 7-year-old Oldenburg gelding, all the while unsure if they would even be able to go up the centerline in the Third Level Adult Amateur Freestyle Championship. Laxwell had an abcess and Dagge was worried that he would not be sound in time for the competition.
“He popped an abscess on Wednesday night,” Dagge said with a sigh of relief. “A huge thank you goes out to my farrier who is here with me and has worked so hard to get him sound and ready.”
The unexpected time off did not deter Dagge who was confident in her partner that she has owned since he was a 3-year-old and has trained up the levels.
“When I got on after almost two weeks of not riding on Friday it was very cold,” Dagge explained. “We had to work for a couple of days to get our momentum back, but he was great and today was our day.”
Birgitt Dagge and Laxwell
Dagge and Laxwell performed a beautiful freestyle on Sunday morning to win the championship with a score of 71 percent as the only pair in the class to break the 70 percent mark.
“He likes the atmosphere in the Alltech [Arena],” Dagge said. “He thinks he’s awesome and I think so too. The flying changes are really his strength and I tried to play to that in my choreography. He likes his music, we had a really good test and I’m very happy. He’s a super good horse for being very young.”
Laxwell quite literally dropped into Dagge’s lap when she was not looking for a third horse to add to her string.
“My sister called me from Germany one day and said ‘I have your horse’,” she laughed. “I said ‘No, I have two horses, I don’t need a horse!’ She said well, ‘He’s on the way to Amsterdam and he’s going to be on an airplane because he’s yours.’ I don’t know why she was so certain that he was my horse but he is and I’m very grateful for that.”
Dagge and Laxwell are schooling Fourth Level and Prix St Georges and hope to make an appearance at US Dressage Finals next year as they continue up the levels.
Teresa Fickling and Dolcetto O
The reserve championship went to Teresa Fickling from Macon, Georgia, and her own Dolcetto O, an 8-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding with a score of 68.944 percent.
Teresa Fickling and Dolcetto O
Third Level Adult Amateur Freestyle Championship
Rider/Horse/Total Score
1. Birgitt Dagge/Laxwell/71.000
2. Teresa Fickling/Dolcetto O/68.944
3. Kathryn Bennett/Just Georgie/68.278
4. Patty Keim/Java Joe/67.444
5. Faye Flynn/Rosevelt/66.611
6. Dana Cravey/Infanta/66.222
7. Alexandra Tomson/Dora the Explorer/65.667
8. Katelyn Myllykang/Favory Canada/65.444
9. Stacy Rose/Otto/65.278
10. Patricia McVary/Aureo/64.944