Four Fresh Champions Crowned on Opening Day of 2025 US Dressage Finals at WEC – Wilmington

On day one of the four-day 2025 US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan®, which began on Thursday, October 30, four of the 37 titles on offer were captured by fresh champions. The show, which offers $125,000 in prize money, unfolded under autumnal conditions, so competitors and spectators were especially appreciative of the show’s new home at the World Equestrian Center (WEC) in Wilmington, OH, which hosts all championship classes indoors.

Leeloo Dallas Delivers Again
Lauren Chumley and Leeloo Dallas continued their smooth glide up the dressage totem pole, winning the Intermediate II Open Championship with 68.48% in a class of 14 starters. The duo won the Prix St. Georges title at the 2023 Finals and the Intermediate I Freestyle last year.

“This is Leeloo’s first year at I-2, and I’ve had some really good and some not-so-great rides,” said Chumley of the nine-year-old mare by Gaspard De La Nuit DG x Negro. “She’s never naughty, but she’s green at this — she’s only been doing this level for, like, 30 seconds. She was good in the test, but she was amazing in the warm-up, so that was a feeling of what’s to come. I can’t wait until I can have it all in the ring.”

Chumley has trained Leeloo Dallas up the levels herself since buying her unseen as a foal from her breeder Racheal McKinney in Arizona. Initially, she couldn’t afford her, but when her price was reduced, she was able to cobble together the funds.

“When she arrived, I realized I’d never asked how big she was,” added Chumley. “She’s a hair under 16.1hh now, which is actually fine as I’m not that tall.”

Chumley, who made the nine-hour drive from her winter base in Pittstown, NJ, is “endlessly grateful” to her coach Michael Bragdell, who finished fourth in the same class. This was Chumley’s second visit to WEC – Wilmington with Leeloo Dallas, and she praised the venue.

“The decorations are incredible, and they’ve created a super atmosphere here. I’m just wondering what the pumpkin budget is as I think I’ve seen about 3,000 of them,” she laughed. “I love that everything is indoors because it’s been pouring with rain. Plus, the footing is phenomenal.”

Since coming to prominence with Finals wins, Leeloo Dallas has attracted some hefty offers from potential purchasers. “I’m not wealthy and this money would change my life, but I don’t care; she’s not for sale!” concluded Chumley.

Finals specialist Heather Mason wasted no time with getting her winning groove on at this year’s show, bagging another title that will be heading back to New Jersey. On the eight-year-old Manuskript SCF — the joint youngest horse in the class — she clinched the Prix St. Georges Open Championship with 70.392%, the only plus-70%. The victory earned them the Miki Christophersen Perpetual Trophy, presented by USDF Region 4. Manuskript (by Jazz x Krack C) will also contest both Open Intermediate I classes on Friday.

First Draw Is Golden
Christina Morin-Graham was the very first Championship class rider of the entire 2025 Finals as the pathfinder in the Intermediate II Adult Amateur Championship on Thursday morning. Her 66.961% performance on her own 15-year-old Oldenburg mare Mondlicht was more than enough to keep her atop the leaderboard throughout to deliver her first Finals win, with the reserve champion finishing almost five percentage points adrift.

Morin-Graham — who has eight championship class rides this year — bought Mondlicht five years ago from Germany and was advised that she would not make a grand prix horse.

“They said she was too hot for the one-tempis and wouldn’t be able to do the piaffe/passage,” explained Morin-Graham, who topped the same class at the Region 8 Championships on the Sarkozy x Ravallo mare. “I was happy to have her as a small tour horse, but over the years we’ve done a lot of growing together, and here we are doing big tour.”

A week before leaving on the nine-hour journey to WEC – Wilmington from her home base in Malvern, PA, Mondlicht pulled a shoe off in the field and had a slightly swollen leg. Morin-Graham, who works full-time as a partner in a private equity firm, decided to give her a full week off, only schooling her the day before the championship test. That careful management paid off.

“I got on yesterday, and she felt super,” added Morin-Graham, who trains with Mason. “She loves getting ridden; she loves work. I adore her, though she’s definitely an alpha mare and very opinionated. You have to get her on your side and then she really gives you her best.”

A Magical Feeling
Taryn Anderson of Eerie, CO, was also first to go in the Third Level Open Championship, and her 71.625% on her mother Tammy Anderson’s seven-year-old Figardo proved unbeatable.

“He warmed up kind of tight in this big atmosphere, so I didn’t know what to expect. I went in the ring, and he was just so lovely,” said Anderson, almost in disbelief. “Everything I asked him to do, he was right there, and his back was soft. He gives me a magical feeling, and it was a magical ride. I could think about each movement, and it felt like ‘Ta-da!’”

Figardo (by Fürst Wilhelm x Fürst Piccolo) was found by Anderson’s friend Jenny Wetterau as a four-year-old, and she has produced him through the grades with help from her Colorado-based trainer Petra Warlimont and Florida-based trainers George Williams and Lars Petersen.  

“He’s super special to me because he was only walk, trot, canter when I got him. I put all the movements on him, and he’s the first one that I feel I’ve brought along and been successful with it. I’ve had horses before, but we made mistakes, and I learned a lot. Now, I feel like I’m starting to understand how to make a grand prix horse.”

Coupled with his athletic ability, Figardo’s unflappable nature has helped him flourish.  

“We have our own farm, and I take him out in the field. I can hack him by himself and train him on the hills,” she continued. “We also have the Cottonwood Trailhead, where there are bikers and runners, and he doesn’t even care. He’s a happy-go-lucky guy.”

Anderson was another competitor full of praise for the new venue. “I love it,” she said. “I haven’t been to Finals for years, but I remember getting drenched in the rain. When I heard Finals was going to be at WEC, I really wanted to come. I’m very much impressed; the decorations and the shopping are awesome, and the footing is perfect.”

Check out the latest coverage of the 2025 Finals, including behind-the-scenes photos and daily releases here. Live results and start times can be found here.

Competition resumes on Friday, October 31, with nine championship titles up for grabs from Training Level to Grand Prix during the day and the evening gala. The full digital show program is available here. Follow the action via the USDF Facebook page, USDF Instagram page, and the US Dressage Finals website, plus live online streaming from the Sanctuary Arena on USEF Network with expert commentary from Kathy Connelly.  

Along with presenting sponsor Adequan®, the US Dressage Finals is supported by SmartEquine, LeMieux, and Platinum Performance. Contributing sponsors include Premier Equestrian, Sterling Thompson Equine, and Uvex.