Tight Margins and Riders with Multiple Titles Characterize Last Day of 2025 US Dressage Finals

On Sunday, November 2, 2025, the 2025 US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan® wrapped up, with the last 10 titles decided. Many of them went to riders who had already won championship classes at the show, while three others went down to the wire. The Finals took place for the first time at World Equestrian Center (WEC) in Wilmington, OH, and boasted a prize fund of $125,000.

Valerie Golden has only been united with the 19-year-old Brunited (by United x Jazz) since the summer of 2025, but in that time he has taken her to her first Regionals and then to Finals, where they won the Adult Amateur (AA) First Level Freestyle Championship with 72.343% to a “Last of the Mohicans” compilation.

“It’s been a long week for him. He was tired today, so it took a lot for me to ride him through the test, but he was wonderful,” she said through happy tears. “I’ve only had the horse a few months. Thankfully, my trainer Jennifer Roth has helped me through the fall to get him here.

“I was honestly just pleased that we got around the test without spooking. Even at his age he’s still a very spooky guy — that’s the Jazz in him. Coming into this show, I just wanted to survive. The first few days we were scared of judges’ booths, but today we were not, so that was awesome,” added the full-time equine accountant from Belville, Ohio.

Outsider Inside the Winner’s Circle
Grace Christianson showed maturity beyond her 13 years when she elected to retire her triple NAYC 2025 gold medalist horse FHF Roulee in the morning’s second level test when she felt something was not quite right. The luck pendulum swung back for her in the afternoon when she and Karissa Gearen’s six-year-old Outsider DRH (by Spielberg x Apache) rocked the Training Level Junior/Young Rider (YR) Championship with 71.467%, beating 15 rivals.

“A lot of the hard work we’ve put in with Outsider is starting to finally pay off,” said Christianson, who achieved her USDF Gold Medal two months ago. “I’m really thankful for the opportunity to ride Karissa’s super young horse — it feels surreal. In the test he put his head down and went right to work.

“This was our last test of the season, so it was a little nerve wracking, but my expectations were not super high for him, since he’s still a baby. This is only his sixth show ever and his first big win,” added the Indiana-based rider who trains with Jennifer Conour. 

Vavrick Doubles Up
Autumn Vavrick sealed her second win of the weekend on Eleonora Frey’s six-year-old One De La Fazenda, this time in the Second Level JR/YR Championship with 71.349%. The son of Valverde was the unanimous choice for winner from all the Finals judges who presided over him.

“Doing the double is pretty incredible,” said the 16-year-old from Oxford, Michigan. “I’ve never had a horse like him who’s so consistent, calm, and easy going. I felt so much harmony in the arena. We’ve worked hard this season, and this is a great way to end it. I feel super lucky to have such a positive experience with a horse like him as my first young horse experience.”

Vavrick, who trains with Laurie Moore, describes “Owen” as “sociable, personable goofball.” He was imported from the Netherlands in February of this year, and Vavrick does online lessons with her trainer using Pivo three times a week. She hopes to get a business degree before becoming a professional dressage rider and trainer.

Tiny Margins
Three of Sunday’s titles were incredibly close. Tightest of all was the tussle for the top in the AA Third Level Freestyle Championship, with Alexa Briscoe and Lincolntime coming out on top, 0.008 percentage points ahead of Alexandra Crossen. Briscoe scored 71.15% to add a second winner’s sash to her and the seven-year-old Londontime x Weltmeyer gelding’s trophy cabinet this year.

Just 0.4 percentage points separated the champion and reserve in the Second Level Open Championship. Nora Batchelder nosed ahead of Maia Gromadowski with 71.389% on Gnomonic, Anna Jaffe’s eight-year-old.

“Our warm-up was amazing, and even though we’re not quite getting our best work in the ring yet, he’s so talented that even if it’s not his best, he does really well,” said Batchelder, who has had the ride for a year on the Goldberg x Fürst Romancier gelding.

“He learned the changes this summer, and we did the Third Level Championship earlier in the week, but he’s really green at that,” added Batchleder, who made the 12-hour drive with “Goldie” from her base in Williston, Florida. “He’s confident in the second level work. He’s definitely going to be a grand prix horse in future, but we’re taking our time. He’s going to be very cool.”

Jaffe has ridden at grand prix level in the past, and Batchelder hopes she can help get her back to that level on board Gnomonic.

Freestyling the Freestyle
Kymberly Pullen watched her barn mates rake in titles over the weekend, but she had to wait until Sunday afternoon to claim one of her own. She presided over the Fourth Level Freestyle Open Championship riding Mojito to 72.35%. In yet another tight race, reserve Brianna Zwilling finished just 0.117 percentage points adrift. It was not entirely smooth sailing for Pullen; she realized turning onto the final centerline that she had not performed a pirouette to the left.

“I had to add it to the floorplan last minute,” she explained, before admitting that something similar happened earlier this year. “But everyone in my barn team has won something, so this is really exciting. I’ve had this horse since he was three, and I love him.”

Pullen works for Lauren Chumley in Pittstown, New Jersey, and used music made by Kristin Wasemiller- Knutson, the 2025 Open Grand Prix Freestyle champion. She has owned Mojito (by Grand Galaxy Win x Rhodiamant) since he was three after spotting him on a video and falling for him.

“He’s a hot, spicy horse so we use chilled, relaxing music,” added Pullen, who will be heading to Florida for the winter next month. “I have to pre-ride him in the mornings, and we have lots of calming rituals. My goal is that he’ll be a CDI grand prix horse.”

Another of Chumley’s students, Mila Perry, also boosted the barn family’s tally. Perry’s lovely four-year-old Jabberwocky Eden punched out another top test to land the Training Level AA Championship with 73.933%, the second title for the leggy mare by Jameson RS2 x Asgard's Ibiza.

Christina Morin-Graham was completely unbeatable in her three championship tests on her Jazz mare Ici De La Vigne. On Sunday, the 12-year-old scooped her third title of the show by taking the Prix St. Georges AA Championship — the sixth blue sash for her rider. Their score of 70.098% was the only one to break the 70% barrier in the class.

An 18hh Saint
Two young riders, Ava Noone and Ella Fisk, bagged their first titles of the 2025 Finals. In the weeks leading up to the show, Noone’s horse Gucci, who stands at almost 18hh, had two abscesses and she did not know if he would be able to compete. Just in time, he came sound, and they traveled from Pittsburgh, PA, to WEC, where they hoisted the Intermediate I Junior/YR Championship title with 61.618%.

“The test was certainly not our best, but it was clean, which is what I was looking for seeing as he’s been on a bit of a break since Regionals,” said Noone of the 14-year-old Dutch gelding. “I was thrilled just to be able to come, so to catch this win is pretty special.”

The 18-year-old rider has owned the son of Briljant for three years after finding him through Franziska Seidl in Florida. Despite his stature, he has the temperament of “a big teddy bear.” He lives out with a group of friends in the field for 20 hours a day.

“I’ve met so many upper-level horses that are fresh and hot and difficult to take care of at home,” said Noone, who trains with her mother, Krista Tycho Noone. “He lives outside, I’ve thrown three-year-old children on him for their first riding lesson, and people have done their first change on him. He’s a saint.”

A Horsepower Boost
Ella Fisk and nine-year-old Quaresma set the bar in the Fourth Level Junior/YR Championship, claiming the title with 67.778%.

“We’ve had a really successful show season,” said the 17-year-old from Aiken, South Carolina — a 14-hour road trip from WEC. “We were Third Level Junior/YR champions here last year so it’s a really cool full-circle moment to be back here at the next level a year later.”

Fisk has owned Quaresma (by Quantensprung x Fürstenball) for two years after sourcing him in Germany, where she was blown away by his elasticity as soon as she sat on him.

“He’s super swingy, and I had never ridden a horse with that much impulsion and swing,” continued Fisk, whose coach Laura Abner is the head trainer at the Fisk family’s Zia Equestrian facility. “At first, he was a lot of horse, because it’s a lot to manage his trot and everything else in the movement. He was a big step up for me in horsepower.

“We were in the Juniors this year, and our plan next year is Young Riders,” she added. “That’s the great thing about fourth level, that it’s a nice bridge between the two. He has so much talent for the higher levels so I’m excited for the upcoming year. I think he’ll knock it out of the park.”

Fisk has been dual enrolled in school and at the University of South Carolina - Aiken and hopes to complete her political science degree in just two years and then focus full-time on riding.

Sunday’s classes conclude the 2025 US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan®. Relive all the action via the USDF Facebook page, the US Dressage Finals website, and USEF Network. Full results can be found on HorseShowOffice.com.

Mark your calendar! The 2026 US Dressage Finals takes place October 29 through November 1, 2026, at World Equestrian Center (WEC) in Wilmington, OH.

Check out all the coverage of the 2025 Finals, including behind-the-scenes photos and daily releases here. Full results can be found here.

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.