Source: By Yellow Horse Marketing for the US Dressage Finals

Region 3’s Hannah Hewitt swept the Adult Amateur small tour division at last year’s US Dressage Finals, and now will be back for more after a big win at the Great American Insurance Group/USDF Region 3 Championships. Photo: Susan J. Stickle.

Last year, US Dressage Finals first-timer Hannah Hewitt of Atlanta, Ga. made the most of her experience by sweeping all three adult amateur small tour titles, including the Prix St. Georges, Intermediate I and Intermediate Freestyle Adult Amateur Championships. But instead of resting on her laurels, she continues to move on up and now can’t wait to come back to Lexington for more.

Once again aboard Tammy Pearson’s KWPN gelding Fidens, Hewitt competed in last weekend’s Great American Insurance Group/United States Dressage Federation (USDF) Region 3 Championships, held October 11-13, 2019 in Conyers, Ga. and in her only performance came away with a tie for the win in the Region 3 Intermediate II Adult Amateur Championship. With Region 3 being the last of nine Regional Championships held across the country over the last five weeks, now is the time for the final step on the road to Lexington as entries for the 2019 US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan® close on Monday, October 21^st, and Hewitt wasted no time submitting her online entry.

“Ever since last year I absolutely knew I wanted to go back to Kentucky,” Hewitt explained. “I love the facility there – that Alltech Arena is incredible and just top notch, the management does such a great job, everything runs so smoothly, and the shopping is great. We also really enjoyed the Lexington community itself – we found great places to visit and eat. And you get to see old friends and meet so many people who are just like you from all over the country – and it’s the Finals that bring everyone together.”

Finding success at the 2018 Finals added to Hewitt’s confidence to make the move up to Grand Prix, and even though she will come to the Kentucky Horse Park this year with a slightly different perspective, she’s ready to once again enjoy her experience. “Yes it’s a big step up to the Grand Prix level, but Fidens is great and he makes it as easy as it can be to make that jump,” said Hewitt. “I’m 25 this year so it was my last year of eligibility for the Brentina Cup division, so that was part of the motivation to move up, plus I felt like we were ready to tackle it.

“Last year I did have high hopes coming into the Finals because I felt confident and confirmed at the small tour level, and so I really wanted to do well,” Hewitt continued. “This time it will be a little different because it’s our first year at Grand Prix, so of course I still want to do well, but it’s more about the big picture and just continuing to make progress. I have a different measure of success for us at this point. We’re still working on some things and every time I ride and show I try to make something a little better. Fidens is only nine years old so hopefully we have a long career ahead of us, so I just want to set him up for success in the future and this is a step in that process. I think getting this kind of experience at the US Dressage Finals is great for our partnership and our future.”

Nominated competitors: this is your last chance to take the ride of your life at the 2019 US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan®, which will offer $100,000 in prize money and showcase adult amateur and open riders from across the country in 30 championship divisions from Training Level to Grand Prix. Entries are due by midnight Eastern Time on Monday, October 21^st (click HERE to learn more about the entry process).

Remember, competitors looking for assistance in making transportation arrangements to Kentucky are encouraged to utilize the US Dressage Finals Transportation Resources webpage. To learn more about the US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan®, download competition information, enter the Finals, and sign up to receive news and updates, visit the official event website at www.usdressagefinals.com.

Founded in 1973, the United States Dressage Federation is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to education, recognition of achievement, and promotion of dressage. For more information about USDF membership or programs, visit www.usdf.org, email [email protected], or call (859) 971-2277.