Bugs Bunny Operetta Music Secures Open Grand Prix Freestyle Title, Last-Minute Entry Is Reserve Champion at US Dressage Finals
On Saturday evening, November 1, at the 2025 US Dressage Finals presented by Adequan® Kristin Wasemiller-Knutson danced her way to the champion’s blanket in the Open Grand Prix Freestyle with a fabulous ride on Vashti which garnered 72.25% and the nod from all three judges.
The pair finished as runners up in the previous evening’s Grand Prix but pulled out all the stops to land the freestyle title 24 hours later. The US Dressage Finals at World Equestrian Center (WEC) in Wilmington, OH, runs October 30 to November 2, 2025, and offers a prize fund of $125,000.
There was a sense of déjà vu as the same duo also won this class in 2021, so their names will once again be engraved on the Jazzman Perpetual Trophy, presented by Donna Richardson. Jennifer Roth clinched the reserve sash with a last-minute decision to contest the class after another competitor scratched. She piloted Barbara Lightner’s 12-year-old Lusitano Imperador DR to 71.258%. The 24-year-old Josefine Parada, who was jetting off on her honeymoon the following morning, filled third place with 71.125% on her own 14-year-old Floriscount gelding, Floyd.
“I could not have been happier with my ride; I didn’t care what the score was,” enthused Wasemiller-Knutson, who rode to a Bugs Bunny operetta compilation she edited herself as well as designing the complex floorplan. “I wanted to use that music, and it took me years to try to get it the way I wanted it.”
Vashti, who is by the pinto Friesian Sporthorse Nico — also sire of Adiah HP — was bred by Sherry Koella. She was at Finals to witness the cherished 17-year-old mare’s victory. Koella likes to breed for color, and when Vashti came out bay and soon became an orphan, Wasemiller-Knutson and her mother Dede Wasemiller took her in.
“We have been second several times in this class, so it was our goal to come back and win it,” added Wasemiller-Knutson, who trains mostly with her mom and is based four miles away from her farm in Oklahoma City.
Roth’s last-minute decision to ride in the Grand Prix Freestyle brought her total tally of Finals rides to 11. She was “off the charts pumped” with the result.
“I wasn’t even supposed to be in this class,” she explained. “The horse is an absolute machine and Kathy Rizzoni made him such a fun, upbeat freestyle. I was up there just dancing and singing, and when I hit that last line of ones, I thought, ‘Okay, I’ve done 15, let’s see how many more I can fit in.’ He was right there for me. That’s probably the most fun I’ve ever had doing dressage.”
Roth partially attributed her great performance to help from long-time coach Sharon Ridge and warm-up help from Jim Koford, and partly to her brand new tailcoat bought on the day.
“It must be good luck; I’m never taking it off,” laughed Roth, who has been riding the Lusitano only since the spring of 2025. “I was given the ride to just play around, and here we are. Jim’s been convincing me that it’s okay to be fancy. I tend to go with the safe seven, and he’s helping me figure out that I can go for more. It’s pretty cool.”
A Saintly Four-Year-Old
With 35 names on the start list and a run-time of six hours, the First Level AA Championship was always going to be a hot class. Ultimately it was Mila Perry and her own four-year-old mare Jabberwocky Eden who prevailed with 73.241%.
“We rode really early, so we were all checking scores at the end. It came down to the wire, and she held it,” said Perry, who trains with Lauren Chumley. “She’s unbelievable and I love her, but it was an utter shock and surprise to win.”
Perry gets up at 4 a.m. on Mondays to complete barn chores before heading to work at Verizon. She has owned the Danish-bred mare by Jameson RS2 x Asgard’s Ibiza since she was three and produced her herself. Despite Jabberwocky Eden’s inexperience, her level head makes her a great fit.
“I’m an amateur with only one horse,” added the New Jersey-based Perry. “I want to be safe and feel totally safe with her. She has the best temperament. Lauren has helped so much with her and always makes sure she can give me a lesson time around work.”
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