Region 4 Junior Team Wins Dressage Gold on Day One of the 2022 FEI North American Youth Championships
History repeated itself on the first day of competition at the 2022 FEI North American Youth Championships (NAYC) for dressage as the Junior team representing Region 4 won team gold for the second consecutive year.
Not only was it a repeat win for the region, but the roster was made up of veteran horse-and-athlete combinations from the 2021 Region 4 Junior Team. Lexie Kment (Palmyra, Neb.) and Montagny von der Heide, Ella Fruchterman (Woodbury, Minn.) and Holts Le’mans, and Kylee Kment (Palmyra, Neb.) and Honor have now all earned the distinction of being two-time NAYC team gold medalists.
Kylee and Honor, a 10-year-old gelding owned by Jami Kment, had the team’s top score of a 69.364.
“In the warmup it was all coming together. He was really going into my hand coming from the hind leg,” said Kylee. “And then going into the test, there’s usually a little bit of a switch, like I start riding differently knowing that this is the show ring, but this time it felt very cohesive, which was nice. And so going through the test, the trot work, that cohesiveness felt the same, like he was really in front of my leg. And the walk work, canter work, he was just really good. He was really listening. It was so fun.”
Fruchterman rode her 11-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding to her two team gold medals, earning a 69.303 in this year’s team test. She reflected on how the experience was different this year as the team reunited in Traverse City.
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