Bent Jensen And Rockefeller Win USDF Freestyle TOC At 3rd Annual Zada Enterprises LLC Dressage At The National At The 121st National Horse Show & Family Festival

Bent Jensen and Rockefeller
Photo by Ken Braddick

WELLINGTON, FL - December 5, 2004 - Bent Jensen, 49, of Wellington, FL, aboard his stallion Rockefeller won the United States Dressage Federation (USDF) Test of Choice (TOC) at the 3rd Annual Zada Enterprises LLC Dressage At The National today. Jensen earned a score of 68.750% riding a Fourth Level Musical Freestyle. Second place went to Johnny Robb aboard Mr. Boombastic who earned 61.667% for her test, also at Fourth Level. Third place was awarded to Hadley Tolliver riding Daveed who was awarded 58.611% for her Third Level ride to music.

Jensen's music was a compilation of old-time rock'n'roll tunes re-vamped instrumentally to feature a banjo throughout. The music fit the six-year-old chestnut stallion's gaits perfectly. Jensen created the choreography and was pleased with his horse's performance today. "I was happy with his suspension in the trot work and the half-pirouettes on the centerline - that's very hard to do," Jensen commented. Jensen was debuting this new freestyle, which he re-styled from the one he and Rockefeller had been performing earlier in the season. "He likes doing the freestyle. He pumps up when he hears the music," Jensen said.

Lis Christenson created the music for Jensen's kur. She is based in Jensen's native country, Denmark, and worked with him long-distance as well as whenever he visited Denmark. She also creates the music for another Danish Olympian, Lars Petersen. Jensen, who became a U.S. citizen two years ago, was a member of Denmark's 1992 Barcelona Olympic Team.

Rockefeller is a six-year-old Danish breeding stallion that Jensen purchased as a six-month-old foal in Denmark. "I don't know how to buy foals, so I went by the pedigree," Jensen said. Rockefeller is by Rubenstein out of a Donnerhall mare. He recently received his lifetime approval from the GOV (German Oldenburg Verband) and is also approved by the International Sport Horse Registry (ISR). Jensen will show him in Florida this winter, then move him to a farm in Maryland in April where he will stand at stud for three months.

During the winter in Florida, Jensen will continue to show Rockefeller at Fourth Level and plans to move up to Prix St. Georges by the end of the season. He is certain the stallion will develop to Grand Prix. "Absolutely," said Jensen. "He has already started piaffe and passage." Is Jensen aiming for a spot on a U.S. Team? "I would love to! I'm working towards that," he said.

Jensen and Rockefeller competed in Dressage At The National last year at First and Second Level. Jensen described the stallion's attributes that have bolstered his quick progress up the levels. "He has an amazing mind, he wants to work, and he learns very quickly," Jensen said. Rockefeller is wrapping up his 2004 season with a bundle of honors - he won all three of his Fourth Level classes at Devon, earning in the seventy-percentile at each outing and also earned the High Score at Fourth Level at the show; he is the 2004 USDF Reserve Champion Horse of the Year at Second Level; and was the USDF Region 3 Reserve Champion at Second and Third Level. Jensen is especially proud of Rockefeller's USDF Championship in the Musical Awards. "That's very important and hard to earn," he said.

Jensen is so pleased with Rockefeller that he recently purchased his full brother, a three-year-old black stallion named Rushcutter. Jensen is just beginning to train the young horse. "He's learning just as fast as Rockefeller, " he said.

Jensen has showed at all three of the Zada Enterprises LLC Dressage At The National competitions in Wellington. "It's one of my favorite shows," he said.

Maybach Earns High Score And Leading Horse Award; Marco Bernal Earns Leading Rider

The high score of the 3rd Annual Zada Enterprises LLC Dressage At The National was awarded to Maybach who earned 78.462% in Training Level Test 2 ridden by Marco Bernal of Wellington, FL. The score earned the Leading Rider of the Show Award for Bernal, who was awarded trophies and ribbons.

Moti and Sandy Shahak of Wellington own Maybach and were awarded trophies and ribbons for the Leading Horse of the Show.

Maybach is a strikingly beautiful, three-year-old, black Westphalian stallion by Muenchhausen out of a Davignon mare. "He's an approved stallion imported from Germany," said Mr. Shahak. "He had a very high score at the approval tests in Germany - he scored 97.5, which is very, very unique. He's a very talented horse. He's a very gifted horse. We have a lot of hopes for him."

Maybach is standing at stude at Marco Bernal's stables. Bernal is the trainer for all of the Shahaks' horses.

Maybach arrived in the U.S. only a month ago. The stallion was released from quarantine one day before this show. Dressage At The National is Maybach's debut in the United States. "He did very well in Germany, but this is his first U.S. show," said Mr. Shahak.

First Level - Kerensa Muller and Enzo - 68.889%

Second Level - Jan Brons and Fino - 72.162%

Third Level - Jane Savoie and Menno - 69.762%

Fourth Level - Jason Canton and Navignon - 73.488%

Junior/Young Rider - Trae Laporte and Royal Midnight - 65.444%

For more information about the 121st National Horse Show & Family Festival, write to National Horse Show, PO Box 386, Greenvale, NY 11548. E-mail: NationalHS@aol.com; Phone: (516) 484-1865; Fax: (516) 484-1982. Web: www.nhs.org.