By Yellow Horse Marketing for Cornerstone Event Management BURBANK, CA – Young dressage horses were the stars of the weekend in the historic and pastoral setting of the Flintridge Riding Club for Dressage at Flintridge CDI*/Y/J, May 26 – 29, 2011 in La Cañada-Flintridge, CA.  As host of the Markel/USEF Young Horse Western Selection Trial for the FEI/WBFSH World Breeding Championships in Verden (GER) and the final Pan American Games qualifying competition for Southern California, competitors made the most of the opportunity to try to earn scores worthy of securing an invitation to represent their country on an international stage. John and Lisa Seger of Markel Insurance present the Markel/USEF Five-Year-Old Western Selection Trial championship ribbon to Sabine Schut-Kery and "Sanceo". Photo courtesy of Genia Ply. In the Five-Year-Old division of the Markel/USEF Young Horse Western Selection Trial, the standout performer was “Sanceo”, a brown Hanoverian stallion (San Remo x Rivera by Ramiro’s Son II, bred in Germany by Gerhard Dustmann) ridden by Sabine Schut-Kery of Thousand Oaks, CA for owner Alice Womble-Heitman of Hempstead, TX.  Winner of last fall’s California Dressage Society (CDS) Young Horse Futurity as a four year old, “Sanceo” impressed the judges to earn 8.12 in the Preliminary Test (40%) and 8.30 in the Final Test (60%)for an overall score of 8.23, the championship ribbon, and a possible ticket to Verden.  “This stallion is such an elegant and light type of horse,” noted judge Natalie Lamping (4* USA).  “He’s just what we’re looking for in this division.”  Reserve Champion was the U.S.-bred bay Dutch Warmblood mare “Bakara” (Sir Sinclair x Thea by Idocus).  Ridden by 2007 Verden competitor Willy Arts of DG Bar Ranch, “Bakara” earned scores of 7.38 and 7.60 for an overall 7.51 for owner and breeder Janice Kissel of San Luis Obispo, CA. In the demanding six-year-old tests, Sherry Van’t Riet of Monte Nido, CA rode her own brown Oldenburg gelding “Sir Deauville” (Sir Donnerhall x Estella by De Niro, bred in Germany by Karl-Heinz Drees) to win the championship title with scores of 7.38 and 6.90 (7.09 overall), while in reserve was last year’s CDS Five-Year-Old Futurity champion “Soleil” (bay Oldenburg gelding, Sunny Boy x Ricoletta, bred in Germany by Werner Martens Achternhoff) owned and ridden by Bekki Vrono from San Dimas, CA with an overall score of 6.74