Fifty years of horses, handlers, rain-slicked boots, ribbons and reunions have created something more than just a show. When the 50th Anniversary Kingsview Partners Dressage at Devon (DAD) opens its gates Sept. 23, it won’t only be the Grand Prix horses and their riders or the proud mares and their foals stepping into the spotlight. It will be the volunteers at the trailer lot and ticket booth, the vendors who return each fall, the announcers who have become part of the soundtrack, and the generations of horse people who keep coming back. All are the Legends of Devon.
“Part of the Devon magic is the community that its created,” says Natalie DiBerardinis of Hilltop Farm. “It’s the relationships. You walk in the show office and there’s just a home feel. It’s a must-do on the calendar for so many people, even if they don’t have horses competing that year.”
Hilltop trainer Michael Bragdell has handled more than 400 breed-division entries at DAD over 18 years, and in 2021 he and the 2008 Oldenburg stallion Qredit (Quaterback-Dream Rubina, Dream of Glory) danced to victory in the Grand Prix Freestyle CDI-W. For Natalie DiBerardinis, the thrill is not just winning but watching the continuum of life play out in the Dixon Oval: “You see the foals go on to be breeding mares or competition horses in the CDI and then you see their offspring come back through.”
Generations in Motion
For breeders like Maurine “Mo” Swanson of Rolling Stone Farm, that sense of lineage runs deep. Over 47 years she’s produced more than 450 foals and Dressage at Devon became the stage where her program matured. “For a horse breeder, talking about generations at Devon takes on a different meaning,” she says. She recalls bringing her two-year-old Hanoverian filly, Rheporter (Royal Prince-Weltmeyer, Brentano II), in 2009 to win Reserve Champion Filly, then returning in 2011 when Rheporter swept Mare Champion, Mature Horse Champion and Grand Champion titles.
“Another big surprise was when Quinnten [Alston] was named the top handler at the show. I tear up even now thinking about it. What a memory! What a show!”
Alston himself has shown in more than 200 breed classes at DAD. “Devon has always been my favorite show,” he says. “It feels like a high school reunion every year. We’re all there to support and celebrate each other, laugh, reminisce, share the highs and lows of our year with the people that ‘get it.’ Devon always feels like the culmination of the show year.”
When History Steps Into the Ring
Every era of American dressage seems to have its DAD moment. Sarah Campbell, now in charge of event operations for the show, still remembers being a little girl in 1976 watching Olympic medalist Hilda Gurney on her Thoroughbred gelding Keen (Money Broker-Mabel Victory). The test they delivered earned a 76% in the Grand Prix Special and left a permanent imprint on the crowd.
Her other favorite? When George Williams and the Westfalian mare Rocher (Rolls Royce-Fränzi, Frühlingsstern) earned a 77.850% and electrified the Dixon Oval. Rocher’s retirement ceremony eight years later was held at Dressage at Devon, another tradition stitched into the show’s fabric.
Anne Gribbons—Olympian, five-star judge, DAD board member and USDF Hall of Fame inductee—first brought her chestnut Trakehner stallion Amazonas to Dressage at Devon as a three-year-old and in 1983 she won the Grand Prix Freestyle on him. “There is a really special atmosphere at Devon, which doesn’t exist anywhere else in this country,” she says. “It’s the unique character and ambience of the compact show grounds and the excellent quality of exhibitors. And also the keeping of the various traditions, including the Fall Festival.”
Lendon Gray, two-time Olympian, calls Dressage at Devon “the show” of her early career. She first competed there in 1977 on Casanova: “I was thrilled! I mean, Devon was it. It was a big thing to qualify for Devon.” Nearly a decade later she would win the Grand Prix Freestyle on Seldom Seen, the 14.2-hand American-bred Thoroughbred/Connemara cross who became a folk hero.
Mikala Münter, who has ridden memorable freestyles at DAD aboard both Anne Sparks’ Rheinland Pfalz-Saar stallion Leonberg (Lonely Boy-Romina Power, Rameros) and Janne Rumbough’s Danish Warmblood mare My Lady (Michellino-Marion, Ritterstern), echoes that intimacy: “It’s this special intimate atmosphere in the [Dixon] Oval arena where the spectators are close by and everyone is having a great time,” Mikala remembers. “You can feel the energy when you ride. You’re kind of part of the party in that arena.”
Janne Rumbough sums up the show’s stature simply: “For me, what make Dressage at Devon legendary it is one of the first prestigious dressage show in old horse country where you had to qualify!”
New Names, Same Magic
Seeing legends being forged with the up-and-coming young horses and riders is part of the DAD experience. Lehua Custer remembers bringing the 2016 Oldenburg stallion Fortunato H20 also known as “Tuna” (Floriscount-Raleska WF, Rascalino) to DAD for the first time: “I had an opportunity to show Tuna at Devon as a 3-year-old, and that’s where we got our perfect 10 on a walk. Then I thought, oh, wow, I’ve really made it.” Her goal now is to bring Tuna back in the CDI Grand Prix.
Lauren Chumley, who has competed in more DAD classes than anyone (180 so far!) will ride in this year’s Kingsview Partners Dressage at Devon Masterclass with Ingrid Klimke presented by Capital Square. She recalls reading about the show as a child in Ohio and dreaming of the Dixon Oval. Her favorite DAD moment came in 2022: “It was pouring rain. I went into the Dixon and I did my freestyle and it’s the best ride I ever had on my horse [2013 Oldenburg mare Santa Barbara Dash (San City-Barcarole, Baroncelli)] in my life and I won.” Everything and everyone was soaked and she remembers pouring water out of her boots after the ride. But, the best part? The looked up in the stands and there were fellow soggy competitors and friends, cheering her on. “It’s so Devon.”
Lauren credits the volunteers and staff with making the show what it is: “The volunteers at Devon have the same level of joy that we do.”
The Thread of Family
Catherine “Cat” Malone speaks of her mother, the late Mary Alice Malone of Iron Spring Farm, as one of those foundational figures. “Mom grew up on the Main Line so she was showing at Devon her whole life,” she says. Mary Alice showed her stallion Boston at the very first Dressage at Devon and went on to bring multiple generations of homebred horses into the ring.
“Dressage at Devon was definitely her favorite show,” Catherine recalls. “She loved the shopping and seeing her favorite people year after year, from the parking lot attendant to the volunteers to all the other breeders and competitors. One of her favorite traditions was taking a photograph in front of the barn with all the handlers and grooms to commemorate another year at Devon.”
Catherine herself grew up running around the showgrounds and later rode in the Junior and Young Rider divisions before entering the Grand Prix on Iron Springs Farm’s Westphalian stallion Florianus II (Florestan I-Die Dame, St.Pr.St., Damenstolz). “For 50 years so many people have dedicated their time and energy to making Dressage at Devon a show worth celebrating. It’s the fall event that we all look forward to.”
Catch Handlers and Cinderella Stories
Bruce Griffin II embodies the idea that “somebody could be unknown and end up a legend of Dressage at Devon.”
The first time he came east from the West Coast he was a catch handler on a meal ticket and won the breed show championship. Over the years he’s added six Grand Championships and Reserve Championships and countless wins.
“Devon is one of those iconic facilities and shows that you always heard about as a kid and when you get there, you’re overwhelmed like you went to Disneyland for the first time,” he says. “It’s just one of those places where you’re a part of something special.”
He’s quick to credit the quiet heroes: “We don’t become big names without the breeders and the small little breeders that you never hear about. We don’t get there without someone handing us a groomed horse. It’s the owners, trainers, and people who’ve done all the work and handed me these opportunities I’ve had.”
Tradition and DAD Magic
Jessica Jo “JJ” Tate, a familiar name at DAD for many years, also joins the Masterclass this year. She believes DAD matters more than ever in an era of instant gratification: “In a time where traditions are getting eaten up by modern day things, we need to hold onto those traditions and Devon is one of them. It’s just a magical place and you feel it. You feel part of something, part of history, part of the growth of the sport.”
The Aura of Dressage at Devon
Across the decades, top competitors and today’s up-and-coming stars have written their own DAD chapters. Yet everyone interviewed circles back to the same theme. The magic of Dressage at Devon is its people. It’s the vendors who come back year after year. It’s the sponsors, the show secretary, the announcer, the ring stewards, the “guy that drags the ring” and the woman who manages the maze of the breed show. The whole community, from the horses to the humans, is what makes DAD legendary.
On Sept.27, during Saturday night’s Grand Prix Freestyle, spectators will see some of these icons in a special parade of the Legends of Dressage. They’ll be wearing nametags so fans can greet them, ask about their DAD memories, and perhaps be inspired to create some of their own.
There will be world-class competition and shopping at the famous Fall Festival, but the heartbeat of the 50th Anniversary Kingsview Partners Dressage at Devon will be the reunion. It’s a family album, a proving ground and a homecoming rolled into one.
After all, as Bruce Griffin says, “Devon is a place that somebody could be unknown and end up a Legend of Devon.”