Hometown girl Arlene “Tuny” Page delivered the goods again with Wild One on the final evening of the two-night competition in Wellington, Florida, in the weekend of March 17th and 18th.. Following up her win in the FEI Grand Prix CDI-W she took the victory in the Grand Prix Freestyle CDI-W as well Page and her 10-year-old Hanoverian gelding Wild One topped the field which gave them the USEF National Grand Prix Freestyle Championship title and victory in the U.S. League Final. As winners of the U.S. League Final, the Official Selection for the 2006 FEI World Cup Dressage Final, Page and Wild One will represent the United States at the FEI Dressage World Cup Final in Amsterdam, The Netherlands (April 20-23). Page had a wonderful Freestyle. She choreographed the kur with Lars Petersen to a soundtrack created by Marlene Whitaker that featured instrumental versions of American ‘oldies’ from artists including Michael Jackson, The Everly Brothers, and Diana Ross like Wake Up Little Susie, Wooly Bully, Help Me Rhonda, and My Girl. “The Americans need to have fun with their freestyles,” Page explained of the classic tunes.

Long-time competitor Page will be representing the U.S. for the very first time in her riding career. She was extremely happy. “I felt like I could count on Wild One if I could go out and ride him as confidently as I did in Grand Prix,” said Page. “That was the burden I carried, not trying to win or beat Leslie Morse. And I succeeded!”

Talking about Leslie Morse, her participation in Amsterdam still waits for approval of the Selectors Meeting of the USEF. Leslie Morse of Beverly Hills, California, and her 12-year-old Swedish stallion Tip Top earned a score of 73.40% in the Grand Prix Freestyle CDI-W to claim the reserve slot in the USEF National Freestyle Championship and second place in the U.S. League Final. Participants were required to score a minimum of 68% in the FEI Grand Prix CDI-W on Friday (March 17) and a minimum of 70% in the freestyle on Saturday (March 18), with the top two scorers selected to represent the U.S. at the World Cup Final. While Page met the criterion, scoring 68.792% for the win in the Grand Prix, Morse scored 66.500% in the Grand Prix only.