USA’s Isabelle Leibler & Watson 108 to Young Rider World Cup Final

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Isabelle Leibler won the 2011 North American Young Rider Individualgold medal on Watson 108. © 2011 Ilse Schwarz/dressage-news.com

WELLINGTON, Florida, Nov. 4–Isabelle Leibler who won two individual gold medals aboard Watson 108 in her first North American Young Rider Championships this year at age 15 will be the U.S. entry in the Young Rider World Cup Final in Frankfurt, Germany, next month.

Isabelle and the 14-year-old Westfalen gelding (Weinzauber x Djuna x Damenstolz) qualified with scores of 74.00 per cent from the North American Young Rider Championships at Lexington, Kentucky, in July and 71.792 per cent from the Capitol Challenge CDI3* in Raleigh, North Carolina, a month earlier.

“I am very excited to be able to participate at the World Cup,” Isabelle told dressage-news.com. “Watsy and I have had a great summer, and we  hope to top off the year with a great experience in Frankfurt.
“It will be awesome to get back into the meat of European competition–especially with a horse like Watsy.”

Isabelle is now 16 and may be the youngest ever American at the Young Rider World Cup Final that is part of the Frankfurt Horse Show CDI-W.

This will be her second competition in Europe.

She was invited to the International Youth Festival in Hagen, Germany, with her two FEI ponies, Going West and Depardieu in 2010.

While there, through then trainer Susan Dutta she found Watson who had been a P.S.I. auction horse at Hof Kasselman. Befoe that, she trained with Danish Olympian Lars Petersen.

The pair competed in Florida last winter.

At the NAYR Championships, her team won bronze and she won individual and freestyle gold medals. She was also awarded the prestigious Fiona Baan Memorial Trophy for the highest cumulative score from the three Young Rider classes.

Isabelle is home schooled through the Indiana University High School Honors Diploma program and her family splits time between Wellington, Florida, and Greenwich, Connecticut.
Isabelle Leibler on Watson 108. © Ken Braddick/dressage-news.com