WAYNE, Illinois, Aug. 27, 2026–Tuscany, a German-bred gelding, was ridden by Jessica Kozel to victory in the U.S. Festival of Champions preliminary test for five-year-old horses Thursday.
Jessica of Wellington, Florida rode Tuscany (Taurus x Cavallieri) to a score of 88%, including the competition’s highest marks for walk of 9.5 and perspective of 9.
Lindsey Holleger, based in Aiken, South Carolina, was runner-up on the Oldenburg mare Galaxena (Galaxy – Florenz) on 85.400% and placed third on WSI Royalty (Zackery x Sir Sinclair), a Dutch-bred mare, on 83.200%.
The judges, who described Tuscany as “a joy that was to watch.” said the “trot was powerful, dynamic, expressive, ground-covering, elastic.
“The walk showed good ground-cover, even in the medium; rhythm always remained pure. The canter, very dynamic, expressive, shows much hope for the future. Today, to pick would be it could sit more. We had some submission issues getting into the canter on both sides. But again, such quality for the future. We have small issues with submission, some jaw crossing, some balance issues, the canter transitions, but we think you’re on the right direction following the training scale.
“This is a beautiful picture. This is what we want to see for the future.”
Tuscany is owned by Cynthia Perretti and was bred by Petra Kerschbaum, who has youngsters with some top riders and is an active media photographer in both Europe and the U.S. when she is off duty at a medical center in Vienna, Austria.
Results:
| Rank | Competitor | Score | E | E | C | C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Jessica Kozel (USA) Tuscany | 88.000% | 88.000 | 88.000 | ||
| 2. | Lindsey Holleger (USA) Galaxena | 85.400% | 85.400 | 85.400 | ||
| 3. | Lindsey Holleger (USA) WSI Royalty | 83.200% | 83.200 | 83.200 | ||
| 4. | Allison Nemeth (USA) Royal Indy VD | 81.900% | 82.400 | 82.400 | ||
| 5. | Nora Batchelder (USA) RH Sirius Brown | 81.000% | 81.000 | 81.000 | ||
| 6. | Mackenzie Peer (USA) Sonnenberg’s Royal Vegas | 79.000% | 79.000 | 79.000 | ||
| 7. | Brittany Burson (USA) Venturini | 78.200% | 78.200 | 78.200 | ||
| 8. | Laura Abner (USA) Schickeria | 75.000% | 75.000 | 75.000 | ||
| 9. | Martin Kuhn (USA) Damascus EP | 74.300% | 74.800 | 74.800 | ||
| 10. | Mila Perry (USA) Jabberwocky Eden | 71.600% | 71.600 | 71.600 | ||
| 11. | Lori Barrett (USA) Barbarella S | 70.400% | 70.400 | 70.400 | ||
 Find details on Equestrian Hub |
