Silva Martin and Jeff the Chef Fourth Level Champions

With six horses to compete at the Colonel Bengt Ljungquist Memorial Championships at the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington, Virginia October 23-26, Silva Martin had her work cut out for her. She gave each and every horse a competitive ride and brought home one Championship and three Reserve Championships for her efforts.

Jeff the Chef, (By Jive Magic out of a Salut mare), owned by Silva and her husband Boyd's Windurra USA, was Silva's star of the weekend, claiming the Fourth Level Championship on a score of 70.682%, heading a class of 14 talented horses. Jeff the Chef is a 17.3hh chestnut gelding that exudes presence in the arena and he also won his warm-up class on Saturday with 69.773%.

As he ascends the levels of dressage on his way to the FEI ranks, Jeff the Chef is helping Silva, a native of Germany who moved here at the beginning of 2007, to establish her name in the United States. At the prestigious Dressage at Devon he finished second in Fourth Level Test 3 with a score of 65.041%.

At the CBLM Finals Silva rode three horses in the Third Level Final and all three performed well. Shannon Stimson's talented Off-the-track Thoroughbred gelding Sea Lord was the Reserve Champion (69.87%) and Silva commented, "He's so powerful, it's like he never touches the ground!" Waimea, a Canadian Warmblood mare by Wallenstein, owned by Margo Marano, was very good and scored 67.4% to finish fourth. Ballatale, an Irish gelding owned by Sarah Sanz, scored 64.74% to place sixth. This was a competitive division with 20 entries.

On Sunday morning Silva competed Janet Mudge's DP Lidcombe, (by Luebeck out of a Thoroughbred mare) in the First Level Championship in the indoor arena, scoring 64.4 to place near the middle of the pack. Silva said, "He spooked once and had a couple of little mistakes but I was happy with him because he really tried."

The show started out successfully on Friday for Nina Gardner's attractive chestnut mare Wasabi Rosa, (by Jazz out of a Farrington mare). She scored 73% to claim the title Reserve Champion out of 27 horses, just six tenths of a point behind the Champion.

"It really was a selection of the best horses in the country and she did very well against the competition," said Silva.

About Silva
A native of Germany, Silva, 27, spent four years in Australia before moving to the United States. She is married to Australian event rider Boyd Martin, who works as assistant trainer to Phillip Dutton. Silva runs her dressage business out of a separate barn at Dutton's True Prospect Farm in West Grove, Pennsylvania. During the winter season she will base her training business out of Tuny Page's Still Point Farm in Wellington, Florida. She trains with Oded Shimoni and Scott Hassler.

On the weekend of November seventh Silva will ride Jeff the Chef in the Young Dressage Horse Trainer's Symposium with Scott Hassler in Chesapeake City, Maryland.