KNIGHTDALE - The N.C. Dressage and Combined Training Association held its 2009 Horse of the Year Awards Banquet Jan. 9 at Childress Wineries in Lexington where Rebecca Nelles and the team from Hidden Spring Farm were recognized for their accomplishments.

In the 2009 Pro-Am Challenge, Team Hidden Talent was the Reserve Champion with Nelles and Victor De CER, owned by Mary DeCoursey. The team also won the Doc Holliday Award for the single highest score of any team horse and rider combination.

The 2009 Horse of the Year Awards were as follows: Grand Prix - Nelles and Kay Meredith's Royal Scandal, Reserve Champion; Intermediare II - Nelles and Royal Scandal, Champion; Intermediare I - Nelles and Diane Tauber's Rytmik, Champion; Prix St. Georges - Nelles and Rytmik, Honorable Mention (awarded when the same horse and rider pair win the division two times in succession); Third Level - Nelles and Sally Atkinson's Vested Interest, Sixth Place; Second Level - Nelles and Diane Tauber's Rambius, Reserve Champion; First Level - Nelles and Rambius, Third Place; Jr./Young Rider Training Level - Ellen Shaw and Linda Shaw's Busta Move, Fifth Place.

Nelles, a trainer and instructor at Hidden Spring Farm, is a USDF bronze, silver and gold medalist.