COTA Is A Canvas Of Expression For Tigger Montague
One night every year in March, genres of all different types of music can be heard echoing throughout the neighborhoods surrounding the normally quiet and reserved Adequan Global Dressage Festival. Attendees, meanwhile, are eager to find their seats for one of Wellington’s most beloved events of the season, the Challenge of the Americas (COTA), which returns this year on Friday, March 7.
Among the community members decked out in head-to-toe pink is longtime supporter and highly decorated quadrille choreographer, Cynthia “Tigger” Montague, tactfully corralling her team of six horse-and-rider pairs as they prepare to put their month’s worth of rehearsals and year-long plan into motion under the lights of the Grand Prix arena in front of a sold-out crowd.
A highlight of the winter season, COTA invites all community members, equestrian or not, to enjoy an evening of dressage unlike anything seen on the competition calendar.
Five teams of six Grand Prix horse-and-rider pairs perform highly choreographed and synchronized routines to music in elaborate, thematic costumes in front of a cheering crowd, before a charitable gala concludes the evening’s activities.
For Tigger, the evening is not only a celebration of creativity and a showcase of the fun side of the sport of dressage, but also a time for Wellington residents to come together in support of a charitable cause: breast cancer research, which for many, hits close to home.
2025 marks Tigger’s 10th year of involvement with COTA, along with the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and Play for P.I.N.K., organizations dedicated to raising donations for breast cancer research. COTA’s success has meant that a research grant in COTA’s name has been established for continued genetic marker research.
“The first time I saw COTA, I wanted to be involved,” Tigger recalled. “I didn’t know anyone connected to it other than my good friend, Jim Koford, who was riding on one of the quadrille teams. At the time, there were only three teams, but he put my name in the hat in case they ever wanted another quadrille team, and the following year, I got asked to choreograph my first-ever Grand Prix quadrille.”
With a background in theater, all of Tigger’s now seven quadrille performances are easily distinguished by their unique look and innovative movements.
“My first year, our theme was Star Wars, and I absolutely broke protocol because the quadrilles up until that time performed in traditional dressage shadbellies, and I said, ‘Yeah, no shadbellies. We are doing costumes.’ Thankfully, the organizer, Mary Ross, allowed me to break protocol, and we ended up winning,” she said.
Over the past decade, Tigger, whose company BioStar is one of the sponsors of the event, has helped to grow what started as a small afternoon luncheon into a nationally recognized exhibition that harnesses the dedication and charity of the Wellington equestrian community through a medium close to her heart.
“What would I be without the COTA quadrille?” Tigger exclaimed. “COTA is my creative fountain and my sanity. It has gotten me through the loss of my life partner in 2024. When I was feeling really sad, I could just go to the music and get lost in it.”
From her first year to now her eighth, each of Tigger’s quadrilles have taken inspiration from the theater with a strong storyline, memorable music and the ultimate goal of connecting with the audience. Her ability to continually come up with innovative choreography is a testament to her devotion to the event and what it has turned into.
“I have a very clear vision for each BioStar quadrille at COTA. I really want to push myself to see what is possible. COTA is a blank canvas, and you can put anything you want on it,” she said. “This is an opportunity to try different things, and I have thrown a lot of things out that when we go through rehearsals, just don’t work, and I am OK with that. You have to have some degree of flexibility, and you have to trust the riders. Once we have the music, and they know the choreography, I am just watching. That allows them to figure it out, get into character, and own the performance.”
As Wellington continues to grow and evolve, Tigger is excited to see the event grow with it and introduce new people to the magic of COTA. “I think it has brought fun to dressage sport in Wellington,” she said. “Fun, and a communal feeling of working for something more important than ourselves.”
And, of course, the event serves as a big, giant party for everyone in the community.
“Each year, I hope that we can continue to bring new people to our event,” Tigger said. “People who have never seen a dressage horse or the sport. I hope we keep upping the ante and raising more money, and that eventually we can pull in a greater portion of the equestrian community as a whole: hunters, jumpers, driving, eventing, western, etc. I hope this becomes an event for everyone to participate in and enjoy.”
When asked about this year’s quadrille theme, Tigger hinted, “This year’s choreography is action packed… that’s all I will say. The eagle will fly.”
Learn more about COTA 2025 at www.challengeoftheamericas.com.
