Dressage-News

By KENNETH J. BRADDICK

WELLINGTON, Florida, Mar. 29, 2018–A powerful United States team led by Adrienne Lyle and Salvino posting another personal best score dominated two days of Nations Cup competition to claim the Global Dressage Festival CDIO3* gold Thursday and avenge defeat by Canada in 2017. Canada won silver and Australia bronze, the first medal for the team from Down Under in any Nations Cup in the world.

Adrienne Lyle and Salvino, an 11-year-old Hanoverian stallion, produced a personal best score of 76.894 per cent in the Grand Prix Special that completed the two-phase Nations Cup that kicks off the seven-event trans-Atlantic team competitio. The pair had posted a personal best in the Grand Prix Wednesday.

“I’m so proud of my boy, the way he handled this with clean, powerful tests,” said Adrienne of Ketchum, Idaho but based in Wellington. “He was a little more tired but still came out fighting and put his all in it.”

Sabine Schut-Kery of Thousand Oaks, California, in her only competition in Florida after starting Sanceo’s Grand Prix career in her home state this winter, scored 72.872 per cent.

Olivia LaGoy-Weltz of Haymarket Virginia on Lonoir scored 71.710 per cent.

Team USA, sponsored by the Dutta Corp., dominated the event from the start, seeking to be among the group of eight combinations to go to Europe for the summer to earn selection for the American team for the World Equestrian Games at home in Tryon, North Carolina in September.

Brittany Fraser on All In logged a personal best Grand Prix Special score of 71.149 per cent, the only Canadian pair to score above 70 per cent in both the Grand Prix and the Special that made up the team competition of Big and Small Tour combinations.

The Australians were emotional about their bronze medal result, having been a participant since the beginning of the Nations Cup in Wellington in 2012 and after the Australian Federation would not allow a team in 2017 but relented too late to compete.

“We’re a long way from home,” said Kelly Layne, based in Wellington, who rode Furst Amante to a score of 67.598 per cent in the Intermediate 1. Nicholas Fyffe, also based in Wellington, on Hitchcock and Kim Gentry, who is centered in Germantown, Tennessee, on Leonardo were the other members of the Australian team.

“We don’t have a lot of support. But we get our inspiration from watching you guys,” she said of the Americans and Canadians who have helped make the Global Dressage Festival a major center of top sport in the world.

Big Tour combinations here each are awarded an additional 1.5 per cent at this Nations Cup that was inaugurated in 2012 with the aim of preparing teams for the Pan American Games, held once every four years and until recently at small tour.

Spain had an all Small Tour team of Pablo Gomez Molina on Furst Fiorano Ymas, Natalia Bacariza Danguillecourt on Rihanna Ymas and Marta Renilla on Rhustler for a total of 396.549.

The Nations Cup Grand Prix combinations will compete in the Freestyle for individual medals under lights Friday night, as well as received their team medals at a half-time break.

The result gives the United States the maximum of 10 points to kick off the third year of the official series and now moves on to Compiègne, France in two months. USA won the inaugural series after it was declared “official” in 2016 and Sweden took the title–that is rewarded with a silver plate and not a cup–in 2017.

Results:

Final Standings after Grand Prix/Grand Prix Special & Prix St. Georges/Intermediate 1  (best three scores count)

USA
Adrienne Lyle/Salvino GP 76.478% + 1.5% GPS 76.894% + 1.5% = 156.372%
Sabine Schut-Kery/Sanceo GP 73.109% + 1.5% GPS 72.872% + 1.5% = 148.981
Olivia LaGoy-Weltz/Lonoir GP 72.804% + 1.5% GPS 71.170 + 1.5% = 146.974
Ashley Holzer/Havanna GP 69.043% +1.5% GPS 67.660% + 1.5% = 139.703
TOTAL 452.327

CANADA
Brittany Fraser/All In GP 69.804% + 1.5% GPS 71.198% + 1.5% = 143.953
Megan Lane/Caravella GP 69.391% +1.5% GPS 69.234% + 1.5% = 141.625
Jill Irving/Degas GP 69.043% + 1.5% GPS 67.234% + 1.5% = 139.277
Diane Creech/Chrevi’s GP Christo 68.565% + 1.5% GPS 65.979% + 1.5% = 137.544
TOTAL 424.855

AUSTRALIA
Kelly Layne/Furst Amante PSG 69.353% Int. 1 67.598% = 136.951
Nicholas Fyffe/Hitchcock PSG 66.353% Int. 1 66.373% = 132.726
Kim Gentry/Leonardo GP 63.087% + 1.5% GPS 60.979% + 1.5% = 127.066
TOTAL 396.743

SPAIN
Pablo Gomez Molina/Furst Fiorano Ymas PSG 69.912% Int. 1 69.608% = 139.520
Natalia Bacariza Danguillecourt/Rihanna Ymas PSG 65.353% Int. 1 65.392% = 130.745
Marta Renilla/Rhustler PSG 60.647 Int. 1 65.637% = 126.284

TOTAL 396.549