Dressage-News

By KENNETH J. BRADDICK

WELLINGTON, Florida, Mar. 1, 2014–Benetton Dream was ridden by Tinne Vilhelmson Silfvén in the first competition for the partnership that earned a whopping 77.976 per cent in a national show before the pair head home to Sweden for stallion testing.

Tinne and the 10-year-old owned by Lövsta Stud Farm competed in the Global Dressage Festival Intermediate B and was judged by Axel Steiner who was a FEI 5* judge until his retirement recently. He awarded a mark of 10 for the left half pass and a pair of nines.

Benetton Dream (Brentano II x Davignon) was bought by Antonia Ax:son Johnson, owner of Lövsta Stuteri, last October to build up a breeding program for dressage and jumping horses.

The horse won the Bundeschampionat in 2007 as a three-year-old. The horse was licensed Hanoverian in 2006 and was also the 30-Day Stallion Performance Test Champion in Schlieckau. He is also approved by Oldenburg, Westfalen, Rhineland and all the South German federations.

“I’m extremely happy with him” Tinne said after the ride. “It’s something very special for him to go out and do this in a big open space. He was super correct, very, very rideable in the test.

“Some things are still difficult for him because he’s still a baby, but that’s fine with me. He’s very rideable and I never knew before how he would perform in the show ring.

“I now feel comfortable about things. In some ways, he has changed in the past couple of months. He is on my aids. He’s used to me now. It takes time, it should take time, and he is being allowed the time.”

Benetton, Tinne joked, could be confused about where he lives.

After the Sockholm Horse Show, he came to Florida where he has enjoyed the warm weather and now heads back to Sweden.

She does, however, speak to him in Swedish.

Tinne talked of the quality and the softeness Benetton has.

“He just wants to go,” she said. “There’s a lot of big qualities in all his movements. He really wants to do his best.”

She had high praise for his training before she got the ride.

“He was super well ridden,” she said. “They did a super job. He clearly never had any bad experiences. He gave me a great feeling when I first tried him. He’s so good in his mind.”

Benetton will stay in Sweden for breeding over the the summer and there are no plans yet to compete him internationally.

With Don Auriello, her Olympic mount, and Divertimento to compete at Grand Prix there is no pressure to push Benetton too fast.

“It’s good to keep the quality that you risk losing if you move too fast. You could lose the amazing parts. If it goes away it doesn’t come back.”