Denmark’s Lars Petersen Gets Another Top Prospect, Melissa Taylor Takes Over Success
15 years ago StraightArrow Comments Off on Denmark’s Lars Petersen Gets Another Top Prospect, Melissa Taylor Takes Over Success
By KENNETH J. BRADDICK
SAUGERTIES, New York, Sept. 15–Danish Olympian Lars Petersen, based in the United States, has taken into training the talented 10-year-old Julio that he will compete with the Dutch mare Naomi on the highly competitive Florida winter circuit.
Success, the 13-year-old Silver Moon gray that he bought as a 2 1/2-year-old and brought with him from Denmark to become his top competition mount, will be competed by his partner, Melissa Taylor, as she had done in 2006.
Lars said that when the 10-year-old Holsteiner, Julio, came to him from the owner, Vivian Russo-Pickney of a New York City suburb, he discussed with Melissa “trying to do the right thing by the owners” as he was competing Success for himself and Naomi, also aged 13, for Janet Bell and Tom Benson of New Jersey.
Petersen, 44, and Melissa, who operate a large training facility in Palm Beach, made the decision before next week’s Dressage at Devon CDI-W in Pennsylvania, where Lars has a stellar record with Success.
Instead of trucking him the 1,000 miles (1,600km) from their Florida base they decided to pull off Success’s shoes and give him a break until October then start preparing him for the winter circuit.
“I’ve learned so much since the first time I took over Success a few years ago,” Melissa said. “We’ll see how it goes. Both Lars and I think it will be great. If not, he’ll go back to Lars.”
Lars said that he and Naomi, who was previously ridden by Michael Barisone then Lisa Wilcox, should be working well together in the next few months.
They posted scores in the high 60s at the New England Dressage Association’s Fall Festival World Cup event in mid-September.
