Tinne Silfvén & Favourit Win Palm Beach CDI-W Grand Prix, But Even if Qualifies for Final Will Not Go to Leipzig
14 years ago StraightArrow Comments Off on Tinne Silfvén & Favourit Win Palm Beach CDI-W Grand Prix, But Even if Qualifies for Final Will Not Go to Leipzig
By KENNETH J. BRADDICK
LOXAHATCHEE, Florida, Mar. 5–Blustery wind, intermittent rain and sun did not stop Sweden’s Tinne Silfvén and Favourit from capturing the Palm Beach Dressage Derby CDI-W Grand Prix Saturday with a personal best score for the Grand Prix, but disclosed that even if she qualifies for the World Cup Final will not go to Leipzig.
Tinne and the 12-year-old Rheinlander gelding scored 74.468 per cent with Shawna Harding of Aiken, South Carolina on Come On III placing second on 68.745 per cent and Elisabeth Austin of Williston, Vermont, third on 65.660 per cent.
The score for Tinne since she has been showing Favourit internationally for two years, including the 2009 European Championships and the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky last year, was the highest for the pair at Grand Prix, according to FEI records.
The freestyle for points in the World Cup standings that determine qualifying for the World Cup Final in Leipzig at the end of April is scheduled for Sunday. In addition to riding Favourit in the Freestyle, she will be in the Grand Prix Special with Don Auriello, the nine-year-old Don Davidoff gelding in his first year at the top level of the sport.
Tinne, who will leave for home after the €100,000 (US$140,000) World Dressage Masters Palm Beach next week, said that they had achieved their goal of three months on the Florida winter circuit that was aimed at providing more experience for Favourit and to further develop her other top horses. She has enjoyed success with all her top horses at the three CDIs she has competed in here so far.
Gusty winds, rain and occasional sun as well as footing in the warm-up that was different from the competition arenas made the Palm Beach Dressage Derby “a kind of difficult show” but she was happy with how it worked as it helped the the horses deal with changing conditions.
She said that if she and Favourit perform well in the freestyle, she could add up to another 20 points to her 13th place in the Western European League standings that could lead to an invitation to the World Cup.
However, as she would need to ride in an indoor competition after returning home, she said, to put Favourit through the pressure of going to the World Cup would be “a little too much on top of the traveling. I’ve made my mind it is the best for the horse.”
Instead, she plans to compete at Horses & Dreams CDI3* in Hagen, Germany May 4-8 in which Totilas will make his first competition appearance with new rider Matthias Alexander Rath of Germany.
She repeated that her primary goal for 2011 are the European Championships in Rotterdam in August.
In the Intermediaire I, Heather Blitz of Folsom, Louisiana, and Paragon were victors with a score of 76.754 per sent and followed their win Friday in the Prix St. Georges. This show was a qualifier for the selection trials for the Pan American Games later this year.
Tom Noone of Chester, New York, on Delphino was second on 70.702 per cent and Shawna Harding and Rigo were third on 70.175 per cent.
