Dressage-News

By KENNETH J. BRADICK

WELLINGTON, Florida, Feb. 20–USA 1 won the gold medal at the Wellington Nations Cup Thursday, Canada 1 silver and Spain bronze in the unique format of mixed Big Tour and Small tour horses that spanned two days.

This was the first year that a non-North American team made it to the medals podium and the Spanish squad included 16-year-old Juan Matute, Jr. and Don Diego Ymas on 72.026 per cent as the highest scoring small tour combination and his teenage sister, Paula Matute and Tarpan Ymas, both children of Spanish Olympian Juan Matute now based in Wellington.

Adrienne Lyle of Ketchum, Idaho and her 2012 Olympic mount Wizard was the top scoring pair for USA 1 for the second day with 71.059 per cent and with a bonus of 1.5 per cent for Grand Prix received a final score of 72.559 per cent, the highest in the Big Tour.

The Nations Cup over two days with Prix St. Georges and Grand Pix combinations the first day and Intermediate 1 and Grand Prix Special the second day was a test of a new format for the Pan American Games to be held in Toronto in 2015. Previous Pan Ams have been at small tour.

The final standings:
1. USA 1 – 423.542
2. Canada 1 414.488
3. Spain 412.632
4. USA 2 412.053
5. Canada 2 400.632
6. Australia 398.242
7. Netherlands 392.369
8. Colombia 366.075
Germany – Eliminated

Individual medals will be awarded Friday with 18 horses and riders in the Intermediate and Grand Prix Freestyles.

The third year of the only non-championship Nations Cup in the Western Hemisphere was at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center.

This year’s competition began with nine teams from seven countries–Australia, Colombia, Germany, Netherlands, Spain and two each from Canada and the United States–and for the first time was included in the global series of Nations Cups. The series’ five other events are scheduled over the spring and summer at Vidauban, France; Rotterdam, Netherlands; Kristensand, Norway; Aachen, Germany and Hickstead, England.

Arlene “Tuny” Page the owner of Stillpoint Farm sponsoring the Nations Cup event for the third year said  the competition marked the succss of the Global Dressage Festival after the circut was “in peril” for a while.

The riders were effusive in praise of the event, the show grounds, sponsors and $25,000 (€18,225) in prize money.

Silva Martin of Cochranville, Pennsylvania on Rosa Cha W was making her debut on a U.S. team–on any team for the German-born rider who lived in Australia and moved to America with her eventing rider husband Boyd Martin.

“This is my first time riding on an American team and I’m very excited,” she said. “I didn’t feel too much pressure; we had a really great support team. I felt very comfortable because everyone made me feel comfortable.”

Adrienne Lyle was also on her first team as she went to the 2012 Olympics with Wizard as an individual.

“What a blast,” she exclaimed. “A fun atmosphere.” But, she joked that Spain had bigger flags than the United States.

Shawna Harding of Aiken, South Carolina rode her small tour Rigo and said she was happy “just to be back in the saddle” after a year away from the sport with

“An amazing event,” she said, “I’m so happyto be here. It’s good to be back.”

Tina Konyot of Palm City, Florida, and her Olympic partner, the 16-year-old Danish Warmblood stallion, Calecto V, said: “All of us are friends and to compete together at our home Nations Cup is special. To compete among old friends and see these young riders coming up is very exciting.”

U.S. Chef d’Equipe Robert Dover said of coming to the event: “I had not only the hope but the expectation we would win. I was very proud of all our riders and look forward to the next Nations Cup competitions.”

America teams planned to compete at the Rotterdam, Aachen and Hickstead Nations Cup events, he said.

Canada’s team had two young riders and two veterans.

Belinda Trussell was the highest scoring Canadian on Anton with 70.412 per cent in the Grand Prix Special that was raised to 71.912 per cent with the 1.5 per cent bonus.

She did not compete for 2 1/2 years before this Florida winter circuit, said, “it feels great to be back. When you’re out of it for a long time you feel a little rusty. I’m getting some cobwebs off.”

Dressage was fortunate to have a venue like the Global grounds to host a Nations Cup, she said, “I couldn’t be happier. I really, really missed it.”

The two teenage Matutes–Juan, Jr., 16, and Paula, 18, who rode on the “family” team with their father in 2013–both described the competition and the bronze medal results as a “dream come true.”

“I have no words to describe it,” said Paula while Juan said, “It was just a dream, the best show ever… amazing.”

Juan’s result on Don Diego Ymas of 72.026 per cent in the Intermediate I was the second highest score in the small tour division.

Leida Collins-Strijk of the Netherlands on West Side posted the top score of 72.158 per cent in the small tour but her team finished in seventh place after her student, Danielle Houtvast on Palermo H was eliminated for the second day when the horse was uneven.

Cesar Torrente of Colombia, who was the judge at “C,” described the format of two levels of cmpetition over two days as “an interesting experience” for the judges but wonderful preparation heading to the Pan American Games in Toronto next year where it will be implemented.

“We were very happy with the results and the outcome,” he said, and expressed hope that more Latin American teams would compete at the 2015 Nations Cup.

Trond Asmyr, the International Equestrian Federation Dressage Director, said the aim of the Nations Cup series was to give new riders an opoortunity to compete at international level and to make the sport more global.

Wellington, he said, “shows it’s possible. Seven nations participating here is fantastic.”

Final results:
Place  Team  Rider  Horse  Age  Breed  Sex  PSG/GP*  Int. 1/GPSpecial*  Final Score  (* 1.5% added to GP & GPS scores)

1. USA 1 – 423.543
Silva Martin, Cochranville, Pennsylvania/Rosa Cha W, 9, Warmblood, mare – PSG 66.632 (drop) – I-1 67.211 – 67.211
Tina Konyot, Palm City, Florida/Calecto V, 16, Danish Warmblood, stallion – GP 71.360 GPS 70.971 – 142.331
Adrienne Lyle, Ketchum, Idaho/Wizard, 15, Oldenburg, gelding – GP 73.100 – GPS 72.559 – 145.659
Shawna Harding, Aiken, South Carolina/Rigo, 13, Hanoverian, gelding – PSG 68.342 – I-1 66.816 (drop) 68.342

2. CANADA 1 – 414.488
Belinda Trussell, Stouffville, Ontario/Anton, 14, Saxony, gelding – GP 70.260 – GPS 71.912 – 142.172
Brittany Fraser, New Glasgow, Nova Scotia/All In, 9, Dutch Warmblood, gelding – PSG 66.711 (drop) – I-1 69.526 – 69.526
Chris Von Martels, Ridgetown, Ontario/Zilverstar, 10, Dutch Warmblood, gelding – PSG 67.053 – I-1 68.711 – 135.764
Megan Lane, Loretto, Ontario/San D’or, 8, Westfalen, gelding – PSG 67.026 – I-1 68.421 (drop) – 67.026

3. SPAIN – 412.632
Carlos Munoz, Wellington/Klouseau, 13, Trakehner, gelding – PSG 69.026 – I-1 – 68.50 – 137.526
Paula Matute, Wellington/Tarpan Ymas, 14, Dutch, stallion – PSG 66.211 – I-1 – 65.211 – 131.422
Juan Matute, Jr., Wellington/Don Diego Ymas, 11, stallion – PSG 71.658 – I-1 72.026 – 143.684
Marta Renilla, Tomball, Texas/Presumido, 11, P.R.E., stallion – GP 62.420 (drop) – GPS 62.108 (drop)

4. USA 2 – 412.053
Shelly Francis, Loxahatchee, Florida/Doktor, 11, Oldenburg, gelding – GP 71.140 – GPS 72.069 -143.209
Catherine Haddad-Staller, Califon, New Jersey/Mane Stream Hotmail, 12, Oldenburg, gelding – GP 70.160 – GPS 68.578 – 138.738
Ashley Wimmer, Winston-Salem, North Carolina/Somerhall, 9, Oldenburg, mare – PSG 63.658 (drop) – I-1 62.974 (drop)
Justin Hardin, Long Valley, New Jersey/Wyatt Star, 11, KWPN gelding – PSG 65.553 – I-1 64.553 – 130.106

5. CANADA 2 –
Evi Strasser, Sainte Adele, Quebec/Rigaudon Tyme, 10, Oldenburg, gelding – PSG 65.158 (drop) – I-1 64.947 – 64.947
Tom Dvorak, Hillsburgh, Ontario/Ribot, 12, Oldenburg, gelding – PSG 67.053 – I-1 68.158 – 135.211
Jill Irving, Moncton, New Brunswick/Dio Mio, 11, Hanoverian, gelding – PSG 66.816 – I-1 67.921 – 135.211
Maya Markowski, St. Clements, Ontario/Lumiere, 11, Canadian Warmblood, gelding – PSG – 65.737 – I-1 64.842 (drop) – 65.737

6. AUSTRALIA – 398.242
Karin Davis, Port Perry, Ontario/Morris, 10, Friesen, stallion – PSG 63.842 (drop) – I-1 63.632 – 63.632
Kelly Layne, Wellington Florida/Udon P, 13, Dutch Warmblood, gelding – GP 68.740 – GPS 69.539 – 138.279
Nicholas Fyffe, Wellington/Diamond Geezer, 13, Oldenburg, gelding – PSG 66.263 – I-1 65.868 – 132.131
Ilse Schwarz, Wellington/Cadenza, 14, Oldenburg, gelding – GP 64.200 GPS 58.971 (drop) – 64.200

7. NETHERLANDS – 392.369
Kerensa Muller, Loxahatchee, Florida/Zerbino Interagro, 10, Lusitano, gelding – PSG 58.632 – I-1 57.632 – 116.264
Leida Collins-Strijk, Riethoven, Netherlands/West Side, 11, KWPN, gelding – PSG 70.237 – I-1 72.158 – 142.395
Danielle Houtvast, Riethoven, Netherlands/Palermo H, 20, Hanoverian, gelding – PSG EL I-1 EL
Patrick Tigchelaar, Califon, New Jersey/Davidor 4, 9, Hanoverian, gelding – PSG 67.526 – I-1 66.184 – 133.710

8. COLOMBIA – 366.075
Marco Bernal, Wellington/Rossini 234, 14, Westfalen, gelding – GP 60.340 – GPS 55.678-115.918
Carmen Franco, Wellington/Don Akzentus, 12, Oldenburg, stallion – PSG 61.789 – I-1 61.921 – 123.710
Marco Bernal, Jr., Wellington/Farewell IV, 13, Westfalen, stallion – PSG 63.842 – I-1 62.605 – 126.447

GERMANY – Eliminated