Tina Konyot to Go to World Cup Final to Add to Olympic, World Games Record
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WELLINGTON, Florida, Mar. 18, 2014–Tina Konyot of the United States has decided to take Calecto V to the World Cup Final next month to add to the Olympic and World Equestrian Games the pair have competed in over the past four years.
Tina of Palm City, Florida and the 16-year-old Danish Warmblood stallion would be the pair with the highest world ranking from North America to compete in the annual world individual championship since Steffen Peters and Ravel won the title in 2009.
Tina and Calecto are atop the North American League (NAL) standings with an average of their two best scores of 75.425 per cent with Cesar Parra of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey and Van the Man second on 73.962 per cent and Catherine Haddad-Staller of Califon, New Jersey in third on 72.962 per cent.
One qualifier remains–in California this week but it is considered unlikely to alter the rankings.
Tina confirmed to dressage-news.com that she would accept an invitation to go to the Final in Lyon, France April 17-21 although she had said after her last qualifying event last Friday she would save the black stallion to seek to be on the American team for the WEG in Normandy, France late summer.
The pair were on the U.S. team at the 2010 WEG in Kentucky and the Olympic Gemss in London in 2012.
A World Cup Final is the only Grand Prix championship missing from the pair’s résumé.
Calecto, she said, was fit and strong and easily capable of handling the flight from Miami to Amsterdam and the nine-hour, 575-mile (925km) road trip to Lyon. Tina said she would drive Calecto herself rather than use a commercial shipper.
Tina and Calecto are ranked No. 32 in the world as of the end of February.
Since Steffen of San Diego, California and Ravel were World Cup champions in 2009, the highest ranked North American pair at a Final was Catherine Haddad-Staller and Mane Stream Winyamaro who were ranked 43rd at the end of February in 2011. They competed in the Final at Leipzig, Germany. She also rode Maximum JSS in the 2007 Final in Las Vegas
North America is entitled to two places in the Final.
Catherine who with Mane Stream Hotmail is third on the NAL standings behind Cesar and Van the Man could be offered one of two wild card slots.
