Dressage-News

By KENNETH J. BRADDICK

WELLINGTON, Florida, April 3, 2014–Mikala Münter Gundersen and My Lady will go to the World Cup Final, joining Lars Petersen and Mariett to make dressage history as Florida-based Danish riders to compete at the annual championship.

Mikala, who like Lars lives in Wellington, confirmed to dressage-news.com Thursday night that she was invited to Lyon, France after Anna Kasprzak and Donnperignon canceled their participation on the advice of doctors after a fall from a horse 11 days ago.

Mikala placed second in the North American League behind Lars and both are going as so-called “extra” riders in addition to the U.S. combinations of Tina Konyot and Calecto V and Cesar Parra and Van the Man who placed third and fourth in the NAL.

About her first Word Cup Final appearance which will be in Lyon, France April 17-21, the 45-year-old mother of two children with her Danish jumper rider husband Henrik said after confirmation from her national federation and the International Equestrian Federation (FEI):

“I’m really honored to be going. I keep pinching my arm. I’m sorry for Anna but we need her for the WEG (World Equestrian Games) later so she has to heal up well now.”

Tim Dutta of his horse transportation company, Dutta Corp., moved horses around so My Lady can travel with Mariett to Europe next Wednesday.

“They know each other,” she said, “travel so well together.

“Right now my head is spinning trying to organize everything and getting packed.”

My Lady, a 14-year-old Danish Warmblood mare by Michellino was bought by Danish-born American dressage icon Janne Rumbough just over two years ago as a competition mount for Mikala who moved to Florida about 10 years ago.

Since then, she established herself as a top rider and trainer in Wellington. She rode several Grand Prix horses for Horses Unlimited of Albuquerque, New Mexico including Leonberg that she competed in both Europe and the United States.

In the North American League that counts the average of the two Grand Prix Freestyle scores Mikala and My Lady posted 76.313 while Lars and Mariett were at 78.700.

The two Danish combinations also finished atop the 2014 Adequan Global Dressage Festival Money List as compiled by dressage-news.com with Lars earning $47,920 (€34,780) for the top spot while Mikala ended with $42,080 (€30,540) for the winter season of seven CDIs.

Since the beginning of their international career in January, 2012 Mikala and My Lady have started 43 times with victories on both sides of the Atlantic. Both she and My Lady and Lars and Mariett were team mates for Denmark at the 2013 Nations Cup in Rotterdam.

Earlier Thursday, the FEI confirmed that the two Florida-based Danish combinations will be reimbursed for expenses only to the extent they would be if based in Denmark–up to €0.60 US$0.83) per mile up to a maximum of €800 (US$1,100) and for the horses another €0.60 (US$0.83) up to a maximum of €300 (US$413).

Citizens of the North American League made up of Canada, Mexico and the United Stats receive €1,200 (US$1,650) for rider transporation and €9,000 (US$12,390) for horse tranportation–about half out-of-pocket costs.

The situation presented the FEI with what it said was an “unprecedented” issue–non-North American citizens qualifying in the NAL as “extra” riders.

In the latest FEI world rankings released Thursday Anna Kasprzak and Donnperignon are ranked No. 5. She was also fifth in the World Cup Western European League standings.

The 24-year-old rider who was competing at the Young Rider European Championships just four years ago, was on the Danish team at the Olympics in London in 2012 and placed sixth individually at the European Championships in her homeland last year. The partnership competed at the 2013 World Cup Final in Sweden.