Dressage-News

Megan Lane on Caravella. © 2014 Ken Braddick/dressage-news.com

By KENNETH J. BRADDICK

Megan Lane and Caravella cemented their place aa one of the top Canadian World Equestrian Games squad members with victory at the Equivents CDI3* Grand Prix in Cedar Valley, Ontario Friday but a final decision on whether to officially enter a team at Normandy has not yet been made.

The score for Megan and Caravella of 70.90 per cent underscored their ranking for the squad that includes Belinda Trussell and Anton who scored 69.980 per cent to place second Friday, David Marcus and Chrevi’s Capital who did not compete but are preparing to head to Europe to train and show, and Karen Pavicic and Don Daiquiri who are already in Germany. Jacqueline Brooks and D Niro, who placed fifth on 67.600 per cent, were selected as reserve.

P.J. Rizvi of the United States on Breaking Dawn, the horse she loaned her trainer, Ashley Holzer, to go to the 2012 Olympics in London, was third on 68.580 per cent.

“My ride was very positive,” Megan told dressage-news.com. “It was clean and expressive so was absolutely thrilled with the whole experience.”

She plans to fly to Europe with Caravella on July 3.

A final decision on whether to send a team to the WEG in Normandy has been schedued to be made after the official qualifying period ends on June 29.

Most of the combinations will be in Europe in early July. Megan and Caravella, Belinda and Anton, Karen and Don Daiquiri were among five combinations to be awarded $20,000 each for training and competition. David and Chrevi’s Capital already confirmed entries in major shows in Germany.

Both Megan Lane and David Marcus will be based with the Dusseldorf, German trainer Jan Bemelmans but Oded Shimoni, of Wellington, Florida, the personal trainer of both riders, will fly in for coaching sessions.

Both riders hope to compete at the World Equestrian Festival in Aachen, Germany in three weeks and the CDI3* at Verden, Germany in August before the WEG in Normandy at the end of that month.

Megan and the 13-year-old KWPN mare (Contango x Riverman) began their Grand Prix career just over two years ago after the pair had success in young rider championships.

She and Caravella have logged three CDI victories so far this year, two during the Global Dressage Festival winter circuit in Wellington, Florida and the latest a month ago at Kentucky.

David said Friday that with Chrevi’s Capital, 14-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding (Chrevi’s Cavallo x Weinberg) that he rode for Canada at the Olympic Games in London in 2012, he will ride in the CDIO5* at Aachen, Germany, regarded as the world’s premier horse show.

David Marcus and Chrevi’s Capital. © Ken Braddick/dressage-news.com

David. 33, said he was “so very excited” to have been invited to compete at Aachen, “a show that I have always wanted to compete at. This will be a great chance for me and Capital to build our relationship and confidence in a stadium similar to what we would experience at a major games, making this an important stop for us in our build-up to the World Equestrian Games.”

Belinda Trussell has aimed Anton, a 14-year-old gelding, for their second straight WEG appearance having been on the Canadian team at the 2010 Games in Kentucky. She also rode Royan at the 2002 WEG and the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

Anton has just begun his sixth year at Grand Prix during which time Belinda competed him extensively on both sides of the Atlantic before an injury kept him out of the show arena for a year until the pair returned to competiton in Florida this winter.

Karen Pavicic and the 12-year-old Oldenburg gelding are already in Europe and competed in Compiègne, France CDI3*, Achleiten, Austria CDI4* and are scheduled to ride in the Caen, France CDI3* next week that is also the test event for the WEG dressage and jumping competitions.

The official Canadian qualifying period ends June 29, but no combination are entered in shows that would change the standings.

(Correction: This corrects an earlier version that stated Megan Lane was atop the Canadian standings. Belinda Trussell and Anton are atop the leaderboard with Megan Lane and Caravella second.)

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