Dressage-News

SYDNEY, Oct. 25, 2014–Heath Ryan and Regardez Moi won the Grand Prix Freestyle at the Australian Championships Saturday night for their 27th Grand Prix victory and give the pair a chance at appearing in their second World Cup Final in Las Vegas six years apart.

Heath and the 18-year-old black Oldenburg stallion (Rubinstein x Consul) scored 72.38 per cent for the win.

Mary Hanna and Umbro, a 13-year-old KWPN gelding, was second on 72.23 per cent, a personal best for the pair in four years at Big Tour. Their previous best was 71.550 per cent at Compiègne, France in June 2012.

Brett Parbery on DP Weltmieser was third on 70.90 per cent in only the pair’s second Grand Prix show.

Heath also rode Utopian Cardinal, the 10-year-old son of Regardez Moi, to sixth place on 68.58 per cent.

The competition was the second of three World Cup qualifiers Down Under followed by a League Final in Boneo Park in January to determine a single combination to go to the final of the individual global championship to be held in Las Vegas in mid-April and determined by the Freestyle.

It was also the 27th victory for the combination that began their Big Tour career 85 starts and more than 7 1/2 years ago. All but four of those starts were in Australia, the exceptions being two at the World Cup Final in Las Vegas and two at Del Mar, California in a warmup CDI.

Heath told dressage-news.com that he had not decided whether go to the Final in Las Vegas if he wins the League Final and is invited as the horse would be 19 years old and the journey is long and wearing on both horses and humans.

The rider, now aged 56 and who competes in both dressage and eventing, also has health issues to consider.

On his way home from the World Cup Final appearance in 2009 also at Las Vegas, he suffered a stroke from which he said he is “only just starting to get back to normal.”

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