Dressage-News

CEDAR VALLEY, Ontario, June 21, 2015–In final preparations for the Pan American Games, Chile’s Virginia Yarur Ready and Finn posted their first international victory with their highest ever score by winning the Intermediate 1 and placing third in the Prix St. Georges.

Riders and horses representing Bermuda, Chile, Dominican Republic and Venezuela that have been nominated for the Pan Ams less than three weeks away competed at this World Cup event not far from the continental championship show grounds on the outskirts of Toronto.

Canadian Olympic rider Evi Strasser on Rigaudon Tyme who is not competing at the Pan Ams won the Prix St. Georges with a score of 67.868 per cent and Diane Creech, reserve on Robbie W for the Canadian team, placed second on Hallmark on 67.316 per cent.

Virginia Yarur Ready on the 10-year-old Rhinelander gelding that competed throughout Florida’s Global Dressage Festival over three months before moving to Canada for the three Canadian CDIs ahead of the Games was third on 65.974 per cent.

Venezuela’s Irina Moleiro De Muro on Von Primaire, owned by the Florida-based Australian Kelly Layne, was fourth on 65.316 per cent.

Virginia Yarur on Finn won the Intermediate 1 on 69.211 per cent that was also the highest score at any small tour competition in an international event for the Chilean combination.

Diane Creech on Hallmark placed second on 68.947 per cent and Evi Strasser on Rigaudon Tyme third on 68.921 per cent.

Evi and Rigaudon won the Intermediate Freestyle on 70.900 per cent while Bermuda’s Pan Am individual entrant Virginia McKey on Wolkenganz placed second on 67.175 per cent.

The Pan Ams are staged once every four years and this year for the first time implement a format of mixed Big and Small Tour teams that are required if a nation wants to seek the single starting place available through these championships for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. Previous Pan Ams have been at small tour. Argentina, Canada, Mexico and the United States have nominated teams with Big Tour combinations while the other half-dozen countries with teams are at small tour.

The format provides for the team competition to be decided by Prix St. Georges and Intermediate 1 at small tour and Grand Prix and Special foe big tour. An extra 1.5 percentage points are added to each big tour ride.

Evi Strasser on Renaissance Tyme was the sole starting pair in the World Cup Grand Prix Freestyle that is one of 13 qualifiers in North America for the annual championship. Evi and the 12-year-old Oldenburg gelding scored 70.150 per cent. The starting slots in the final for North America are decided by the two combinations with the highest score based on the average of two competitions.

The Dominican Republic’s Yvonne Losos de Muniz on Foco Loco W was the only other entry in the Freestye but withdrew after placing second on 63.216 per cent in the Grand Prix Special behind Christilot Boylen and Drentano who won the Grand Prix Friday. The duo scored 68.745 per cent.

Australia’s Nicholas Fyffe on Serrano H was third in the Special on 62.902 per cent and Canada’s Stephanie Jensen on Addiction on 62.608 per cent wrapped up the class of four starting combinations.

Results:

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