Dressage-News

Six the top eight American riders competing to be named to the squad to go to Europe to win one of four places on the United States team for the summer Olympic Games are women who earned their results over three months at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival in Wellington, Florida this winter.

The latest rankings released Wednesday listed the six women as U.S. Grand Prix champion Laura Graves on Verdades, Kasey Perry Glass on Dublet, Allison Brock on Rosevelt, Shelly Francis on both Doktor and Danilo and Arlene “Tuny” Page on Woodstock.

None have ever competed in an Olympics but Steffen Peters, rider of Rosamunde ranked second and Legolas ranked third is a veteran of three Games–1996 Atlanta, 2008 Beijing and 2012 London.

The calendar shows only three CDIs, two in California and one in Tryon, North Carolina remain before the deadline of May 1 to qualify to be on the European squad.

Laura of Plymouth, Florida and her Verdades, 14-year-old KWPN gelding, maintained their position atop the standings with Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special average of 77.000.

Steffen of San Diego, California on the nine-year-old Rhinelander mare Rosamunde had an average of 75.701 while on Legolas, 14-year-old Westfalen gelding, the average is 74.669.

Kasey Perry Glass, who moved to Wellington from California, and her family’s 13-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding that began Big Tour in January this year, is ranked fourth on 73.215 per cent.

Allison Brock, based in Wellington for the winter with the 14-year-old stallion Rosevelt continued their climb up the rankings and are in the fifth spot now on 72.873 from the sixth place in the previous standings.

Shelly Francis of Loxahatchee, a neighboring community of Wellington, is ranked sixth on Doktor, a 13-year-old Oldenburg gelding on 72.782 and on the 12-year-old Hanoverian gelding Danilo is seventh on 72.255.

Tuny Page of Wellington and her 13-year-old KWPN gelding Woodstock is ranked eighth on 71.584.