Karen Pavicic & Don Daiquiri Fall Short in Bid to Qualify for Olympic Start for Canada
8 years ago StraightArrow Comments Off on Karen Pavicic & Don Daiquiri Fall Short in Bid to Qualify for Olympic Start for Canada
By KENNETH J. BRADDICK
FRITZENS, Austria, July 3, 2016–Karen Pavicic on Don Daiquiri fell short of capturing Canada’s second individual Olympic start after a last-ditch trans-Atlantic flight to earn a score ahead of Sunday’s deadline so Belinda Trussell on Anton and Megan Lane on Caravella fill the top two spots on the rankings.
Karen and Don Daiquri scored 67.804 per cent in the Grand Prix Special, well short of the 69.950 per cent required to move up from third place and lower than the 69.240 per cent in the Grand Prix on Friday.
Karen and the 14-year-old Oldenburg gelding began the ride above 70 per cent but mistakes in the one-tempi changes and the right pirouette dropped the score and the pair were not able to recover.
“I gave it my best shot and it didn’t work out,” a tearful Karen told dressage-news.com after the ride.
“I felt I had to try. The trip took a lot out of Don Daiquiri, it did me, too.
“I am so grateful for all the support we have had from across Canada, from everywhere.”
Asked whether she was considering filing a complaint with Equine Canada over what has become a controversy over judging, she replied:
“What’s the point?
“But maybe some good will come out of this, like a better and more transparent selection process. The issue has attracted a lot of attention.”
