Dressage-News

By KENNETH J. BRADDICK

WELLINGTON, Florida, Jan. 13, 2017–Lisa Wilcox and Galant debuted a new musical performance to win the opening Adequan Global Dressage Festival World Cup Grand Prix Freestyle, the second victory in two days for the pair seeking a start at the championship final in Omaha.

The score of 77.209 per cent for Lisa and the 11-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding was by far the highest for the pair based in Wellington, and the second highest so far in the World Cup North American League behind only Steffen Peters on Rosamunde.

Canadian Olympic partnership of Megan Lane and Caravella placed second, also posting a personal best of 75.967 per cent that included the only mark of 10 of the night, from German judge Henning Lehmann for the final halt.

Megan also rode a double pirouette single handed that she pulled off on the Canadian-bred 16-year-old KWPN Contango mare.

The 25-year-old rider has competed Caravella at international level since 2010 when the pair medaled at the North American Young Rider Championships and went on to compete on the Canadian team at the World Games in 2014, the Pan American Games in 2015 and as an individual in the Rio Olympics last summer.

Fellow Canadian Brittany Fraser in only her second year at Big Tour on All In placed third on 72.608 per cent.

This was the first application in the United States of the program requiring riders to submit their choreography in advance along with cataloging movements for degrees of difficulty that allows judges to award marks. The marks are available to the public, thus making the sport more transparent.

It also was the first use in a World Cup Freestyle in America of spectator judging that appeared to successfully engage the estimated 2,500 spectators watching the first Friday night event on a shirt sleeves warm Friday night under the lights. Six more CDIs will be held at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center through the end of March, including three more World Cup qualifiers.

Lisa, known the world over as the rider of the stallion Relevant that she rode to a team silver medal at the 2002 World Games and team bronze at the 2004 Olympics, had ridden the new freestyle using music from the movie, “Trolls.”

After the Grand Prix Thursday which was the first Big Tour win the for the pair, she worked on cleaning up what she saw as mistakes–“no more leaning tower of Lisa.”

Lisa said: “Galant heard the music and he settled right into it: ‘Hey, let’s dance’, he told me.”

Megan said that Caravella is “getting better and better” and the partnership is “still growing.” She is aiming for the Omaha World Cup Final.

Results: