Dressage-News

By KENNETH J. BRADDICK

WELLINGTON, Florida, Feb. 10, 2017–Kasey Perry-Glass and Dublet competing for the first time since capturing Olympic team bronze for the United States won the Adequan Global Dressage Festival CDI5* Grand Prix Special Friday.

Kasey amd the 14-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding scored 73.569 per cent for their first win in the United States since starting Big Tour on the Global winter circuit a year ago. The pair placed first in the Nations Cup Grand Prix at Compiègne, France last May that was won by the U.S.

In an all-American top three, Shelly Francis of Loxahatchee, Florida on Doktor placed second on 73.255 per cent with Lisa Wilcox of Wellington on Galant in third on 72.196 per cent.

The 29-year-old Kasey, now based in Wellington and has her sights set on the World Cup Final in Omaha at the end of next month, had a difficult Grand Prix Thursday when the horse broke several times in extended trot.

“We definitely improved the extended trot,” she said after a warmup with coach Debbie McDonald and Olympic team mates Laura Graves and Steffen Peters looking on.

“We did not break this time and I felt like I was able to call up a little more power from him today. We had a few connection issues in the half-pass, but that’s just something that we are always working on with him. He has really good piaffe and passage, and I felt like he was pretty honest with that today. With his changes, I had a little bit of a bobble with the ones, but the two’s felt great.”

Charlotte Jorst on Kastel’s Nintendo, her 2016 World Cup mount, won the CDI3* Grand Prix Freestyle with a score of 73.075 per cent.

Olivia LaGoy-Weltz of Middleburg, Virginia on Lonoir who was sidelined after being trampled by a horse that broke her collarbone in December and returned to riding only two weeks ago, placed second on 72.950 per cent.

Dawn White O’Connor in only her second Freestyle on Legolas, the Olympic mount of Steffen Peters, was third on 72.850 per cent.

Results:

CDI5* Grand Prix Special