Laura Graves & Verdades Back on Top as Winner of Wellington World Cup Freestyle, Top 3 Americans Above 80% For First Time in USA
6 years ago StraightArrow Comments Off on Laura Graves & Verdades Back on Top as Winner of Wellington World Cup Freestyle, Top 3 Americans Above 80% For First Time in USA
By KENNETH J. BRADDICK
WELLINGTON, Florida, Jan. 25, 2019–Laura Graves and Verdades were back on top as America’s top combination with a victory in the Adequan Global Dressage Festival World Cup Grand Prix Freestyle under lights Friday night, leading off the top three finishing Americans all above 80 per cent for the first time in the country.
Laura and the 17-year-old Verdades that have been partnered the entire life of the KWPN gelding scored 84.953 per cent for the win a day after a rare loss at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center, the virtual home show grounds for the world’s No. 2 combination.
Kasey Perry-Glass and Dublet, in their first show since the World Equestrian Games in Tryon last September and showing under the lights for the first time in more than a year, scored 82.425 per cent to be runner-up. Their perfomance came a day after beating her Olympic and World Games team mate Laura Verdades for the first time.
Shelly Francis and Danilo, that competed at the World Cup Final in Paris a year ago, were third on a personal best score of 80.535 per cent in a night that was unseasonably cold for South Florida with a temperature in the mid-50sF/13-14C.
Both Laura and Verdades and Shelly and Danilo are at the top of the North American League standings with two of the three scores required to qualify for the World Cup Final in Gothenburg, Sweden in April. Two more qualifiers are scheduled for Wellington.
North America gets two starts at the final at which Laura has twice been reserve champion to German superstar Isabell Werth and Weihegold OLD.
Sweden’s seven-time Olympian Tinne Vilhelmson Silfvén and Don Auriello placed fifth to move her into seventh place in the Western European League and a chance to qualify for her home final, that would be seventh appearance at the global annual championships centered on the musical performance.
Laura of Geneva, Florida said she was feeling more comfortable with her second performance this season of her “Coming to America” freestyle that was created for the Tryon WEG where the musical segment was canceled because of weather.
Results:
| World Cup Grand Prix Freestyle | ||||||||||||||
| Judges | Juan Carlos Campos Escribano | Ulrike Nivelle | Michael Osinski | Kurt Christensen | Evi Eisenhardt | |||||||||
| Pl. | Score | Nat. | Athlete | Horse | E | H | C | M | B | Spectators | ||||
| 1. | 84.935 | USA | Laura Graves | Verdades – 558 | 86.525 | 83.100 | 83.900 | 85.525 | 85.625 | 81.770 (1) | ||||
| 2. | 82.425 | USA | Kasey Perry-Glass | Goerklintgaards Dublet – 512 | 82.875 | 82.375 | 81.875 | 82.375 | 82.625 | 80.012 (2) | ||||
| 3. | 80.535 | USA | Shelly Francis | Danilo – 526 | 81.825 | 80.925 | 80.800 | 80.200 | 78.925 | 77.952 (4) | ||||
| 4. | 79.335 | USA | Adrienne Lyle | Salvino – 509 | 79.925 | 78.775 | 78.125 | 80.375 | 79.475 | 77.669 (5) | ||||
| 5. | 78.980 | SWE | Tinne Vilhelmson Silfvén | Don Auriello – 568 | 78.925 | 79.450 | 79.050 | 79.550 | 77.925 | 79.861 (3) | ||||
| 6. | 71.150 | CAN | Jill Irving | Degas 12 – 556 | 73.050 | 69.750 | 68.475 | 72.225 | 72.250 | 70.403 (7) | ||||
| 7. | 69.500 | DOM | Yvonne Losos De Muniz | Foco Loco W – 532 | 68.025 | 68.525 | 71.450 | 69.650 | 69.850 | 71.143 (6) | ||||
| 8. | 66.345 | USA | Jacqueline MacDonald Cuddy | Malcarat – 506 | 66.650 | 66.100 | 67.175 | 65.950 | 65.850 | 68.991 (9) | ||||
| 9. | 66.070 | CAN | Ariana Chia | Teo – 516 | 66.100 | 66.000 | 67.675 | 65.925 | 64.650 | 67.437 (10) | ||||
| 10. | 66.025 | USA | Jessica Kozel | Denzello – 524 | 65.225 | 63.275 | 67.800 | 67.400 | 66.425 | 70.278 (8) | ||||
