Dressage-News

By KENNETH J. BRADDICK

WELLINGTON, Florida, Feb. 28, 2019–Laura Graves and Verdades topped 80 per cent win the Adequan Global Dressage Festival’s last World Cup Grand Prix Thursday before the Final in Gothenburg in six weeks.

Laura of Geneva, Florida and the 17-year-old KWPN Gelding scored 80.239 per cent, with three of the five judges awarding marks above 80 per cent, with the mid-winter temperature of 82F/27.7C during the competition at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center.

Kasey Perry-Glass of Wellington on Dublet placed second on 78.630 per cent with Adrienne Lyle of Wellington on Salvino third on 74.750 per cent.

The top three placegetters–all on America’s World Equestrian Games silver medal teamlast September–could all earn an invitation to the global championships in Gothenburg the first week of April, Laura and Kasey taking the two slots allocated to North America and Adrienne as the highest ranked in the world not earning a start through qualifiers.

Laura will be seeking to become the third American to win the title after placing second in the last two finals to German superstar Isabell Werth on Weihegold OLD.

Asked to provide the highlight of her ride, the 31-year-old Laura laughingly replied: “That we survived. I feel really warm, I don’t normally get this hot and it’s not even that hot today, but I always say if you can do it here in Florida in 85 degree weather you can do it anywhere. I thought he was relaxed, but I also at the same time maybe warmed him up too much. We have this technique we’ve been using where we give him a very short warm up and just send him in, because sometime the longer you warm him up he gets tired and then he gets hotter in his mind, but tired in his body.”

She was “super happy” with the zig zag that was awarded one mark of 8.5, three 8s and one 7.5, while the reinback was rewarded with a 10 and two 9s. Laura receved 9s across the board for rider position.

Laura confessed the top three, team mates and friends, had been planning “for weeks and weeks and weeks” to have a celebration ride abreast down the centerline if they finished one, two three.

“The three of us are such good friends that we’ve been hoping for a sweep like that,” she said. “And then to have Shelly in fourth place is very very exciting for our country. Really high scores from Kasey today and fun to be able to laugh with each other and go down centerline, to have such amazing teammates.”

Charlotte Jorst of Reno, Nevada and Kastel’s Nintendo won the CDI3* Grand Prix for the Special on a score of 71.152 per cent, the second win three starts for the duo since returning to the Global circuit earlier this month after a two-year break.

Yvonne Losos de Muñiz of the Dominican and Foco Loco W placed second on 69.543 per cent.

Masanao Takahashi of Japan competing Eaton Unitechno on the Florida winter circuit for the first time was third on 68.739 per cent. The pair were on Japan’s team at the Tryon World Equestrian Games last September and are based in Germany with team coah Christoph Koschel.

Results:

CDI3* Grand Prix for Special