Dressage-News

By KENNETH J. BRADDICK

WELLINGTON, Florida, Mar. 14, 2019–The United States won the Adequan Global Dressage Festival CDIO3* Nations Cup Thursday night with powerful Big Tour performances that overwhelmed Canada’s Small Tour successes while Germany took bronze.

In the mixed format event that kicks off the trans-Atlantic series of eight Nations Cups, the Dutta Corp. USA team widened the first day’s lead to secure the competition with a total of 437.693, Canada taking silver with 433.685.

Germany earned the bronze on 402.724, though Grand Prix rider Christoph Koschel retired Ballentines shortly after the ride began because the horse did not feel fine. A veterinary examination later indicated a back pain possibly caused by a misstep a day earlier but appeared to present no long term issue.

Colombia placed fourth on 389.647. Two of Mexico’s four riders were eliminated that knocked the team out of the competition.

The small tour standout was Canada’s Tina Irwin on Laurencio, a horse that her husband, Jaimey, rode while she was out of competition with an injury. The pair turned in the top score of 73.588 per cent in the Intermediate 1.

The team spirit and camaraderie of this year’s Nations Cup was displayed throughout the two-day event with the riders from opposing teams joking about their mistakes or, in the case of Ashley Holzer who rode in four Olympics for Canada but now rides for the U.S., was beaten on Valentine by her god daughter, Lindsay Kellock of Canada on Floratina. Ashley kidded afterward: “I told her to finish a strong second but not ahead of me!”

Lindsay and Floratina scored 71.500 per cent while Ashley and Valentine were on 71.265 per cent.

She and Lindsay may meet again in the competition arena at the Pan American Games which uses the same format as this Nations Cup.

Ashley confirmed that she plans to take Valentine to the Games, held once every four years, and this year in Lima, Peru in July.

Lindsay on Floratina is a top contender along with Tina Irwin on Laurencio for Canada’s team that will be seeking a start at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. The top two countries with a Grand Prix horse in the team of four combinations get a start in Tokyo. The U.S. with its World Equestrian Games silver medal has already secured its place, while Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Mexico and possibly other nations will be looking to fill the Olympic spots.

Germany’s Patricia Koschel who competes as an amateur and rode Leuchtfeuer DE a to a score of 69.088 per cent in the Intermediate 1, received two rounds of applause at a post-event news conference.

She praised the mixed small and big format as “a really good idea” and admitted she was “a little bit over the moon” for being able to participate in a competition with support from a small German community. And she poked fun at herself for her performances on the horse she has partnered for 12 years, five of them on the Florida winter circuit–Patricia said she had been competing successfully at national level Grand Prix in Wellington and when asked to drop back to Prix St. Georges for the Nations Cup, “I was a little bit arrogant,” thinking how easy it would be. Instead, it was “not so easy against the tough Americans and Canadians.”

When asked about the retirement from competition of her husband’s Ballentines, she explained that Christoph did not feel the horse was right after entering the arena.

“It is nothing serious,” she said, “but it was the right decision to stop. We are here to take care of our horses. I’m proud that he stopped immediately.”

Her response brought a round of applause from the crowd of riders, owners and spectators.

The USA’s Lauren Asher of Wellington and West Side, a 16-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, claimed the gold medal in the CDIO Under-25 Nations Cup Grand Prix with a score of 70.051 per cent.

Naima Moreira Laliberte and I Do Kiss from Canada earned silver with a score of 69.564 per cent and American Kerrigan Gluch also of Wellington and Bolero XCLVII earning bronze with a personal best score of 68.333 per cent.

Results: