Dressage-News

WELLINGTON, Florida, Mar. 17–Anna Marek rode the American-bred Einstein JP to a career high score Sunday to win the Adequan Global Dressage Festival Int. 1 Freestyle on a horse that she bought because it was too spooky to sell.

Anna of the Ocala area community of Williston and the 10-year-old KWPN gelding scored 75.708 per cent for the second victory at this competition and the first wins in two years at Small Tour. The pair placed third in the Prix St. Georges and won the Int. 1.

Leif Aho of Wellington who is having a successful season on Classy Sinclair was second on 74.958 per cent with Canada’s Tom Dvorak on Denali third on 72.875 per cent.

Anna, who trains with former U.S. team coach Anne Gribbons, has ridden Einstein (Democraat x Contango) since the horse was four.

Because Einstein was funny with the spooking and the cold back, Anna said she asked the owner: “How are we ever going to sell this horse?” I’d fallen off him a few times. If something spooks him there’s nothing I can do about it.

“Then he was Prix St. Georges and I had such an attachment to him because I had put so much work into him so I bought him.”

She qualified Einstein for the Festival of Champions, the U.S. championships, in 2018 but was pregnant so did not go.

Her goal this year is the championships in late August.

Anna has also declared for the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru in July which has a format of mixed Big and Small Tour combinations for teams.

Results: