Dressage-News

TEMECULA, California, April 13, 2019–Sarah Lockman and First Apple won their debut Intermediate 1 Freestyle at the West Coast Dressage Festival Saturday night to complete Pan American Games qualifying, undefeated and atop the USA rankings.

Sarah and the nine-year-old KWPN stallion have become the leading Small Tour partnership in the Americas with the results of two Prix St. Georges and two Intermediate 1 scores and by winning the musical performance that was required to qualify for selection to the United States team for the Pan Ams in Lima, Peru at the end of July.

The duo based at Murrieta, California scored 76.375%, with three-time U.S. Olympian Günter Seidel of Cardiff, California on Beltano second on 73.500%. Nicholla Clarke of Temecula on Coral Reef ScoobiDoo was third on 71.500%

Ashley Holzer of Wellington, Florida on Valentine has the highest Int. 1 freestyle mark of 77.933% and stands second in the U.S. rankings for the Dutta Corp. team of mixed Small and Big Tour combinations for the Pan Ams held once every four years.

Sarah, 30, and First Apple that was acquired late in 2018 by sponsor Gerry Ibanez, posted the highest Int. 1 score in the Americas this year in her campaign to make her first United States team.

The U.S. requires two Prix St. Georges and two Int. 1 scores obtained in CDIs to count for qualification, as well as one freestyle mark that does not count.

The results from this California event boosted the average for Sarah and First Apple to 74.779, with Ashley Holzer and Valentine standing second on 73.564.

Two team slots are available at the Pan Ams for the Olympics in Tokyo next year. The U.S. has already earned a start with the team silver at last year’s World Equestrian Games but is looking to extend its gold medal performance to six straight Pan Ams.

First Apple (Vivaldi x T.C.N. Partout) was competed as a seven-year-old by Dutch team rider Patrik van der Meer, including the World Young Horse Championships in Ermelo where they placed second in the preliminary and fourth in the final. In nine Small Tour starts in Europe over six months to mid-2018, Patrik and First Apple always placed in the top three, including three victories.

Sarah and First Apple worked with Patrik in Holland for a month before moving to Wellington for coaching with Scott Hassler who has been in California for the two CDIs.

Three-time U.S. Olympian Günter Seidel of Cardiff, California on Beltano, a 10-year-old Hanoverian gelding, was second in the Int. 1 on 72.294%, a personal best in three events this year.

Nicholla Clarke of on Coral Reef ScoobiDoo was third on 69.088%