Dressage-News

By KENNETH J. BRADDICK

WELLINGTON, Florida, Feb. 6, 2020–Steffen Peters rode Suppenkasper to a personal best score to win the Adequan Global Dressage Festival World Cup Grand Prix Thursday.

Steffen and the 12-year-old KWPN gelding scored 76.869% to lengthen the American pair’s undefeated streak to five victories in five starts at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center’s Stadium complex this year. The previous best score for the pair was 76.304% set in California last spring.

With two of three qualifying scores already in hand, Steffen and the horse he has been competing for two years as a Tokyo Olympic prospect performs the Freestyle under the lights Friday night that appears certain to earn the pair a start at the World Cup Final in Las Vegas in mid-April.

Olivia LaGoy-Weltz on Lonoir placed second on 73.891% in only their third start since returning from a break of 18 months to recover hoof problems stemming from a farrier problem.

Agnete Kirk Thinggaard, the Danish Olympian competing in Florida for her first winter circuit, was third on Blue Hors Zatchmo with a score of 71.413%.

The ride by Steffen and Suppenkasper, with the nickname of “Mopsie” inherited from previous owner, German Olympic rider Helen Langehanenberg, received a high mark of 79.130% from Hans Voser of Switzerland, one above 77%, two above 76% and the fifth 75.543%. The extended canter received the highest marks, three eights and two nines.

Both Debbie McDonald, the U.S. team trainer, and he, Steffen said, “feel that there might be an 80% in there and you know it doesn’t hurt to dream about that and visualize that and knowing what an 80% feels like. We have seen it from so many riders in here, especially from Laura where we know what that 80% is like. The dream and the goal is there.”

Steffen of San Diego, California who is in Florida seeking to qualify for the U.S. team for Tokyo that would be his fifth Olympics explained the development of Suppenkasper this year.

“Every show has been getting a little bit better. I was super excited because in the walk I heard the tents flapping, but Mopsie didn’t hear it and that’s a huge step ahead because that really threw him off the first week when we competed here.

“So I have been exposing him and exposing him and we’re walking in the morning, working a little bit in the afternoon and then another 20 minutes before the test. So this was the plan. The Wellington arena was the plan to give him the exposure for the future.

“When a horse is this rideable, so soft in the contact, always so perfect in the frame, he goes forward at any time, he comes back at any time, he goes sideways at any time so easily, so extremely rideable–it’s a feeling that you can’t give less then a 10. I wish the judges could experience that because it is incredible what this horse can feel like and that gives an effortless picture. I still believe that the harmony goes way, way over expression. Yes there is enough expression in there, but I would never sacrifice the harmony over expression.”

Results:

CDI-W World Cup Grand Prix

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