Simone Pearce & Destano Set Australian Grand Prix Special Record 2 Days After Posting New High Mark in Grand Prix at Achleiten CDI4*

4 years ago StraightArrow Comments Off on Simone Pearce & Destano Set Australian Grand Prix Special Record 2 Days After Posting New High Mark in Grand Prix at Achleiten CDI4*
Simone Pearce and Destano at Achleiten CDI4*. © 2020 Michael Rzepa

ACHLEITEN, Austria, July 26, 2020–Simone Pearce on Destano set an Australian record for the Grand Prix Special at the CDI4* Sunday two days after posting a Grand Prix record.

Simone and the 13-year-old Hanoverian stallion 74.617% to place third behind Isabell Werth and Weihegold OLD and Austria’s Victoria Max-Theurer on Abegglen FH NRW.

The award for the Australian combination eclipsed the previous record of 74.605% that was set by Kristy Oatley and Du Soleil in September, 2018.

The Germany-based 29-year-old Simone created a new Grand Prix record of 74.152% Friday, beating the previous mark of 73.913% that was also held by Kristy and Du Soleil.

Destano, sired by Desperados and owned by Gestüt Sprehe of Germany, also lists Simone as an owner that would be required to be an Olympic mount for the Australian. Simone is the full-time rider for Sprehe.

This CDI4* has been an outstanding success for Simone, in addition to setting Aussie Big Tour records.

She rode Montevideo to sweep the Small tour, beating Isabell and Superb in the Prix St. Georges Saturday and scoring 75.735% to win the Intermediate 1 Sunday. Isabell did not start in Sunday’s competition.

Simone on Diamond First also won both the preliminary and final 5-year-old tests.

The previous competitions for Simone and Destano were the debut at Dortmund, Germany in March before horse sports were shut down by the coronavirus pandemic and two second places at Mariakalnok, Hungary when the sport resumed in late June.

Simone also enjoyed success Friday on Diamond First scoring 84.400% to win the five-year-old preliminary test. The pair received 9.3 for the trot, 8.5 for walk, 8.0 for canter, 7.9 for submission and 8.5 for perspective.

Diamond First, an Oldenburg (Diamond Hit x Fürst Heinrich) is also owned by Gestüt Sprehe.

Simone joined Sprehe early this year after working in the Netherlands and at Helgstrand Dressage in Denmark where she developed young horses as well as competing at top sport.