Dressage-News

By KENNETH J. BRADDICK

WELLINGTON, Florida, Feb. 25, 2021–United States Olympic team prospects Steffen Peters and Suppenkasper and Sabine Schut-Kery on Sanceo both won Global Dressage Festival CDI5* Grand Prix Thursday to lead an American sweep of the top-rated event.

Steffen and Suppenkasper, the 13-year-old KWPN gelding and top of the U.S. standings for the Olympic team at this stage, scored 77.109% in the Grand Prix for the Freestyle for the 18th straight win over the past 14 months.

Sabine and Sanceo, a 15-year-old Hanoverian stallion second in the Olympic team standings, received 74.522% to win the Grand Prix for the Special, the scores for which will count for selection as the Special will decide team medals at Tokyo.

Katherine Bateson-Chandler of Wellington and Alcazar, the 2020 CDI5* Freestyle winners, were second behind Steffen on 69.913%. Günter Seidel of Cardiff, California on Equirelle was third on 69.304%.

In the Grand for Special, Adrienne Lyle of Wellington and the American-bred Harmony’s Duval were second on 72.587% and Charlotte Jorst of Reno, Nevada on Kastel’s Nintendo third on 72.326%.

Canada’s No. 1 combination of Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu and All In scratched when the horse’s allergies began playing up Wednesday and returned during the warm-up for the Grand Prix for the Special. Brittany said she felt the 16-year-old KWPN gelding was not fit to compete but “he’s been never better” and decided for the good of the horse to “take him home and give him the care he needs.”

The CDI5* is one of only 11 top rated competitions in the world, and the only one in the western hemisphere, with $154,000 prize money that is a draw for Americans and Canadians on the winter-long Global circuit at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center.

With five months to go to the Tokyo Games, the circuit is also an opportunity for U.S. riders to earn an invitation to a short list of up to eight riders and horses to go to Europe in the spring in an effort to win one of the three places plus a reserve on the Olympic team.

With temperatures well above 80F/26.6C and high humidity, Steffen said that Suppenkasper had “had another two tests in there” after the ride “so this is actually the right weather for him.” Mopsie, as the horse is nicknamed, “settles down in this weather a bit more so that’s what we possibly face in Tokyo where it might be quite a bit hotter than this and he seems to be ready for it.”

He said the consistency of Suppenkasper’s results of 76 to 77 was “super exciting.”

The Freestyle on Friday night will be under the lights, the first time this year in what was a regular feature of Global pre-pandemic.

The goal of all three of the top placegetters in the Grand Prix for the Special was to go on the planned European competition swing ahead of the Olympics.

Sabine of Thousand Oaks, California, said Sanceo “felt great in the first part of the test and then recovered quite well from rider errors. I have no complaints, and I feel like we are getting to the point where we can see where we want to push more, and where we need to finesse things.”

Speaking of the 5*, she said, “It’s amazing. When I look around, a lot of the places are closed down all over the world. We are so fortunate. I think everybody agrees that  we would follow any protocol. Just that is just amazing, to keep going. I can speak for myself, I have a horse that’s 15 years old. It’s not like he’s eight or 10, and one year doesn’t matter. For me, it’s very special to be here and be invited to this competition, to the five star, but that there is that caliber of show.”

Adrienne Lyle confirmed she plans to compete Salvino, on which she is the highest ranked U.S. combination on the world standings, next month followed by the CDI3* at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, four hours north of Wellington, in mid-April.

Results:

CDI5* Grand Prix for Freestyle

CDI5* Grand Prix for Special