Dressage-News

WELLINGTON, Florida, Mar. 7, 2021–Olivia LaGoy-Weltz clinched a start in her first ever global championship when she rode Lonoir to victory Sunday for a personal best score in the Global Dressage Festival Grand Prix Freestyle to earn an invitation to the World Cup Final in Gothenburg, Sweden next month.

Olivia and the 17-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding scored 83.570% to beat their previous high score of 81.545% posted at the same Palm Beach International Equestrian Center three weeks ago. The musical performance came two days after a personal best result in the Grand Prix.

Canada’s Jill Irving on Arthur placed second on 76.095% with Mette Rosencrantz of San Diego, California on Dzeko third on 72.110%.

Olivia of Haymarket, Virginia on Lonoir and Charlotte Jorst of Reno, Nevada on Kastel’s Nintendo claimed the two places reserved for North America in the World Cup Final that is being held amidst the double whammy of coronavirus pandemic and an outbreak of Equine Herpes Virus that has locked down horse sports in several European nations, including Sweden, until Mar. 28. Gothenburg Horse Show events that were to be part of the World Cup in the Scandinavium stadium but were parceled out to other nearby venues because of the year-long coronavirus pandemic have now been canceled.

For Olivia, earning a start in the World Cup, the only annual global equestrian championship, is a highlight of a Grand Prix career on Lonoir that began at CDI level seven years ago. Olivia and Lonoir have been on several U.S. Nations Cup teams including gold medal squads at Wellington and Rotterdam, and silver in Aachen, Germany all in 2017.

“I think there was relief when we came down that final centerline,” said the 37-year-old rider. “There was a small fear that since this was the last World Cup qualifier, something would go wrong, and you really just hope you make it to the end of the test.

“He’s just such a special horse, and though he is getting older, it just seems like we are just getting better, and I feel very lucky that it’s going that way.”

She said the freestyle is at the maximum degree of difficulty so she will make no changes for the Final.

“If I do anything more difficult I don’t get rewarded,” she said, “so I think this seems to be working, that would be more risk without reward. It’s just about getting it a little more polished and better. He’s quite capable of doing the pattern, so it’s just about honing it in a little more.”

Tim Dutta of the Dutta Corp. shipping enterprise said horses for the dressage and jumping World Cup are scheduled to leave Miami Mar. 25. The horses will make the journey of 680 miles/1,100km from Amsterdam to Gothenburg by road.

Results:

CDI-W World Cup Grand Prix Freestyle