Katherine Bateson-Chandler Returns Alcazar to Competition to Win Wellington CDI3* Grand Prix

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Katherine Bateson-Chandler on Alcazar returning from a year out of competition to win Global Dressage Festival CDI3* Grand Prix. © 2022 Ken Braddick/dressage-news.com

Feb. 24, 2022

WELLINGTON, Florida, Feb. 24, 2022–Katherine Bateson-Chandler returned Alcazar to competition to win the Global Dressage Festival CDI3* Grand Prix for the Freestyle Thursday after a year’s absence recovering from an injury that knocked the partnership out of contention for a place on America’s Olympic team.

Katherine, based in Wellington, described the ride on the 17-year-old KWPN gelding “as one of the best feelings, one of the most honest feelings I’ve had in the ring with him” despite the score of 68.826%.

In the decade-long partnership between Katherine and Alcazar the gelding suffered a severe colic feared to be fatal and requiring surgery during the Nations Cup at Aachen, Germany in 2016 then being knocked out of Olympic selection trials with an injury five years later. However, Alcazar recovered to return to competition at Global in 2017 to claim a victory in a CDI4*. The pair did the same with Thursday’s victory in their comeback show.

Hope Cooper of Concord, Massachusetts and Hot Chocolate W in her second CDI Grand Prix start since moving up from the Under-25 division placed second on 68.500% with Susan Dutta on Don Design DC third on 67.174.

Katherine, on the U.S. team at the 2010 World Equestrian Games in Kentucky, plans to have her first competition , on Haute Couture, the 10-year-old KWPN mare, at the Global CDI next week. The horse was trained and competed last September at the European Championships by Dinja van Liere of the Netherlands before being bought two months ago by sponsor Jennifer Huber for Katherine to compete.

She plans to take Alcazar and Haute Couture to Europe for the summer to resume training with her long-time coach, Carl Hester that has been interrupted by coronavirus the past two years.

Results:

CDI3* Grand Prix for Freestyle

Judges: Barbara Franyó Katrina Wüst Evi Eisenhardt Hans Voser Clive Halsall
Place Score Nation Athlete Horse E H C M B
1. 68.826 USA Katherine Bateson Chandler Alcazar 69.239 72.500 68.696 64.565 69.130
2. 68.500 USA Hope Cooper Hot Chocolate W 70.000 70.217 68.152 67.717 66.413
3. 67.174 USA Susan Dutta Don Design DC 67.391 69.348 64.891 68.152 66.087
4. 65.435 CAN Evi Strasser Déjà Vu Tyme 64.891 69.239 64.674 62.717 65.652
5. 64.783 GER Michael Klimke Domino 957 67.174 64.891 64.130 64.022 63.696
6. 63.848 COL María Alejandra Aponte González Duke De Niro 66.413 63.913 64.783 61.739 62.391
7. 62.804 USA Amina Bursese Fiti AL 64.891 62.935 61.304 61.63 63.261
8. 61.239 USA Nancy Smith Destaque HI 60.978 62.174 61.196 60.109 61.739
9. 60.782 USA Nicole Harrington Wizard Of Oz 59.130 63.478 61.739 60.326 59.239
ELIM. CAN Karis Van Essen Camistry J
RET. GBR Lisa Marriott Valucio DH Z