Dressage-News

WELLINGTON, Florida, Feb. 27, 2022–Alice Tarjan rode Jane to victory in the Lövsta Future Challenge Intermediate II while Charlotte Jorst on Zhaplin Langholt took the Summit Farm Prix St. Georges Sunday to qualify for the Global Dressage Festival developing horse series final.

The eight-year-old KWPN mare by Desperado was ridden by Alice to a score of 71.529% from the panel of five international judges thought it was a national competition.

Before Sunday’s qualifier for the developing Grand Prix final at the end of March, Alice of Oldwick, New Jersey had competed Jane only seven times in the career of the horse–three times for three wins as a four-year-old in 2018, twice for a first and a second place at third level in 2020 and twice for two victories at national Int. II competitions this winter.

She trains with Marcus Orlob who is based near Alice in New Jersey and this year has also worked with Debbie McDonald that has gotten Jane off her Florida farm.

The plan, she said, “was to get some miles on her, because she’s obviously really spooky, and she’s never been anywhere, like all the other horses have been to Lamplight and stuff, and this horse hasn’t been anywhere. So I’m thrilled. I’m really happy.

“You know, you saw she went around the beginning, she was really spooky and impressed. But once she goes to work, man, the horse goes to work, and she’s so honest. It’s so nice to ride a horse like that that’s just easy and straightforward.”

She described the Lövsta Future Challenge as “a great class” in the centerpiece international arena and with the quality of judges that mean the scores “actually count.”

Alice was so surprised by the win that she hadn’t thought about the rest of the year.

“I wasn’t expecting to win! I mean the goal this year was to try to qualify for Lövsta, so I didn’t think it was going to happen so fast.”

The win by Charlotte Jorst of Reno, Nevada on the nine-year-old Zhaplin Langholt was scored 74.147%, the highest result in the four Summit Farm qualifiers so far.

Michael Klimke of Germany on Harmony’s Astro placed second on 69.264% to also earn an invitation to the final.

Zhaplin Langholt, a Danish Warmblood gelding (Glock’s Zonik x Stedinger) was acquired by Charlottte from Helgstrand Dressage when the horse was five years old but was out of competition recovering from an injury until about a year ago.

“He’s just incredible,” said Charlotte. “He’s great in the ring. He has a great mind, He has a great brain… great gaits. I mean he is just the complete package.”

The horse has developed so fast that she thinks it will be the successor to Kastel’s Nintendo, her current main mount that is 19 years old and on which Charlotte is having success this winter.

If she makes the competition tour of Europe for selection of the American team for the world championships at Herning, Denmark in August she will take Zhaplin to continue training and possibly compete at Small Tour on the way to Grand Prix.

“I mean if I could do Aachen (Germany) with him in the Prix St Georges–that would just be unbelievable,” she said. “To ride into that stadium with that horse, I could just lay down and die afterwards. It would be the best day of my life.”

Results:

Lövsta Future Challenge – Intermediate II

Summit Farm Future Challenge – Prix St. Georges