Dressage-News

WELLINGTON, Florida, Mar. 16, 2022–The CDIO3* Nations Cup on Thursday kicks off this year’s trans-Atlantic series with the teams of Canada, Germany and the United States a mix of rookies and Olympic and championship riders. Canada and USA have teams in the Under-25 Nations Cup.

Medals in the only Nations Cup competition outside Europe of four-member teams made up both Small and Big Tour combinations will be decided by each country’s three best results of Prix St. Georges/Grand Prix and Intermediate 1/Grand Prix Special. Big Tour combinations–of which there are eight among the three nations, with four for Small Tour–get a bonus of 1.5%.

Germany is the defending champion from 2021 with three of the riders returning for this year’s competition that with three teams is one shy of qualifying for standings in the series that moves to Europe for spring and summer.

The lineup for the first round Thursday is:
Prix St. Georges
Germany-Lars Ligus/Soccer City
USA-Bianca Berktold/Imperial
Canada-Beatrice Boucher/Summerwood’s Limei
Germany-Frederic Wandres/Dolciario

Grand Prix
Canada-Evi Strasser/Déjà Vu Tyme
USA-Benjamin Ebeling/Indeed
Canada-Megan Lane/Zodiac MW
USA-Susan Dutta/Don Design DC
Germany-Michael Klimke/Harmony’s Sanrino RHP
Canada-Pia Fortmüller/Frieda
USA-Katie Duerrhammer/Quartett
Germany-Christoph Koschel/Dünensee

Canada has two Olympians–Evi Strasser from 1996 and Megan Lane from 2016. Both also have World Equestrian Games on their records. Evi competed at three World Cup Finals while Megan was on the 2015 Pan American Games silver medal team. Pia Fortmüller competed Frieda as a five-year-old at the World Young Horse Championships and began Grand Prix on the horse this year. Beatrice Boucher showed at four North American Youth Championships.

The German team has the biggest differences in experiences–Christoph Koschel was on the bronze medal team at the 2010 World Equestrian Games and team silver at the 2011 Europeans. Frederic Wandres has been named again to the German Olympic squad on Duke of Britain and has been on his nation’s teams at some of the premier Nations Cups, including the World Equestrian Festival in Aachen, Germany last year. Michael Klimke, as well as being on the gold medal team at Wellington last year for the third time, was on the squad at Uggerhalne, Denmark in 2019. Lars Ligus has ridden in some national competitions but his only international experience so far was in a young horse event in Slovakia in 2021.

For the United States, Susan Dutta is a veteran international competitor including championships and several Nations Cupsa on both sides of the Atlantic. Benjamin Ebeling at the age of 22 has Nations Cup performances at Aachen, Rotterdam and Wellington as well as Under-25 and North American Youth Championships on his resume. Bianca Berktold, who moved from Germany to Florida a decade ago, is on her first American team. So, too, is Katie Duerrhammer at senior level, though she was the top placed rider as Young Rider at the North American Youth Championships in 2008.

Teams for Under-25:

CANADA
Camille Carier Bergeron/Sound of Silence
Vanessa Creech-Terauds/Fleur de Lis L

USA
Kaylee Christensen/Chateau
Quinn Iverson/Beckham
Nicole Scarpino/Lambada