Dressage-News

THERMAL, California, Nov. 18, 2022–Steffen Peters rode Suppenkasper to victory in the World Cup Grand Prix Friday in starting the campaign of the 2009 champion for a start at the Final in Omaha next April. Anna Buffini on Davinia la Douce who competed in this year’s Final in Germany, was runner-up.

In the first competition since riding on the United States team at the world championships in August, Steffen of San Diego, California and “Mopsie,” as the 14-year-old KWPN gelding is nicknamed, scored 73.652% for the win.

Anna, of Rancho Santa Fe, California, and the 15-year-old Hanoverian mare FRH Davinia la Douce that she rode at the Leipzig Final last April, scored 70.739% for second.

Charlotte Jorst of Reno, Nevada and Kastel’s Nintendo, a 19-year-old KWPN stallion still competing at top European events as well as in the U.S. at 19 years of age, was third on 70.370%.

Suppenkasper “thought he was in the Special,” Steffen reported, and started the line of one-tempi changes on the centerline between the two pirouettes that also made the second pirouette “not so good.”

“So with a couple of fumbles still a good start,” he said, “but it easily cost us at least two percent.”

The Freestyle will be held Saturday to decide points toward qualifying for three places awarded to North America in the Final in Omaha.

Three qualifiers are being held at the rebuilt Thermal show grounds–the first this weekend, one Dec. 15-18 and a third Jan. 5-8.

Steffen won the World Cup Final on Ravel in Las Vegas in 2019. He also rode in four other Finals that take the top 18 combinations from around the world.

He and Suppenkasper were on the American silver medal teams at the the Tryon World Equestrian Games and the Tokyo Olympics as well as the world championships in August where the U.S. qualified a team for the Paris Olympics in 2024.

Results:

World Cup Grand Prix