Dressage-News

WELLINGTON, Florida, Mar. 15, 2023–Germany’s Frederic Wandres on Bluetooth OLD won the CDI5* Grand Prix for the Freestyle Wednesday night for the seventh straight Big Tour victory on the Wellington International circuit so far this year. Spain’s Pablo Gomez Molina rode Ulises de Ymas to claim victory in the partnership’s first CDI5*, the Grand Prix for the Special, on a personal best score.

Frederic and the 13-year-old gelding were awarded 75.630% for the win in  the first of two Grand Prix under the lights in the Winter Equestrian Festival’s centerpiece international jumping arena in unseasonably cold for Florida (60F/15C) and rainy weather.

“He felt a little tired in the last test, so I shortened the warmup by 10 minutes and didn’t ride all the energy out in the warmup,” said Frederic who is the stable rider for Hof Kasselmann of Hagen, Germany. “We tried to find another way to prepare and it worked out very well today. I had a way better feeling tonight even with a small mistake in the one tempis, which is percentage-wise an expensive mistake. I trust him because now he’s experienced enough to do all the tricks in the arena.”

Ashley Holzer on Valentine, the 13-year-old Hanoverian mare she competed on the the U.S. team at the world championships last year, showed no ring spookiness to be the highest scoring American of the night on 70.109% and runner-up to Frederic and Bluetooth.

Tinne Vilhelmson Silfvén, Sweden’s seven-time Olympian and long-time competitor in Florida, rode Devanto to third place on 70.630%. Tinne debuted the Holsteiner gelding, now aged 14, in Wellington in 2021.

The win by Pablo Gomez Molina on the 13-year-old Ulises de Ymas in the Grand Prix for the Special on a personal best score of 71.239% was one of the most crowd-pleasing of the night.

The 28-year-old Pau (he’ll be 29 Mar. 21), as he is known,  and the P.R.E. gelding posted personal best results in their two previous competitions.

“I’m really excited because I was nervous this week,” Pau said later. “Not because I didn’t think we were ready, but because it’s a five-star. I’m just excited and I want to ride. Once I got on, [the nerves] all went away.”

Laurence Vanommeslaghe of Belgium but who lives in Paris and Havalon, a 16-year-old Hanoverian gelding, was second on 70.065%.

Morgan Barbancon of France and Habana Libre A, 11-year-old KWPN gelding and one of three horses she is competing in her first season in Florida, was third on 69.391%.

Morgan has been named to the Omaha World Cup Final next month in which she will ride Sir Donnerhall II OLD that she did not bring to Florida.

The Grand Prix Freestyle and the Special will be held in the same arena Friday night.

Results:

CDI5* Grand Prix for Freestyle

CDI5* Grand Prix for Special