Germany’s Frederic Wandres on Bluetooth OLD, Spain’s Pablo Gomez Molina & Ulises de Ymas Win 2 Wellington CDI5* Grand Prix

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Frederic Wandres of Germany riding Bluetooth OLD to victory in the Wellington CDI5* Grand Prix for Freestyle. © 2023 Ken Braddick/DRESSAGE-NEWS.com

 

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.

Pablo Gomez Molina of Spain on Ulises de Ymas riding to victory in the CDI5* Grand Prix for Special. © 2023 Ken Braddick/DRESSAGE-NEWS.com

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

Judges: Sandra Hotz Maarten Van der Heijden Carlos Lopes Elke Ebert Magnus Ringmark
Place Score Nation Athlete Horse E H C M B Spectators
1. 75.630 GER Frederic Wandres Bluetooth OLD 76.304 75.543 74.348 75.435 76.522 74.996 (1)
2. 70.935 USA Ashley Holzer Valentine 70.109 71.848 71.304 71.196 70.217 72.569 (2)
3. 70.630 SWE Tinne Vilhelmson Silfvén Devanto 69.239 70.652 71.739 70.543 70.978 69.696 (4)
4. 70.348 GER Anna-Christina Abbelen Sam Donnerhall 70.435 69.348 72.717 69.891 69.348 70.505 (3)
5. 70.131 USA Sarah Tubman First Apple 70.978 70.761 70.870 69.348 68.696 69.361 (5)
6. 67.978 KOR Dong Seon Kim Galleria’s Rossetti 68.587 67.609 67.717 68.261 67.717 66.655 (10)
7. 67.761 USA Codi Harrison Katholt’s Bossco 68.043 66.848 68.043 68.913 66.957 68.724 (7)
7. 67.761 USA Anna Marek Fire Fly 68.696 68.478 67.174 65.978 68.478 68.847 (6)
9. 66.891 SGP Caroline Chew Tribiani 65.652 67.174 67.391 67.174 67.065 67.335 (9)
10. 66.674 CAN Chris von Martels Eclips 65.435 70.326 65.761 66.522 65.326 68.352 (8)
11. 64.544 VEN Patricia Ferrando Honnaisseur SJ 64.457 63.587 66.413 65.000 63.261 65.451 (11)
12. 64.087 USA Benjamin Ebeling Indeed 63.696 65.978 65.217 64.130 61.413 64.507 (12)

 

CDI5* Grand Prix for Special

Judges: Magnus Ringmark Sandra Hotz Maarten Van der Heijden Carlos Lopes Elke Ebert
Place Score Nation Athlete Horse E H C M B Spectators
1. 71.239 ESP Pablo Gomez Molina Ulises de Ymas 71.522 74.565 70.000 69.674 70.435 72.429 (1)
2. 70.065 BEL Laurence Vanommeslaghe Havalon 69.891 69.674 69.130 70.870 70.761 68.043 (3)
3. 69.391 FRA Morgan Barbancon Habana Libre A 69.891 67.500 68.370 71.630 69.565 66.087 (4)
4. 69.304 GER Felicitas Hendricks Drombusch 2 69.130 72.391 67.935 68.587 68.478 71.673 (2)
5. 68.326 GER Michael Klimke Harmony’s Sanrino RHP 67.609 68.261 69.239 68.478 68.043 65.978 (5)
6. 65.304 USA Alice Tarjan Candescent 67.609 67.283 64.674 64.891 62.065 61.154 (6)
ELIM. USA Melissa Taylor Dixie WRF