Lars Petersen, Olympian and Double European Championship Medalist for Denmark, to Compete 2 Horses at his First US National Championships
1 year ago StraightArrow Comments Off on Lars Petersen, Olympian and Double European Championship Medalist for Denmark, to Compete 2 Horses at his First US National Championships
By KENNETH J. BRADDICK
WELLINGTON, Florida, Aug. 14, 2023–Lars Petersen, an Olympian and double European Championship medalist for Denmark, will compete two horses at developing Prix St. Georges for his first United States national championships.
Lars, who became an American citizen seven years ago, qualified Giovanni-Bell, an eight-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding by Grand Galaxy Win, and S-Express, nine-year-old Westfalen gelding by Sezuan, for the Festival of Champions at the Chicago suburb of Wayne, Illinois next week. Both horses are owned by Helgstrand Dressage whose Wellington training and sales center is managed by Lars and his wife, Melissa Taylor.
Gio on a qualifying score of 73.368% was runner-up to Sabine Schut-Kery, a Tokyo Olympic star, on Sonnenberg’s Jersey on 73.924%. Quinn Iverson on Gremlin 41 was third in the rankings on 72.569% with Lars fourth on S-Express on 72.500%.
All told, Lars is leading a contingent of up to 12 horses at this year’s championships, including Charlotte Jorst with three horses bought from Helgstrand. Among them is Zhaplin Langholt, the 10-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding in Intermediate 1 competition that is long listed for the Pan American Games at the end of October. Long-time Lars student Codi Harrison is also long listed for the Pan Ams on Katholt’s Bossco and is in the championship lineup at Grand Prix.
Lars’ ties to the Festival of Champions goes back more than two decades when he went there for the first time as a coach.
He first came to the U.S. more than 40 years ago–he’s now 57–but returned to Denmark after three years to ride for Blue Hors stud.He went to the Olympics in Atlanta in 1996 on Uffe Korshøjgaard and then competed Blue Hors Cavan at the 1998 World Games in Rome, the 1999 and 2001 European Championships when he was on Denmark’s bronze medal teams. On Cavan, he was reserve champion at the World Cup Final in 2002.
He came back to the U.S.–or home, as he thought of it, 21 years ago. But he maintained close ties with Blue Hors, eventually becoming the coach of riders such as Daniel Bachmann Andersen and Nanna Skodborg Merrald on horses being developed and competing for the stud. His role in Denmark became a victim of the Covid pandemic, making trans-Atlantic travel too difficult.
Fifteen months ago, Andreas Helgstrand, who succeeded Lars as the stable rider at Blue Hors two decades earlier, approached Lars about Melissa and he taking over management of the Wellington operation. The timing could not have been better. The owner of the large facility they had leased for several years was planning to sell it.
Lars and Melissa live just minutes from the Helgstrand center where there are about 50 dressage and jumper horses, the latter prepared for Ludger Beerbaum by American Olympic rider Lauren Hough.
He rides 10 to 15 horses daily and four American young women on the payroll working the rest.
As well as preparing for the Festival of Champions, he is also looking to the Pan Ams in Santiago, Chile where he may coach riders from Venezuela and the Dominican Republic as well as Americans.
Lars and Melissa have created an open door policy so visitors can see what goes on–“it’s not just like it’s only expensive horses here because it’s not. I think that’s what has been a little bit what we have tried to change also that when people come in it’s nice riding, we are not hiding anything.”
And to help promote development of young horses in the United States, he’s planning to implement clinics and demonstrations in the fall by top riders from young horses to Grand Prix–he didn’t give names.
What drives him after a lifetime in dressage?
“Riding, teaching and developing horses,” he said. “That’s why I go to work every day. I love it. You know, seeing the development in the horses. Or put the girls on, or they can make one better, or make them so other people can ride them. That’s, of course, a big thing here, how easy they are to ride.”
