Steffen Peters & Suppenkasper Win Thermal World Cup Freestyle in Rider’s First Qualifying Victory for Possible 7th Final
12 months ago StraightArrow Comments Off on Steffen Peters & Suppenkasper Win Thermal World Cup Freestyle in Rider’s First Qualifying Victory for Possible 7th Final
THERMAL, California, Nov. 18, 2023–Steffen Peters rode Suppenkasper to victory in the Grand Prix Freestyle Saturday in their first success in qualifying for what would be the rider’s seventh World Cup Final.
The score for the 2009 World Cup champion rider and the 15-year-old KWPN gelding Suppenkasper was 79.795% in the first of four qualifiers in Southern California ahead of the Final to be staged in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for the first time next April.
Steffen, based in San Diego, California, and only one other combination lined up for this first West Coast competition that is one of 10 qualifiers in the United States to decide on three combinations from North America eligible to start at the Final.
Although this was the first competition for Steffen and Suppenkasper since the World Cup Final in Omaha last April, his scores in both the Freestyle and the Grand Prix were the highest of any United States rider and horse ranked for both the World Cup and the Olympics scheduled for Paris next summer.
“It was good to be back in the show arena,” Steffen told DRESAGE-NEWS.com. “Mopsie hasn’t changed a bit. He still wants to perform as he always did. I consider myself very lucky to ride him”
Steffen and Suppenkasper, owned by Akiko Yamazaki and her family’s Four Winds Farm, earned the maximum of 20 points that will place the rider second in the North American standings, behind Benjamin Ebeling who has accumulated 40 points for two victories.
The location of the Final in Riyadh presents issues for riders from the Americas. Qualifying combinations will fly from Miami to Liege in Belgium and then another several hours to Riyadh.
“The World Cup,” he said, “is not on the calendar for next year.
“The big goal is Paris.”
Steffen and Suppenkasper have been on America’s most successful teams–silver medals at both the Tokyo Olympics and the 2018 World Equestrian Games, as well as the World Championships in 2022 to earn a a start in Paris.
Tina Caldwell of Rancho Santa Fe, California, on Lagerfeld K, 15-year-old Hanoverian stallion, the only other combination in the class scored 71.775%.
In the CDI3* Grand Prix Special, Erin Nichols, of Yorba Linda, California on Elian Royale, was awarded 69.404% for the win. Erin and the 14-year-old KWPN gelding, on Friday won the Grand, the duo’s first Big Tour competition after the summer competing in Under-25 and Young Rider competitions in Europe.
Results:
| Rank | Competitor | Score | E | H | C | M | B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Steffen Peters (USA) Suppenkasper | 79.795% | 78.800 | 77.625 | 78.750 | 82.025 | 81.775 |
| 2. | Tina Caldwell (USA) Lagerfeld K | 71.775% | 70.275 | 73.750 | 71.275 | 70.850 | 72.725 |
 Find details on Equestrian Hub |
| Rank | Competitor | Score | E | H | C | M | B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Erin Nichols (USA) Elian Royale | 69.404% | 70.426 | 69.149 | 68.191 | 68.511 | 70.745 |
| 2. | Amelia Newcomb (USA) Harvard | 66.212% | 65.106 | 67.021 | 66.489 | 64.574 | 67.872 |
| 3. | Shannon Peters (USA) Disco Inferno | 65.851% | 66.596 | 64.894 | 65.851 | 65.000 | 66.915 |
| Find details on Equestrian Hub |
