For West Coast riders, there was no joking around this April Fool's Day as a huge field of competitors fought for the blue ribbon in the CDI Prix St. Georges Test at the Festival of the Horse CDI-W/Y/J. Officiating for today's class were FEI judges Linda Zang (5* USA), Cara Whitham (5* CAN), and Eddy de Wolff (4* NED).
"The overall quality in the top group of this class was very good," said judge Eddy de Wolff. Emerging the hard-fought victor was Steffen Peters riding Jen Hlavacek's nine-year-old Westfalen gelding Weltino's Magic, which de Wolff described as "a super horse". After impressive wins at last month's Mid-Winter Dressage Fair, this pair returned to Burbank to earn a first-day score of 75.395%.
In the CDI Grand Prix class, Jan Ebeling rode his long-time partner Rafalca to a decisive win with a score of 69.298%. Ebeling is using this competition as a final preparation for the Reem Acra/FEI World Cup Dressage Finals, and feels that his mount has become much stronger over the last year in order to better tackle the demands of the division. The ground jury agreed.
"Rafalca is much more confirmed, consistent and at ease throughout her test than we've seen her before," noted judge Cara Whitham.
In the CDI Young Rider division, Brandi Roenick rode her own Pretty Lady to top the scoreboard with 66.974%, while Canada's Colby Dodd claimed the win in the Junior Team Test.
Related Link
Scores 2011 CDI-W Burbank
