California's spring CDI season got underway last weekend at the Mid-Winter Dressage Fair CDI 3* on 22-24 February 2013 in Burbank, CA as riders were looking to get their 2013 international competition season off to a strong start. Some of these exhibitors were also showing off fresh-faced mounts, and in the case of Olympic veterans Guenter Seidel and Steffen Peters
, their extensive experience helped guide their exciting new horses to blue ribbons.
During the Grand Prix competition, all eyes were on Guenter Seidel with his new partner Coral Reef Wylea (by Weinberg x Saluut) in their much anticipated CDI debut, and they did not disappoint. A solid performance earned a winning score of 70.021% from judges Gary Rockwell (5* USA), Jeanne McDonald (4* USA), Eddy de Wolff (4* NED), Brenda Minor (4* CAN), and Magnus Ringmark (3* SWE). David Blake and Melanie Pai's Danish Warmblood gelding Ikaros (by Akinos x Fernando) finished a close second with 68.957%.
In the Grand Prix Special, Seidel's partnership with Coral Reef Ranch's 13-year-old Westfalian mare continued to grow, improving their winning score to 71.313% while Blake and Ikaros had to settle for a strong second with 68.125%. For the Grand Prix Freestyle, the Canadian national anthem was played in honor of Karen Pavicic's victory with the 11-year-old Oldenburg gelding Don Daiquiri (by Don Cardinale x Rubinstein I) on a score of 70.100%.
In the small tour, 2012 U.S. Olympic Teammates Steffen Peters and Jan Ebeling showed up-and-coming prospects from their stables to finish one-two in both the Prix St. Georges and the Intermediaire I tests. Presenting Paula Howard's 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Vaya Con Dios (by Odermus R x Glendale), Peters earned winning scores of 72.061% and 69.956%, while Ebeling rode Descartes, a 12-year-old Oldenburg stallion (by De Niro x Quattro B) owned by Cathy Shelton for two red ribbons (68.904% and 67.281%, respectively). Young Rider National Champion and NAYRC gold medalist Brandi Roenick rode Jen Hlavacek's Weltino's Magic, a Westfalian gelding Weltino x Diamond Boy, in open company in the CDI small tour, earning the tricolor and a score of 72.350% for their Intermediaire I Freestyle performance.
In the Young Rider classes, Cassidy Gallman won both the Team and Individual tests with Woden, a Hanoverian gelding by Weltmeyer x Ankum, with a scores of 59.684% and 59.789%, respectively, while CDI Junior competitor Rison Naness rode Kristina Harrison's Hanoverian mare Venezia (by White Star x Espri) to sweep her division with 64.081% in the Team Test, 63.316% for the Individual Test, and 66.000% in the Freestyle.
The Mid-Winter Dressage Fair was the first official qualifying competition for the Young Talent Search Finals, a new program designed to identify and reward talented young horses on the West Coast which also will pay out over $10,000 in prize money and awards. In the four-year-old division, Karen Ball rode the Oldenburg stallion Sir Spiderman (by Sir Donnerhall x Rubinstein I) to a winning score of 75.208% for owners Alan and Theresa Reese. Tamra Smith and the Oldenburg gelding Quincy (by Quaterback x Brentano II), owned by Jennifer Mason, topped a field of five-year-olds with an impressive score of 77.069%, while Kathleen Raine presented Sandy Harper's Dutch Warmblood mare Ceolieta (by Sir Donnerhall x Zeoliet) to win her division with 66.714%. A total of ten young horses earned the first of two required qualifying scores of 65% or better towards an invitation for the inaugural Finals, which will be held during Star Spangled Dressage, June 28 - 30, 2013 in San Juan Capistrano.
Photo © McCool
Related Links
Scores 2013 CDI Burbank