The American dressage team proved their worth on home soil taking the team gold medal and the spoils in the team championship competition at the 2014 CDIO Wellington in Florida on 19 and 20 February 2014. The Nations' Cup ran over four tests consisting of a mix of small and big tour combinations. Twenty-five riders contested the small tour classes, eleven competed in the big tour.
The results of the Prix St Georges and Intermediaire I were added to the scores of the Grand Prix and Special, to which a coefficient was added to give more weight to the big tour. Nine teams were present in Wellington with the majority of riders opting for the PSG and Inter I. U.S. Olympians Adrienne Lyle and Tina Konyot as well as U.S. A-team rider Shelly Francis bagged the victory for their country with interesting rides, but the fun and thrill of this year's Wellington nations' cup was to be found in the small tour, in which more pairs were on each others' heels.
The 2014 Wellington Nations' Cup came to a conclusion after the Grand Prix Special on Thursday afternoon 20 February 2014. Adrienne Lyle and Wizard (by Weltmeyer) won the class with 71.059%. The pair had highlights in the one tempi's on the centerline, the small pirouettes and good trot extensions. The collected walk remained problematic with extremely short-long steps behind and there was issues in the tempi changes on the diagonal. The Oldenburg gelding, nevertheless, appeared fresh, energetic and willing to work in the test.
Shelly Francis and Pat Stempel's dark bay gelding Doktor (by Diamond Hit) overtook Konyot in the ranking, finishing second with 70.412%. The Special ride was more polished and less tense compared to their Grand Prix. Doktor executed highly regular passage with smooth transitions to the trot extensions. The trot half passes had huge ground cover and the piaffe showed very nice sit. Konyot and her liver chestnut stallion Calecto V (by Come Back II) were more on the ball today with improved piaffe-passage work and very fine two tempi changes. There were mistakes in both one tempi lines, though, but Calecto V made up for that with super small, airborne pirouettes and an amazing willingness to work. They posted a score of 69.471%.
The small tour battle raged between two European riders: Spanish junior Juan Matute Guimon and 1993 Dutch European Championship team member Leida Collins-Strijk. Matute Guimon outclassed the competition in the Prix St Georges (71.658%) with a very secure, but conservative test on his tall black Hanoverian gelding Don Diego (by Don Frederico). The trot work was fluent but lacked impulsion throughout. The canter work was dead secure and totally controlled, with no mistakes, but the horse could be lighter in the contact, more off the curb and slightly more open in the throat latch. In the Intermediaire I the 16-year old Matute rode with more pezzazz and forward energy while staying fault-free. This resulted in a 2% climb in his score. He finished second with 72.026%.
Leida Collins-Strijk saddled her 11-year old Dutch bred West Side (by Florett As x Equador) and showed the expression and energy that Matute's Don Diego was missing in the Prix St Georges. Leida rode her liver-chestnut gelding, however, with a heavy contact and the horse often opened its mouth. There was too much body tension, especially in the top line. Nevertheless, West Side is a super talented horse. With his lovely knee action and uphill gaits he really shines in the show ring. In the Prix St Georges Collins-Strijk lost points as the two halts were not ridden to perfection and the extended canter was already finished at X on the diagonal. She posted a score of 70.237%. In the Intermediaire I the Dutch rider was focused and rode superb tempi changes and very collected pirouettes, even though the punctuation in her test was sloppy. She won the Inter I with 72.158%.
Dr. Cesar Parra's Spanish student Carlos Munoz and the Trakehner bred Klouseau (by Charly Chaplin) were excellent in the Prix St Georges with very accurate riding. The bay gelding produced a good collected walk and turns on the haunches as well as wonderful four tempi changes, even though the horse is not the most supple. Klouseau is quite fixed in the top line and should chew more on the bit. He scored 69.026% and ranked third in the PSG. In the Inter I he dropped to 5th place with 68.500%. The horse was slightly uneven in the trot extensions and the combination scored remarkably less with the judges sitting on the long side, compared to those on the short side.
American Shawna Harding and her sympathetic Hanoverian gelding Rigo (by Rotspon) finished fourth in the Prix St Georges (68.34%) and 10th in the Intermediaire I (66.816%). In the Prix St Georges the black gelding stood out with his wonderful trot extensions and solid canter work, but Harding was quite leaning backwards in the saddle and the contact with the bit could be lighter.
Canada's top small tour combination, Brittany Fraser and the Dutch warmblood All In (by Tango), had an off-day in the Prix St Georges (66.711) with a canter tour fraught with mistakes, but the pair redeemed itself in the Intermediaire I and climbed to third place with 69.526%. The long legged liver chestnut gelding has incredible uphill scope in canter and delivers amazing flying changes. Also his trot extensions and half passes have great power and reach.
Canadian team mate Chris von Martels and his Dutch warmblood gelding Zilverstar (by Rousseau) were very consistent in the small tour classes. The bay gelding is a gifted mover in trot and canter, but struggles with the walk. The extended walk was good but in the collected the horse became totally lateral in the Prix St Georges. Also the half passes could have more bending, but the horse covers much ground in the trot extensions and the pirouettes have great potential. The tempi changes are beautifully uphill. Von Martels was 7th in the PSG (67.053%) and 4th in the Inter I (68.711%).
Another shooting star in the show ring was Catherine Haddad-Staller's Hanoverian branded Davidor (by Davignon I x Espri). The slim Hanoverian was ridden by Dutch Patrick Tigchelaar and the test was riddled with imperfections. Tigchelaar rode slalom centerlines, the transitions were dodgy and the horse was often crooked in the body. Still, Davidor's talent and quality shone through and the horse is an incredibly expressive mover. The trot is wonderful, the extended walk outstanding (though no proper collected walk was shown in the Prix St Georges) and the tempi changes were brilliant.
Canadian Megan Lane rode an equally gifted mover, San d'Or, a Dutch bred Westfalian by Sandro Hit x Cocktail). This 8-year old bay star is a very athletic, supple horse with great ability to sit in the pirouettes and take the weight on the hindquarters. The contact with the bit was very unsteady, though and the horse is not yet strong enough to produce well sustained self-carriage throughout a test.
Text and Photos © Astrid Appels - No Reproduction allowed
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