Olympian Mary Hanna and Umbro won the Pacific League World Cup Final at the 2015 CDI-W Werribee on Saturday 12 December 2015 by winning the Grand Prix Freestyle with a score of 73.725%. Hanna also won the Grand Prix on Friday showing excellent form on the weekend. She has now qualified herself to compete at the 2016 World Cup Finals in Gothenburg, Sweden on 23 - 28 March 2016.
The lead changed on five occasions throughout the evening. New-Zealand combination Jody Harstone and Ali Baba started the trend with a score of 65.500%. They were outdone by the third combination into the arena, Jeremy Janjic and the famous Django of Cacharel who scored 66.825%.
Pauline Carnovale and Urestan produced a clean work and scored 69.125% to hold the lead momentarily but they were relegated to fourth overall, after the break, once the strong combination of Brett Parbery and DP Weltmieser pleased the crowded stands and produced a new and very pleasant choreography obtaining 69.900%.
The suspense in the freestyle didn’t stop after Maree Tomkinson’s test. Thanks to a very good 71.075% score with her WEG performer Diamantina IV she was placed first at the provisional, overtaking Brett. Maree once again was pleased with Diamantina's energy "coming from the inside" in opposition with coming from her environment: "she has always been a lazy horse at home and I used to rely on the atmosphere at a competition to get her energy. Now we are working differently, she is learning to create energy internally with harmony. That is really coming. It is hard to make these changes without making mistakes when she's been going that way for so long time. The scope of the sport has changed; raw energy is not so acceptable anymore, the horses need to be more relaxed. She did good tonight, we’re walking in a relaxed way, leaving the arena quietly.”
When Mary Hanna entered the arena, she was focused and probably aiming at more connection with Umbro, as she shared with us yesterday after the grand Prix. She pleased the judges and the crowds with a technical choreography. “I am really thrilled with him tonight, he was better that yesterday, good energy and really he tried his hardest. It is a difficult test and he really pulled it off. He was more connected, the judges said he was better in the frame today and that is what you want: happy judges.” She scored 73.725%, taking first place and led the lap of honor of this Pacific League World Cup Final.
At the prize presentation, good player, Brett shared with us: "It was a great night. There were just two very good contestants that beat me! Congratulations to the girls! I was really happy with my horse. It was a new Freestyle and I was very pleased with the way it rode."
The 2015 CDI-W Werribee is the culmination of the competition season in Australia for dressage riders. It is the last major event before the Christmas/summer break and incorporates the Victorian Dressage Championships for horses and ponies, the State Young Horse Championships and the Pacific League World Cup Final. Over four days of competition in excess of 400 competitors will perform over 800 dressage tests.
Related Links
Scores 2015 CDI-W Werribee
Hanna Wins World Cup Qualifier Freestyle at 2015 CDI-W Sydney
Mary Hanna and Umbro Win 2015 CDI-W Boneo Park World Cup Qualifier
Mary Hanna and Umbro Win Pacific League World Cup Final at 2015 CDI-W Boneo