Irwin and Laurencio Back in Small Tour Winner's Circle at 2019 CDI-W Wellington

2019 CDI-W Wellington

Competition for the third week of the Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) in Wellington, FL, continued on Saturday, January 26 in more rainy weather. Canadian Tina Irwin (CAN) and Laurencio won the Intermediare I Freestyle CDI3*, after placing second in the Prix St Georges and Intermediaire I earlier this week.

Irwin and Laurencio, her 12-year-old Oldenburg gelding by Laurentio, earned a score of 75.900%. “He has a temperament of 10, a 10 out of 10. This horse is phenomenal. I’ve had since he was four years old and trained him up from the beginning to the grand prix level,” said Irwin about her partner Laurencio. “I can really put him in any atmosphere and he’s the same; he’s as steady as they come. I feel very lucky.”

“The highlight was the harmony. It was really fluid, and Laurencio was very rideable and everything just flowed,” added Irwin about her test. “I held back a bit on my first centerline. I usually enter in two tempis and I didn’t do that this time. I could up my degree of difficulty a little bit; I could always push for more expression and for more energy for sure.”

Irwin and Laurencio began competing in CDI competition at AGDF in 2016. In 2018 she rode the gelding at international Grand Prix level at CDI's in Wellington and Ottawa, but dropped the horse back down two levels at the beginning of the 2019 Florida show season.

“There are so many things I love about coming here,” she said. “[I love] the weather first of all, I love the community, I love the atmosphere, I like the people, and it’s just a really phenomenal place to be. If you want to be competitive, you have to come to Florida. This is where the best come in North America.”

Kellock and Floratina Win 1* Inter I Kur

In the FEI Intermediate I CDI1* Lindsay Kellock (CAN) and Floratina, a 11-year-old Hanoverian mare by Fidertanz x Rubin-Royal owned by Chloe Gasiorowski, won with a score of 71.471%.

Floratina is bred by Susanne Rauth and originally owned by Brigitta Kremer from Germany. The mare was first started as a youngster by Sebastian Albers but in 2013 Petra Stroetmann took over the ride and trained her up to small tour level. The mare arrived in the U.S.A in 2015, after selling to Kate Sanders. She made her international show debut at the CDI-W Devon in September 2016 under Nicole Levy. In 2017 the pair was active on the Wellington show circuit with several CDI starts at small tour level and they placed in bronze medal position in the Inter I Kur at the 2017 U.S. Small Tour Championships.

Floratina sold to Gasiorowski this winter and Kellock obtained the ride. They had the CDI debut in Wellington on 18 - 19 January 2019 with two second places.