First Things First: Peters and Rosamunde Take Grand Prix Special 3* at 2015 CDI Wellington

Shows

2015 CDI Wellington

After bagging her first ever CDI Grand Prix victory on Thursday 5 February at the 2015 CDI Wellington, Steffen Peters' new rising GP star Rosamunde had a few more firsts in store: not only did she compete in her first ever Grand Prix Special, but she also placed first in the international 3* GP Special class on Saturday 7 february 2015.

Akiko Yamazaki's 8-year old Rhinelander mare Rosamunde was the talk of the town as the spectacular Rhinelander mare showed unlimited potential and pulled the crowds to the sidelines to watch her performances. The Grand Prix Special 3* was held on Saturday noon and featured a field of 15 riders with Fore, Umbach, Wust, Max Theurer, and Matthiesen judging. Peters received a 73.745% to win the class followed closely by Charlotte Jorst on Nintendo scoring a 69.608% and Shelly Francis with Danilo in third on a 69.137%.

Peters started off with good trot lengthenings, sweeping half passes and a soft and regular passage. Rosamunde might not have shown that top engagement from behind but the passage was definitely good for straights 8s. The extended walk was active and ground covering. In the piaffe the mare tends to sit a bit too much and get very narrow at the base as she is trying to find her balance. This makes the transitions out quite hard on her at the moment. She broke into canter in the passage but Peters kept his cool and solved everything patiently and with skill. The tempi changes are the weakest point at the moment. The mare sways the hindquarters a lot and the rider swings too much in the saddle. The pirouettes show tons of promise. They are tiny but the horse is still trying to find her balance in them. This loss of balance also happened in the onset of the piaffe at X. Still the quality is all there and it's just a matter of maturity and strength.

Steffen Peters and Rosamunde Peters said they made further strides building their relationship, as "Rosie" really impressed him in her ability to carry herself. "The beautiful thing about today was that I found I can really trust her in the piaffe. I didn't trust her enough in the first piaffe in the Grand Prix on Thursday, and she got a little bit quick," he explained. "I rode it today just like I do in training and that is quite unusual to be able to do with a horse in the show arena. Her one-tempis also worked beautifully and they were a bit straighter already than the first day."

The mare looks to be the next big star of dressage in the U.S. and continues to impress Peters with her trainability and willingness. "She is a horse you can really count on. Never since I have had her has she taken a wrong step or said no. She just has that type of attitude that reminds me an awful lot of Ravel. She has the power and this beautiful soft connection," he smiled. "When we retired Ravel I didn't think I would ever get that feeling again in the show arena, and it is a true honor to ride a horse like that not just in the show ring, but every single day."

Peters will look to continue educating the mare at the Grand Prix level but will be very careful not to push too hard because of her young age. "When I get home I would like to work on the transition from piaffe to passage and the straightness of the changes. Otherwise I am perfectly happy, and it is just sensational for an eight-year-old horse to be at this level. I would be silly to criticize her."

Charlotte Jorst has another ribbon winning ride aboard her Dutch warmblood stallion Nintendo (by Negro x Monaco). The dark bay stallion rushes and gets quick in the trot extensions, but the half passes were delightful. The passage work is very regular but the nose could be more at the vertical. In the extended walk Nintendo achieved two hooves overstep but lost the clarity in the rhythm. The first piaffe was slightly forward, the second was nicely on the spot but Nintendo lost a bit of impulsion there. The two tempi changes were correct but a mistake followed in the ones. There was a loss of balance in the left pirouette and he was counter bent in the right one. The final centerline was lovely.

Charlotte Jorst on Nintendo Jorst and Nintendo have been together for a year and already gathered valuable show experience in California competing him at several national and a few international events on the West coast. "He always feels great. I'm still learning how long to warm him up and today I think I may have warmed him up a bit too much because if he comes out soft, he only needs ten minutes to feel great," she said commenting on her test today.

Jorst will compete again in two CDIs in March in Wellington and will look forward to a strong summer circuit in California. "I don't know what I'm going to do after California, but I'm going to continue competing because I have so much fun." Jorst will be adding a new mount to her growing string, as she recently purchased Akeem Foldager from Andreas Helgstrand in Denmark and the horse will arrive on U.S. soil next week. "I'm just over the moon, and we will see how I can ride him. Maybe he will be a Pan American Games contender, but I'm just going to see if I can ride him first and get the one and two tempis because they're the hardest for me, but if we can get them, I would love to go for it."

Shelly Francis (USA) and Pat Stempel's 11-year old Danilo (by De Niro x Andiamo) showed off well balanced trot half passes, a regular passage that could be a fraction more electric. There was a break in the extended trot and the extended walk was not so clear in the rhythm, lacking stretch and suppleness over the back. In the first piaffe Danilo shuffled a bit forward and in the second he struggled with the rhythm but the black gelding has amazing capabiity to sit and lift the legs. There was a mistake in the one tempi changes but the pirouettes were lovely, even though the right one could have more airtime in the strides.

Shelly Francis and Danilo Francis feels like she is starting to get a hold of Danilo's nerves in the ring. "If you overwhelm him he just gets hotter and hotter, so I am being really careful to make sure we don't fry him mentally and do it the right way. He is so talented physically, he just has a little bit of catching up to do mentally," she said.

The pair enjoys relaxing work sessions during the week to help keep the gelding calm and continue to build on their already solid relationship. "He's learning to trust me more, and he's staying much calmer. He really internalizes everything and starts to get nervous. We do a lot of work in the field several days a week and give him a chance to look at things. It's good for him. He's a very stimulated horse."