Three different horse and rider combinations from three different nations claimed victory in the big tour classes at the 2015 CDI Deauville on 24 - 26 July 2015. Australian Kristy Oatley and Ronan took out the Grand Prix with 70.080%, Ukraine's Inna Logutenkova and Don Gregorius won the Special on 72.020%, and French Claire Gosselin and Karamel de Lauture blitzed the Kur on 72.825%.
Oatley won the opening Grand Prix class on her 15-year old Ronan (by Riccione x Contender) after a struggling season start at the CDI Hagen in April, where they retired at the end of their Grand Prix. At the CDI Arnheim last month they recovered, but in Deauville all came into place.
“Ronan did one of his best tests ever," said Kristy. “Very harmonious, and I particularly enjoyed the canter tour.”
Oatley was quite successful in Deauvlle having brought three horses to show: Ronan, Swagman, Qualia and Du Soleil. Qualia she had to withdraw from the show but the Hamburg based Oatley finished 8th in the Prix St Georges and first in the Intermediaire I on the 11-year old Du Soleil (by Niro x Caprimond) with a score of 68.263%. Kristy says that the Prix St Geroges was a bit all over the place with too many mistakes.
“It was my first outing with him and I wasn't sure what to expect, so in the Intermediaire I we went in with much more confidence, but still only on 50% of his power, and were delighted to win that test with 72.053%."
Her second Grand Prix horse Swagman (by Sandro Hit x Don Schufro) finished last in the Grand Prix with 59%. Kristy explained that Swagman is still very green and needs more time to gain experience. “We had mistakes everywhere and he was spooky," she said.
With three Grand Prix horses currently in training with Sjef Janssen in Holland, Kristy says that Swagman, Du soleil, and 10-year old Qualia (by Quando Quando x Donnerhall) all just need more ring experience.
“I love going to Holland to train, so I opt to go there and train rather than compete at the smaller shows, but I now need to try and combine both training and competition a little more to get them exposed to new environments. I also have three children to take care of and they come first," she explained.
With her home base in Hamburg, Oatley relies on her groom Katharina Buchholz as her eyes on the ground there, plus bereiter Stefanie Hilger who keeps the horses in work when she is away. “I ride each horse individually according to what they need," she added.
Heading off to Sydney for three weeks while the kids are on school holidays, Kristy plans to enjoy her time at home in Australia and then reboot on her return to Europe and make a new competition plan.
Inna Logutenkova and her 13-year old Don Gregorius (by Don Cardinale), were victors in the Special on 72.020%. Inna is excited to begin her one week's rest before the big one in Aachen. "Grisha" has been owned by Inna's sponsor for nine years and she began to ride him five years ago.
“He really likes competition and as this was not our first time in Deauville I am happy that our results here are always improving," said Logutenkova.
Making a costly mistake in the Grand Prix to finish fifth, in the Special Inna had Don Gregorius more together.
"He was just amazing. “I was happy happy, and even the big rain in the middle of our test couldn’t stop us," she said.
Inna's second horse Fleraro, a 12-year old gelding by Flemming, finished eighth in the Grand Prix. This was only the horse's third Grand Prix start.
“At every show his result improvesand he has a big heart," she said. "In Deauville we improved on our trot tour, and produced some super passage. I was particularly lucky not to compete with him in bad weather as he is really not a big fan of wild conditions.”
With her own stable in Belgium, Inna has regular lessons with Sjef Janssen and hopes to head to the CDI Perl in Germany in September
French rider Claire Gosselin and her 17-year old liver chestnut stallion Karamel de Lauture (by Gribaldi x Donbito van de Helle) scored 72.825% to win the Grand Prix kur to Music in a final victory before ending their season.
"I'll finish this show season now, because we are not selected for the European Championships. I will be rooting for my team mates," said Claire. “I think Karamel and I will ride again a similar season in 2016, and this will be the end of Karamel's career. He showed he was very strong and that we could rely on him. It is a pillar for potential team when we need a safe horse. I was very confident for this freestyle test, I knew it would come out well."
by Sarah Warne - Photos © Pixelevents
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