Steffen Peters' magical weekend continued on the final day of competition at the 2016 CDI-W Burbank, held January 28-31 in Burbank, California. This time aboard 9-year-old Rhinelander mare Rosamunde, Peters posted another personal best in the Grand Prix Special with a score of 78.827%, once again setting the standard for the rest of the country with the highest score for this test to date in a 2016 FEI competition on the East or West coast.
The pair's impressive performance comes on the heels of two additional record-setting rides Peters posted in the CDI-W Grand Prix and Freestyle with Legolas.
"I don't know if Rosie and Legolas are having a secret competition at night when they talk to each other across the stall wall, but each of them certainly upped their game and gave me some of their best work this weekend. But they adore each other, so it must just be a friendly rivalry and good healthy competition," Peters laughed. "Rosie had lots of good energy in the Special even though it was the last day of competition, and this showed with an improvement in her piaffe/passage transitions. With the exception of our right pirouette being a little big, it was a very clean test. I thought it was even better than Friday's Grand Prix test, and I'm delighted that the judges thought the same thing."
Peters has noted previously that he was hesitant to ask Rosie (by Rock Forever x Fidermark) for too much with certain elements of the Grand Prix work, waiting until the young mare became stronger and more experienced. But Sunday's test may have been a turning point. "In the extensions I've held her back before, but today she wanted to go for it and for the first time I didn't ask her to do less," he explained. "She wanted to go and I said, 'okay, let's go with it and see what happens'. So it's wonderful to see that she was ready for it."
Finishing second in the Special was Canada's Joni Lynn Peters, who rode her Dutch Warmblood gelding Travolta (by Ferro x Landwind II) to 66.196%.
by Jennifer Keeler - Photo © Terri Miller
Related Link
Scores 2016 CDI-W Burbank
Peters and Legolas Earn Another Personal Best on Second Day of 2016 CDI-W Burbank
Steffen Peters Earns Highest 2016 CDI Grand Prix Score at 2016 CDI-W Burbank