Spanish Olympian Morgan Barbançon Mestre has won the first World Cup qualifier in her career at the brand new 2016 CDI-W Augustowek in Poland on 2 - 4 September 2016. Hosted at the Bajardo riding club near Warsaw, the CDI-W Augustowek featured an Eastern European World Cup league qualifier which Morgan won aboard her Baden Wurttemberger mare Girasol.
Morgan and her 15-year old liver chestnut mare Girasol (by Gribaldi x Landioso) were second in the Grand Prix and then completed the mission in Poland by winning the kur to music with 75.350% and claiming those highly coveted 20 World Cup qualification points for the ranking.
"Girasol has improved a lot from Deauville to Poland," Barbançon explained. "The highlights were the piaffe, passage and the trot half passes. I still to have to figure out the correct way for the one tempi changes, but I was very pleased with how she went in the freestyle. It was my best test and feeling up till now."
Morgan also brought along her rising Grand Prix horse Sir Donnerhall II (by Sandro Hit x Donnerhall) which she has been competing in the Under 25 division this spring. Now moving him to the senior Grand Prix division, the dark bay licensed breeding stallion proved his worth and stood his ground. He scored 70.360% to place third in the Grand Prix.
"I was very happy with both my horses," said a thrilled Morgan. "Sir D has surprised me the most with how he went in the Grand Prix. It was a fault-free test with many highlights and still a lot of room for improvement. The feeling was great and he behaved very well."
After missing out on Spanish Olympic team selection, Morgan did not let it dampen her spirits and battled on. She won the CDI Deauville with Girasol in August and then picked Augustowek in Poland deliberately to make an early World Cup start this 2016-2017 winter show season.
"Augustowek was an interesting show for World cup points. I am aiming for the World Cup Finals this year so a kick-start with 20 points is always good," she said. "For this autumn I want to do the World Cup shows and show at the CDI 4 and 5* in Mallorca with both horses. Let's see where it will take us."
After a short training stint with Ton de Ridder, Morgan has returned back to her previous coach Andreas Helgstrand for his expertise. Morgan is based in Weert, The Netherlands, and gets trained by Helgstrand via a remote webcam system, which streams in real time.
"I am extremely happy to have gone back to Andreas," Morgan admitted. "He understands me as a rider and know how to push me. I always had a good connection with him and we worked well together. He already know my horses, so for us it is more pratical."
Photos © Lukasz Kowalski
Related Links
Morgan Barbançon and Girasol Find Their Stride at the 2016 CDI Deauville
Girasol to Morgan Barbancon Mestre
Morgan Barbancon Mestre's Painted Black Retired from Competition
Morgan Barbancon Honoured in Madrid as Best Spanish WEG Rider