Young Riders - Team Championship Test
- 1. Amanda Stearns - Revanche - 64.178%
- 2. Caroline Roffman - Travell - 62.444%
Young Riders - Prix St Georges
- 1. Caroline Roffman - Travell - 66.450%
- 2. Amanda Stearns - Revanche - 62.650%
Young Riders - Kur to Music
- 1. Caroline Roffman - Travell - 64.500%
- 2. Amanda Stearns - Revanche - 64.000%
Prix St Georges
- 1. Shelly J. Francis - Wig Wam - 67.850% (USA)
- 2. Marco Bernal - Halbgott - 65.700% (Colombia)
- 3. Marco Bernal - Putphyr-Inshala - 65.350% (Colombia)
- 4. Arlene F. Page - Alina - 65.250% (USA)
- 5. Katherine Bateson - Rutherford - 65.150% (USA)
- 6. Lars Petersen - Red Romance DC- 64.450% (Denmark)
- 7. Marco Bernal - Farewell IV - 63.900% (Colombia)
- 8. Catherine Malone - Don Sarok - 63.350% (USA)
- 9. Susan J Dutta - Manette DC - 62.700% (USA)
Shelly Francis rode Wig Wam to victory in the Prix St. Georges on the opening day of the CDI Wellington at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center Thursday. Francis and the eight-year-old bay gelding owned by Patricia Stempel scored 67.850 per cent ahead of Colombia's Marco Bernal who lives in Wellington, Fla. and finished in second place with Halbgott with 65.70 per cent and in third place with Puthyr-Inshala at 65.35 per cent. Francis found Wig Wam in Germany as a four-year-old in Germany at Johannes Westendarp's stable. She said she worried that he might be too big for her -- Wig Wam is now 17.2 hands and Francis is 5 ft. 1 1/4 ins. "It can be interesting in the veterinary jog," she laughs. But she describes Wig Wam as both "really cute" in his personality but "hot" with "lots of internal energy" and intelligence. Francis said that after another year at the small tour she expects Wig Wam to ready to show Grand Prix. Although she will be 50 in the next few weeks, instead of looking for "made" horses she prefers to buy young horses and train them herself as she did with Wig Wam. "I love the training as well as the competing," she said. "I am so lucky to have had the support of the Stempels to enable me to do what I love doing and to have the success they deserve."
Intermediaire I
- 1. Shelly J. Francis - Wig Wam - 69.000% (USA)
- 2. Arlene F. Page - Alina - 66.650% (USA)
- 3. Lars Petersen - Red Romance DC - 65.900% (Denmark)
- 4. Marco Bernal - Halbgott - 65.600% (Colombia)
- 5. Marco Bernal - Putphyr-Inshala - 65.000% (Colombia)
- 6. Katherine Bateson - Rutherford - 64.850% (USA)
- 7. Susan J Dutta - Manette DC - 64.050% (USA)
- 8. Marco Bernal - Farewell IV - 62.500% (Colombia)
- 9. Catherine Malone - Don Sarok - 59.500% (USA)
Intermediaire I Kur to Music
- 1. Shelly J. Francis - Wig Wam - 70.850% (USA)
- 2. Marco Bernal - Halbgott - 70.250% (Colombia)
Intermediaire II
- 1. Shelly J. Francis - Dominion - 64.683% (USA)
Grand Prix for Special
- 1. Betsy Rebar Sell - Wonderful Walden - 62.083% (USA)
- 2. Susan J Dutta - Golden Choice DC - 61.458% (USA)
- 3. Melissa Taylor - Schumacker Solyst - 60.208% (USA)
- 4. Paige V. Finnegan - Karola - 59.625% (USA)
Grand Prix Special
- 1. Paige V. Finnegan - Karola - 61.760% (USA)
- 2. Betsy Rebar Sell - Wonderful Walden - 61.600% (USA)
- 3. Melissa Taylor - Schumacker Solyst - 61.000% (USA)
- 4. Susan J Dutta - Golden Choice DC - 57.240% (USA)
Grand Prix for Freestyle
- 1. Lars Petersen - Succes - 67.125% (Denmark)
- 2. Catherine Morelli - Be Se - 65.708% (USA)
- 3. Mikala Munter Gundersen - Leonberg - 64.167% (Denmark)
- 4. Tara Stegen - New Tango - 63.333% (USA)
- 5. Arlene F. Page - Wild One - 63.000% (USA)
- 6. Shannon Dueck - Siciliano - 61.833% (Canada)
- 7. Marco Bernal - Diamore - 60.458% (Colombia)
- 8. Bent Jensen - Liberty Light - 60.333% (USA)
Denmark's Lars Petersen rode his 13-year-old Success to victory in the CDI 3* Grand Prix. Petersen, a former Olympian and longtime rider for Blue Hors, posted a score of 67.125 per cent with the Blue Hors Silvermoon gray gelding offspring despite a little tension. Catherine Morelli on Be Se finished second with 65.708 per cent and Mikala Munter Gundersen, who also now lives in Wellington, and Leonberg, with 64.167 per cent for third place
Petersen bought Success as a foal in Denmark and then brought him with him when he returned to live permanently in the U.S. almost seven years ago. He lives and trains in the Wellington area. Despite some earlier hoof problems, Petersen says they have been solved and he has been showing the 16.3-hand gelding consistently for the past 18 months. Petersen, 43, said his goal is to qualify for the FEI World Cup Final in Las Vegas next April. To that end, the pair won World Cup qualifiers at Saugerties, N.Y. and Devon, Penn. The pair scored high enough for qualification in 2008, but he would have had to go to Europe for an extended period. "I felt it was more important for me to stay here and take care of my customers," he said.
Grand Prix Kur to Music
- 1. Lars Petersen - Succes - 73.900%
- 2. Arlene F. Page - Wild One - 70.000%
- 3. Tara Stegen - New Tango - 67.550%
- 4. Mikala Munter Gundersen - Leonberg - 67.200%
- 5. Catherine Morelli - Be Se - 65.950%
- 6. Marco Bernal - Diamore - 65.700%
- 7. Shannon Dueck - Siciliano - 65.200%
- 8. Bent Jensen - Liberty Light - 64.100%
Lars Petersen played his crowd-wowing cartoon medley to Success to capture his second straight major Grand Prix Freestyle with a convincing win. The score of 73.90 per cent with four of the five judges awarding first place for the longtime partnership that began in Europe and flowered in America edged out 2006 World Cup Finalist Arlene "Tuny" Page and Wild One of the USA who placed second with 70.00 per cent and the USA's Tara Stegen and New Tango finished third on 67.55 per cent. Mikala Munter Gundersen, also of Denmark and the wife of Danish jumping Grand Prix rider Henrik Gundersen, rode the Horses Unlimited-owned Leonberg to fourth place with a score of 67.20 per cent. Several hundred spectators turned out in cool sub-tropical weather for the inaugural CDI during the holiday season in the newly remodeled Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. Choirs from Palm Beach area schools performed seasonal songs. "I'm really glad this show was added to the calendar," he said. "It is a beautiful show grounds with fabulous footing. If we didn't have this CDI we would have a break of almost four months between major competitions." Petersen said that if he qualifies for the 2009 FEI World Cup it will be with a new freestyle."It will still be the cartoon music that has been popular but it will be completely different than what I have been showing," he said.
Tuny Page, who is familiar to European audiences with her appearance with Wild One at the World Cup Final in Amsterdam in 2006 and appearances in other major shows, said she is back onb track with Wild One. She was working with Petersen in 2006, when he also had 30 horses in training at herStillpoint Farm in Wellington. "When he decided to move... I suddenly found that instead of dealing with one trainer I was dealing with several trainers and riders as well as trying to juggle my family," she said."I had a lot to manage." The past year had not been easy, she said, but believes that she now is managing well both her horses, Wild One and the 10-year-old Danish mare Alina. The goal now, she said, is "to trust the horse more thoroughly which in turn will give him more confidence." She said she has not set her sights on any specific championship such as World Cups or the 2010 World Equestrian Games in Lexington, Kentucky. "We're just taking it one show at a time," she said.