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Canadian snowbirds posted top scores at the first FEI competition of the 2015 season at the Global Dressage Festival 1 presented by Adequan, held at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington, Fla., Jan. 8-11, 2015.
In the CDI-W division, 2014 World Equestrian Games team member Karen Pavicic of Surrey, B.C., rode her games mount, Don Daiquiri, a 13-year-old Oldenburg gelding sired by Don Cardinale that she co-owns with Jayne Essig, to a fifth place finish in the Grand Prix Freestyle, scoring 71.675%. Canadian Olympian Jacqueline Brooks of Cedar Valley, Ont. rode her 2012 Olympic mount, D Niro (D-Day x Napoleon 625), a 16-year-old Swedish Warmblood gelding owned by Mary Brooks and Brookhaven Dressage Inc., to a ninth place finish with a score of 70.525%.
In the CDI1* Small Tour, Megan Lane, 2014 World Equestrian Games team member, from Loretto, Ont., rode San D’Or (Sandro Hit x Cocktail), Deer Ridge Equestrian’s nine-year-old Westphalian gelding, to third place in the Prix St. Georges test with a score of 69.211%. The pair was also second in the Intermediate I test with 70.842%.
“At GDF I, we had a great start to the much anticipated Florida show season. I always look forward to competing in Wellington. The shows are so well organized and the venue and competitors are world class,” said Lane. “San D’Or had a super debut. I have been riding and training him since he was purchased by Deer Ridge Equestrian as a three-year-old, and he still continues to amaze me with his willingness and ability.”
“Under the coaching of Christilot Boylen, our goal this year with San D’Or is to pursue a spot on the Canadian Team for the Pan American Games,” added Lane. “I was really pleased to see how relaxed and strong he was at this early stage of competition. San D’Or, without a doubt, has more confidence every time we come down the centreline. He loves the spotlight, and continues to be happy in his work, which is a big priority of mine as we progress through the levels. That was my focus going into this first show, and finishing near the top of a very competitive class is the best of both worlds.”
Canadian Shannon Dueck, who is based in Florida, finished in fourth (68.737%) in the Prix St. Georges test with Cantaris (Compliment x Eiger I), Elizabeth Ferber’s 12-year-old Hanoverian gelding. Riding Douglas Leatherdale’s Robbie W, a 12-year-old Oldenburg gelding sired by Rubin Royal, Diane Creech of Caistor Centre, Ont., placed fifth with 67.947%.
In the Intermediate I test, Creech and Robbie W were third with 70.026%, while Dueck and Cantaris were fourth scoring 69.737%.
The ground jury for the event consisted of Maribel Alonso de Quinzanos MEX FEI 5*, Kurt Christensen DEN FEI 4*, Eduard de Wolff van Westerrode NED FEI 5*, Anne Gribbons USA FEI 5*, Natalie Lamping USA FEI 4*, Magnus Ringmark SWE FEI 4*, Gary Rockwell USA FEI 5*, Christof Umbach LUX FEI 4*, Freddy Leyman BEL FEI 4*, Kjell Myhre NOR FEI 4*, and Kristi Wysocki USA FEI 3*.
Complete results for the Global Dressage Festival I presented by Adequan may be found here: www.foxvillage.com/fvdshowresults/%280rc1hq55zhx2ym55d1asssbo%29/ClassList.aspx?sh=2736&st=1.
