Wellington Dressage at the 2006 Winter Equestrian Festival wrapped up on Sunday, February 5, following four days of dressage competition at the Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club in Wellington, FL. More than 200 horses from across the country competed in the four-ring show, which included 60 classes encompassing Training Level through Grand Prix. Featured classes were the qualifying competitions for the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games Selection Trials, and qualifiers for the 2006 Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF National Grand Prix Championship and Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF National Intermediaire I Championship.

Thursday Highlights
Kicking off opening day competition, 1996 Atlanta Olympics Team Bronze Medalist Michelle Gibson riding Lex Barker won the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Prix St. Georges, a qualifier for the 2006 Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF National Intermediaire I Championship. Gibson and the 10-year-old 17.2-hand chestnut Hanoverian gelding topped a class of 11 horses with a score of 70.00%. Elite European Sport Horse, Inc., based out of Hinsdale, IL, owns Lex Barker. Nicole Bellah riding her own Avante-Garde scored 67.25% to claim second place. Silke Rembacz aboard DaCapo for owner Sheila Buchbinder earned 66.25% for third place.

She said the youngster was greenbroke when she started his training, and she has developed him to his current level. Though she said the 2008 Beijing Olympics would be “cutting it close” for the talented chestnut who has not yet shown the Grand Prix, Gibson is not ruling out a bid for a berth on the team. Gibson is currently aiming Lex Barker for the Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF National Intermediaire I Championships that will be held June 15-18 at the USET Foundation headquarters in Gladstone, NJ.

In open competition, Jan Brons of Wellington riding Focus for owner Karen McKean won the FEI Intermediaire II, scoring 66.911% to top a field of 11 horses. In the PSG A Section, Ashley Holzer of Canada topped a field of 13 horses with a score of 69.333% aboard Maximillian owned by Ellen Lazarus. In the PSG B Section for Adult Amateurs and Juniors, Robin Shehan and her 15-year-old Danish gelding Marsaelis were the winners over a field of seven horses with a score of 62.333%.

Friday Highlights
Qualifying classes for the 2006 WEG Selection Trials and the 2006 Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF National Grand Prix Championship began with Michael Barisone of Long Valley, NJ, aboard Neruda claiming victory in the USEF Grand Prix over a field of 14 horse-and-rider combinations on a score of 69.292%. Katherine Bateson-Chandler riding FBW Kennedy placed second, scoring 68.194%. Charlotte Bredahl Baker, a member of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics Bronze Medal Team, claimed third with Komo, receiving 68.056%.

Barisone has not shown the 11-year-old 17.2-hand Dutch gelding for six months. Their last outing was at the 2005 Grand Prix Championship at Gladstone where they placed third. Since then, Barisone has worked on his horse’s fitness by implementing an interval plan designed by legendary eventer Jimmy Wofford, trained two to four times a month with six-time Olympian Robert Dover, and also received help from U.S. Dressage Team Coach Klaus Balkenhol. Barisone owns Neruda with his sponsors Jane and Salo Suwalsky.

The qualifiers for the Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF National Intermediaire I Championship continued, marking the second victory in two days for Gibson and Lex Barker. The duo won the Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Intermediaire I with a score of 72.250%, topping a field of 14 competitors. Nicole Bellah riding Avante-Garde claimed second with 67.833%. Silke Rembacz riding DaCapo earned third place with 66.167%.

Laura Noyes of Wellington aboard her 11-year-old Trahkener, Syncro, won the FEI Young Rider Team Test, one of the Region