FEI Intermediaire I Test Results
FEI Grand Prix Special Test Results
The Dutta Corp./USEF Intermediaire I Dressage National Championship
Christina Vinios and Folkestone OLD (SusanJStickle.com)
In what is shaping up to be a hotly contested battle for National Championship honors, the field of eight Small Tour combinations went to task in the FEI Intermediaire I Test this morning, which accounted for 45% of their overall championship score. Karol (Concord, Mass.) rode her mare, Sunshine Tour, through a powerful performance to score 69.105%. Karol moved up from third, overall, and now sits on a two day total of 58.488.
“I have spent a lot of years riding conservatively, and with Robert Dover’s help [in the warm-up], I really went for it today. It was a great experience to be able to put more excitement [in the test] and power. She is a very game horse; she wants to go and to please,” said Karol.
Remaining in the lead, overall, is Vinios (Wellington, Fla.) and her own Folkestone OLD, scoring 68.685% for an overall total of 59.161. The pair put forth a strong effort in light of several mistakes, showing real strength in their trot work and collected walk.
“I just had too many mistakes [today]; the first one rattled me and I didn’t put it out of my mind to go on to the next movement. He was really a good boy though; everything I asked him he did well,” said Vinios.
Placing third in today’s class, and sitting third overall by the slimmest of margins, is Shelly Francis (Loxahatchee, Fla.) and Patricia Stempel’s Rubinio. Despite bobbles in the flying changes and right pirouette, the test flowed nicely and the pair scored a 67.763%. They are now just .250 behind Karol in the overall standings, putting extra emphasis on the importance of Saturday’s Freestyle.
The Dutta Corp./USEF Grand Prix Dressage National Championship
Laura Graves and Verdades (SusanJStickle.com)
Increasing her lead in the overall standings, Graves (Geneva, Fla.) and her own Verdades impressed with a fluid and dynamic test, scoring 77.137%. Today’s test contributed 40% towards the overall championship score, the 2014 Reserve National Champions now lead by almost three points on an overall total of 65.262.
“This is normally a better test for us; the transitions in [the Grand Prix Special] seem to work better for this horse. I was really happy with my canter half-passes; they rode really nicely. Our changes felt good. It was steady – when I stepped on the gas, he was there for me and was excellent.”
Maintaining second and third place overall and finishing second and third in today’s test, was Steffen Peters (San Diego, Calif.). His Four Winds Farms owned mounts swapped places on the leaderboard though, with Rosamunde now sitting in second and Legolas 92 extremely close behind in third. After disappointing performances for Peters on day one, today’s tests proved his masterful ability to put yesterday out of mind and rise to the occasion. Rosamunde performed beautifully for Peters, scoring a 74.549% and moving up to second on the leaderboard with 62.499. Sitting mere fractions of a point behind his stablemate was Legolas 92, earning a 72.412% in the test and dropping to third in the championship rankings on 62.364.
Speaking fondly of Rosamunde’s performance, Peters said of the mare: “For an eight-year-old horse, it’s the best test she’s done so far. I can’t really pinpoint a single movement, it was just the overall feeling – how she floats through the test and how awesome the connection is. The highlight of the test is really how she tries for me.”
Competition continues Saturday with the eagerly anticipated Freestyle tests for both divisions.
Saturday’s Ride Times
General admission to the competition is free; please visit gdf.coth.com for more information. All championship competition will be live streamed and available on-demand on USEFNetwork.com.