Dressage
Dressage riders on the West Coast competed under the California sun this weekend at the Dressage Affaire CDI3* held at the Del Mar Horse Park. Steffen Peters continued to demonstrate his dominance in U.S. dressage, winning in all seven of his outings. With 2009 Horse of the Year, Ravel, Peters blew away the competition winning by nine percentage points in both the Grand Prix (77.660%) and Grand Prix Special (77.375%). Adrienne Lyle and Wizard put in two excellent performances to finish second in both classes. In the freestyle, Guenter Seidel and U II finished first with a 72.300%.

In the Prix St. Georges with Weltino’s Magic, Peters beat out Seidel and Trinity with a score of 73.105%. Seidel and Trinity went on to shine in the Intermediaire I test, winning with ease. Canadian Joni Lynn Peters and Travolta were the Intermediaire I Freestyle champions.

For full results please visit http://www.devonwoodscores.com.

Jumping
Show jumping action continued in Wellington, FL, at the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival this week with four U.S. riders advancing to the jump-off in the CN $200,000 FEI World Cup™ Qualifier. McLain Ward, currently ranked number one on the Rolex/USEF Show Jumping Ranking List, and his two-time Olympic veteran, Sapphire, finished second, narrowly missing top honors by a little over 1/10 of a second to Rodrigo Pessoa (BRZ) and Night Train. Lauren Hough and Rich Fellers, both of whom were also named to the Show Jumping Long List for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games along with Ward, finished third and fourth, respectively.

For more information about the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival, please visit http://www.equestriansport.com. Complete results are available on www.shownet.biz.

On the West Coast, the 2010 HITS Desert Circuit Thermal wrapped up with the $300,000 Lamborghini Grand Prix of the Desert. A large class with 41 starters saw only seven clear rounds. U.S. riders Susie Hutchison riding Cantano finished third while Keri Potter riding Rockford I ended up sixth.

For more information about the HITS Desert Circuit or results, please visit http://www.hitsshows.com.

Para-Equestrian
Also getting in on the action at Del Mar this weekend were the para-dressage riders. The Dressage Affaire FEI CPEDI3* served as a qualifying event for those riders wishing to complete in the Selection Trials for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. The trials will be held June 24-27 at the Lamplight Equestrian Center in Wayne, IL. Wendy Fryke and Lateran swept the Grade III division, winning the Team, Individual and Freestyle by at least five percentage points. Grade IV rider Susan Treabess, who was born without her left hand, triumphed aboard Moneypenny. The combination took top honors in the Team, Individual and also the Freestyle with a score of 72.417%. Sponsor Bornè Saddlery presented Treabess with a custom dressage saddle for her top score.

For full results, please visit http://www.devonwoodscores.com.

For more information about the U.S. High Performance programs see: www.usef.org/_IFrames/breedsDisciplines/discipline/international.aspx.

The U.S. will send teams in eight different disciplines to the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Lexington, KY, in September of 2010. Watch this space for information about the best in the U.S. on the road to Kentucky.

ENDS

For more information or to submit High Performance news, please e-mail: [email protected].