Burbank, CA - Brisk spring weather made for fresh horses and hot competition today in San Juan Capistrano, CA during the Festival of the Horse CDI 3*/Y/J Presented By HorseShow.com. The highlight of the day was the Olympic Grand Prix Special Test, where maintenance of composure amid challenging tests was the name of the day. "This definitely was a very interesting and exciting class," noted Lorraine MacDonald (4* CAN), President of the Ground Jury. Once again emerging victorious was past Olympian Steffen Peters (USA) with Four Winds Farm's ten-year-old Westfalen gelding "Legolas 92" (Laomedon x Fuerstin by Florestan II). Despite some mistakes, the pair's many strengths earned a winning score of 75.933%. Second was fellow Olympian Guenter Seidel (USA) riding Fandango (1996 Oldenburg gelding [Fein Brandt x Stutgard by Figaro]) on a score of 71.089% for owner Toyon Farm, while Kathleen Raine (USA) earned 68.244% to place third with the Hanoverian mare "Breanna" (by Brentano II, owned by Raine and Jennifer Mason).
In the small tour, David Blake (USA) built upon his first day's success by riding Willard and Teresa Simmons' Oldenburg stallion "Royal Prinz" (Royal Diamond x Mystica by Dream of Glory) to a second victory in the Intermediaire I Test (70.921%). "This pair really stood out as the clear winner," noted judge Lorraine MacDonald. "It was an elegant test in which the horse really flowed forward and looked like a happy athlete. There's still room for improvement and even bigger scores, but he's definitely going in the right direction." Steffen Peters (USA) finished second with the 8-year-old Hanoverian gelding "Sundance 8" (Shakespeare in Love x Daylight by De Niro) for owner Margaret Koster with a score of 68.421%. Finishing in third was Mette Rosencrantz (USA) riding Anne Solbraekke's "Mosegaards Rico" (12-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding by Robin) with 67.588%.
Veteran Young Rider Mackinzie Pooley (USA) rode Deena Smith's 12-year-old Oldenburg gelding "Brigadier" (Batido x Lady Deco by Art Deco) to top a competitive field in the CDI Young Rider Individual Test with a score of 67.456%, followed by Laura Price (USA) earning 67.281% with Joan Cvengros' "Grand Makana" (12-year-old Hanoverian gelding [Goodman x Waidwerk]), and Canada's Monica Houweling on "Rifradin" (1998 Dutch Warmblood mare [Gribaldi x Atradin by Formateur] owned by Linda Houweling) with 67.193%. Meanwhile, placings in the CDI Junior Individual class mirrored those of the previous day's Team Test. Kalynn Harrington (USA) claimed top honors with "Raison d'Etre" (1998 American Warmblood gelding [Regulus x Little Doozie by Uzi] owned by Elly Schobel) to a score of 64.079%. Julia Burke (CAN) placed second on her own 9-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding "Patrick" (Balhinrobe Pearl x Serena Dawn by Northern Minuet) with 62.763%, while Cassidy Gallman (USA) was third with 58.860% with "Woden" (1998 Hanoverian gelding, Weltmeyer x Derby by Ankum).
Complete results are available at this link http://www.cornerstonedressage.com/show_results.asp. In addition, videos of select CDI rides sponsored by HorseShow.com (including the top-finishing Intermediaire I rides in addition to all Grand Prix Special tests) are available on Cornerstone's designated YouTube channel at this link: http://www.youtube.com/user/DressageCornerstone/videos.