David Marcus and Chrevi's Capital. (SusanJStickle.com)
Fourteen horse and rider combinations showed in Thurday's FEI Grand Prix. Judging the class were Anne Gribbons (USA) at E, Lorraine MacDonald (CAN) at H, Wojek Markowski (POL) at C, Janet Foy (USA) at M, and Jennie Loriston-Clarke (GBR) at B.
David Marcus' mount, Chrevi's Capital (Chrevi's Lavallo x Weinberg), was steady in his performance this afternoon despite the cooler temperatures. Owner Deborah Miculinic was in attendance to see the win, which was quite exciting for both her and Marcus. With having competed at the AGDF last year, the 13-year-old dark bay Danish Warmblood gelding was very composed in Thursday's test.
"He really likes it here at (AGDF); he's really comfortable. I heard other horses were a little nervous as it was a bit cooler today, (but) he was really calm. He loves it here. He slept in the stall all morning. He feels at home," stated Marcus.
The pair received a final score of 70.340% for victory. They were the last to attempt the test and definitely stood out. Marcus thought the strongest part of his test was Chrevi's consistency. "He just went in and did everything I asked of him," Marcus said. "As always, the real highlights were his extensions, beautiful walk, and canter pirouettes. I was very happy with the piaffe work he did today."
This being the second year of Chrevi's Capital's Grand Prix career, Marcus was, "really happy with today." He continued, "My goal was to come to the show and build on the last two weeks. After this, he gets a bit of a break. He did exactly what I wanted him to do. A clean test, no mistakes. And he let me really ride him. I couldn't ask for more."
In looking towards the future, Marcus is only focused on getting him stronger and building his power a little bit more. "If the World Cup fits into that, that would be great, but the big goal is Normandy (for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games) next year," envisioned Marcus.
Lisa Wilcox (USA), riding Horses Unlimited Inc.'s Pikko del Cerro HU (Pik L x Rohdiamant) was the first to show and was leading with a score of 68.234% until 10 trips later when Sweden's Tinne Vilhelmson-Silfven took over the top spot with a score of 70.319% atop Antonia Ax:son Johnson's Divertimento (Di Versace x Ferragamo).
Competition continues Friday with multiple classes, including the thrilling FEI Grand Prix Freestyle tomorrow evening at 7:30 pm. On Sunday is the FEI Grand Prix Special.
Final Results: FEI Grand Prix sponsored by The Dutta Corp.
Chrevi's Capital, David Marcus (CAN): E: 69.255%, H: 70.638%, C: 68.404%, M: 71.702%, B: 71.702%, Total: 70.340%
Divertimento, Tinne Vilhelmson-Silfven (SWE): E: 69.894%, H: 70.426%, C: 70.000%, M: 72.340%, B: 68.936%, Total: 70.319%
Pikko del Cerro HU, Lisa Wilcox (USA): E: 65.957%, H: 68.830%, C: 66.596%, M: 71.064%, B: 68.723%, Total: 68.234%
Lindor's Finest, Jaimey Irwin (CAN): E: 65.638%, H: 66.809%, C: 63.723%, M: 69.149%, B: 68.723%, Total: 66.809%
Currency DC, Susan Dutta (USA): E: 65.745%, H: 65.213%, C: 64.787%, M: 68.191%, B: 64.681%, Total: 65.723%
Devon L, Diane Creech (CAN): E: 65.000%, H: 66.596%, C: 63.723%, M: 66.596%, B: 64.681%, Total: 65.319%
Paganini, Cheryl Meisner (CAN): E: 62.447%, H: 65.319%, C: 61.915%, M: 67.766%, B: 65.106%, Total: 64.511%
Jewel's Adelante, Elaine Cordia-Van Reesema (USA): E: 63.511%, H: 65.319%, C: 61.277%, M: 66.277%, B: 64.574%, Total: 64.191%