Shelly Francis and Danilo (SusanJStickle.com)
Judges for the class were: Cesar Torrente at E, Stephen Clarke at H, Anne Gribbons at C, Lilo Fore at M, and Raphael Saleh at B.
Brittany Fraser (CAN) and All In secured a second place finish with a score of 69.500% Germany's Kevin Kohmann finished third aboard Zephyr with a final score of 68.158%.
Francis, of Loxahatchee, FL, was very pleased with her young horse's performance in Friday's test. "He was very lovely. He's really green. Sometimes he's hard to keep in a nice, steady rhythm at the trot because he offers lots of gears in the trot, but he was lovely today. He's so sweet, he just goes around like, 'Where do you want me to go next?'" Francis described.
Danilo, a nine-year-old Hanoverian gelding owned by Patricia Stempel, has already had a successful campaign in the Prix St. Georges this season. "He's done really well," Francis commented. "He's won almost every class he's been in so far. This is only his second CDI."
Francis described the striking black gelding as a well-rounded mount with a wide arsenal of talent. "His canter work absolutely [is his biggest strength]. Later on [in the test], his piaffe and passage were really super, as well as his extended trots. He's actually good all around. The hardest thing to keep good is his half pass, but he's learning to get better by the day," Francis remarked.
Peacock Ridge was also the presenting sponsor of the FEI Pony, Junior, and Young Rider classes. The winner of the FEI Pony Team class was Melanie Doughty (USA) on Command Performance. In the FEI Junior Team class, Lindsey Holleger (USA) on Friedensfurst took first place with a score of 66.946% over five other entries. The FEI Young Rider Team class was Madison Lawson (CAN) on McGuire; they scored a 63.368%.
Competition for the Wellington CDI 5* of the AGDF continues Saturday with the FEI Intermediare-1, which will begin at 9:00 am at The Stadium at PBIEC. The Stadium will also play host to the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle, which will be showcased under the lights beginning at 7:30 pm.
Final Results: FEI Prix St. Georges, presented by Peacock Ridge
Rider, Country, Horse: Judge E%, Judge H%, Judge C%, Judge M%, Judge B%, Total%
1 Shelly Francis (USA), Danilo: 72.105%, 75.132%, 73.553%, 73.684%, 68.421%, 72.579%
2 Brittany Fraser (CAN), All In: 72.237%, 67.763%, 69.079%, 67.763%, 70.658%, 69.500%
3 Kevin Kohmann (GER), Zephyr: 68.684%, 68.684%, 68.026%, 69.211%, 66.184%, 68.158%
4 Evi Strasser (CAN), Rigaudon Tyme: 67.500%, 67.632%, 67.632%, 67.632%, 70.132%, 68.105%
5 Carlos Munoz(ESP), Klouseau: 68.158%, 67.237%, 67.237%, 70.000%, 66.711%, 67.868%
6 Marco Bernal (COL), Farewell IV: 68.947, 67.763%, 66.711%, 68.421%, 64.474%, 67.263%