Leipzig, Germany – Ashley Holzer and Havanna 145 received a personal best 72.519 percent from the panel in their first championship appearance together as a combination, while Anna Buffini and FRH Divinia La Douce earned a 69.342 percent, with both pairs looking to show off their freestyle choreography on Saturday evening under the lights in the Leipzig Messe.

Holzer (New York, N.Y.) and Havanna 145, a 2007 Hanoverian mare owned by Diane Fellows, impressed in their FEI Short Grand Prix test to secure their highest score of their partnership together at Big Tour. Holzer had originally given the ride back to Havanna’s owner, Fellows, before revisiting their partnership after the mare looked fresh and eager to compete at the international level again.

“I’m thrilled. I think for my mare to come and perform like this when she’s never been in an atmosphere like this. She just went in there and tried her absolute hardest and she was just amazing,” said Holzer. “The highlight for me was going clean. It’s such a short test and mistakes are incredibly costly because there’s no time to make it up. I really was focused on going clean.”

Holzer thanked her friend and stand-in coach Katherine Bateson-Chandler for her help this week, as the pair train consistently together at home in Florida and Bateson-Chandler can push Holzer in the right way to get the best out of Havanna.

“She’s amazing and she sees the mare train every day, so she knows how she goes and what we can do. She really knows when to push me and when to not push me and knows how much to push the mare or to not push her and that really was a security blanket because she knows her so well. It’s been a long road to get here with this horse and she’s really just surprised me more and more – I’m just thrilled for everyone involved,” she added.

In their debut FEI Dressage World Cup Final and the first combination to enter down the centerline, Anna Buffini (San Diego, Calif.) and FRH Davinia La Douce produced a score of 69.342 percent, a score which Buffini is eager to improve on in Saturday’s Freestyle competition.

“I was happy with a lot of the ride. Something we wanted to prepare we executed on really well and then there were some other things that were tight, and we had a few mistakes, so to come out with a positive feeling and a nice score with things to work on is always a good feeling,” said Buffini. “I’m looking forward to everything about Saturday. If I could only ride Freestyles forever I would. She always kills and I love it,” she smiled.

The FEI Dressage World Cup Final will continue on Saturday, April 9, with the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle beginning at 7:10 p.m. GMT+2/1:10 p.m. EST to conclude the 2022 edition of competition.

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