After a few weeks break, west coast-based dressage athletes returned to the Desert International Horse Park (DIHP) for the second installment of the Adequan® Desert Dressage series. With the sun shining brightly down on both the national and international show riders, the opening day of competition at the Adequan® Desert Dressage II CDI-W featured four CDI classes. In the Hof Kasselmann CDI3* Grand Prix, Croatia’s Karen Pavicic took the win aboard Totem, while the United States’ Carly Taylor-Smith and Rosalut NHF rode to victory in the Four Winds Farm CDI-W Short Grand Prix.

Competition reached a pinnacle Friday afternoon with the Four Winds Farm CDI-W Short Grand Prix in the International Arena. A competitive lineup of horse-and-rider combinations made up the start list, with qualification for Saturday’s Buffini & Company CDI-W Grand Prix Freestyle on the agenda. Taylor-Smith and Nikki Taylor-Smith’s Rosalut NHF (Rosenthal X Legacy) rode to a score of 69.053% from the judges, which would place them at the top of the leaderboard. Taylor-Smith and the 11-year-old Oldenburg gelding had never ridden the short format Grand Prix test prior to Friday’s competition, which led to some nerves from Rosalut NHF while on course. Having had the gelding since he was a foal, Taylor-Smith has developed him through the ranks and hopes to continue to give him experience at Grand Prix while improving upon his scores.

Guenter Seidel and Equirelle, a 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare, received second place in the Four Winds Farm CDI-W Short Grand Prix. The Leatherdale Farms and Louise Leatherdale owned entry scored a 68.395% with Seidel in the irons, and will go on to compete in the Buffini & Company CDI-W Grand Prix Freestyle Saturday afternoon.

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