Ottawa, ON—Canadian Olympian Belinda Trussell of Stouffville, ON, won all three small tour FEI classes at the New England Dressage Association Fall Festival Of Dressage, CDI-W Saugerties, held in Saugerties, NY, September 10–14, 2008.
Riding the eight-year-old German-bred gelding Anton (Antaeus x Melit) owned by Robyn Eames, Trussell started the competition off by handily winning the Prix St. Georges class with a score of 69.650%, which was close to 3% higher than her nearest competitor. Linda Robert of Terrebonne, QC aboard Daniel Barolet’s Wedding Surprise (World Cup III x Imperator), a 15-year-old Hanoverian gelding, finished in fourth place with 66.000%. Lee Tubman of Dunnville, ON, riding De La Rosa, Ducat Developments’ seven-year-old Hanoverian mare sired by De Niro, received a score of 64.600% for fifth place.
“He is getting more and more confident in the ring and with the show environment,†noted Trussell of her young mount Anton. “I’ve been working on his trot tour and this was my best Prix St. Georges test that I have ever had on him. He is always one step ahead of me, and I have to work to keep up with him. He is just amazing.â€
In the Intermediaire I class, Trussell and Anton were again victorious with a score of 68.000%. Robert and Wedding Surprise also finished fourth, earning 64.100%.
In the Intermediaire I Freestyle, Trussell and Anton once again shone, performing to music from the soundtrack of Bee Movie, earning the class winning score 72.100%. Wedding Surprise and Robert moved up one place to finish in third with 67.950%. With a score of 65.600%, Tubman and De La Rosa finished in fourth and Olympian Gina Smith, of Brockville, ON,finished in fifth place riding Frappuccino, a nine-year-old Westphalian gelding owned by Smith and Faith Berghuis, with 64.900%.
Simone Williams and her 10-year-old Hanoverian gelding, Wunder Ein (Wolkenstein II x Maat) won the Intermediaire II class with a score of 64.488%.
In the Grand Prix, Olympian Cindy Ishoy of Lynden, ON, finished in fifth place, with Dread Response (Donnerschlag x Rosenkavalier), an 11-year-old Rheinlander gelding owned by Joseph Saul.
Williams and Wunder Ein placed third in the Grand Prix Freestyle with a score of 65.550%, while Ishoy and Dread Response finished sixth.
In the FEI Junior division, Ester Geller of Toronto, ON, won the Freestyle, and finished third in both the Team and Individual tests aboard her horse PG Ganda (Racot x Gay Baron XX), a 16-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding.
The international judging panel included Peter Holler (GER—FEI I) Gary Rockwell (USA—FEI O), Axel Steiner (USA—FEI O), Leif Toernblad (DEN—FEI O), and Cara Whitham (CAN—FEI O).
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