Ottawa, ON—Canadian Olympian Ashley Holzer finished in fifth place in the Grand Prix test, on April 16, 2009, at the 2009 Federation Equestre International (FEI) Dressage World Cup Final taking place April 15–19, 2009, at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, NV.
Originally from Toronto, ON, but now a resident of New York, NY, Holzer scored 72.510% with Pop Art (Amsterdam x Cabochon), a 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Rusty Holzer and Ian and Moreen Nicoll.
“I was of course thrilled with my results. To be up there with the best in the world is a dream come true for me,” said Holzer. “My Grand Prix test had a very strong trot tour and some great piaffe and passage, but Pop Art was a bit tense in the ring, which lead to a small uncommon mistake in the two-time changes.”
American Olympian Steffen Peters is currently in first place with a score of 77.914%, riding his Olympic mount, Ravel, Akiko Yamazaki’s 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding sired by Contango. In second place, is 2008 individual Olympic gold medalist, Anky van Grusven of the Netherlands, with a score of 74.170%, riding IPS Painted Black, a 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood stallion sired by Gribaldi. In third place, with a score of 73.744%, is 2008 Olympic individual silver medalist Isabell Werth and her Olympic partner Satchmo, a 15-year-old Hanoverian gelding by Sao Paulo. Rounding out the top four, with 73.063%, was Hans Peter Minderhoud and Exquis Nadine, a 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare by TCN Partout.
“The Thomas and Mack Center is similar to the indoor ring at the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto where the audience sits slightly above the rider. I’m so glad to have had the experience of competing at the Royal last year as it gave me an idea of what to expect. After the Grand Prix at the Royal, Pop Art went on to do one of the best Freestyles he has ever done so I expect great things on Saturday night,” noted Holzer.
The international judging panel for the Grand Prix test was comprised of Wim Ernes (FEI O— NED), Marible Alonso de Quinzanos (FEI O—MEX), Linda Zang (FEI O—USA), Gustaf Svalling (FEI I— SWE) and Katrina Wuest (FEI O—GER).
The dressage competition continues on Saturday night with the Grand Prix Freestyle Final. Holzer and Pop Art are scheduled to be the final riders in the ring for the Freestyle test. Complete results may be found at http://events.scg-nl.nl/2009/lasvegas/results/results.htm.
As the top Canadian rider in the North American World Cup League, Holzer earned her berth to the World Cup Final after winning several world cup qualifiers aboard her 2008 Olympic mount, Pop Art. With their top three Freestyle scores to count, the pair earned a 77.150% at the CDI-W Blainville in Blainville, QC, July 19–22, 2008; 75.100% at CDI-W Dressage at Devon, in Devon, PA, September 23–25, 2008; and a 76.250% at the CDI-W Gold Coast Opener, held January 23–25, in Loxahatchee, FL, for an average score of 76.167% to top the North American standings.
For more information on the 2009 FEI World Cup Final, and a full schedule, visit http://www.worldcuplasvegas.com.
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