Ottawa, ON—Three-time Canadian Olympian Ashley Holzer finished in fifth place in the Grand Prix Freestyle test, on April 18, 2009, at the 2009 Federation Equestre International (FEI) Dressage World Cup Final at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, NV.
Holzer and her Olympic mount Pop Art (Amsterdam x Cabochon), a 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Rusty Holzer and Ian and Moreen Nicoll, scored 79.20%. Their dramatic Freestyle was set to music from Disney Epcot Center fireworks display and from the motion picture National Treasure. The talented duo achieved artistic scores up to 86%.
“I am very happy to receive two scores of 80% and higher. This is the highest score I have ever received,” said Holzer who is a native of Toronto, ON, who resides in New York, NY. “I am looking forward to giving Pop Art a well deserved rest.”
American Olympian Steffen Peters won the Freestyle with a score of 84.950%, riding his Olympic mount, Ravel, Akiko Yamazaki’s 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding sired by Contango. In second place, with a score of 84.500%, was 2008 Olympic individual silver medalist Isabell Werth and her Olympic partner Satchmo, a 15-year-old Hanoverian gelding by Sao Paulo. In third place was 2008 individual Olympic gold medalist Anky van Grusven of the Netherlands and IPS Painted Black, a 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood stallion sired by Gribaldi scored of 82.150%. Rounding out the top four with 81.050% was Hans Peter Minderhoud and Exquis Nadine, a 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare by TCN Partout.
As the top Canadian combination in the North American World Cup League, Holzer and Pop Art earned their berth to the World Cup Final after winning several world cup qualifiers. 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.
The international judging panel for the Grand Prix Freestyle test was comprised of Wim Ernes (FEI O— NED), Marible Alonso de Quinzanos (FEI O—MEX), Linda Zang (FEI O—USA), Gustav Svalling (FEI I— SWE) and Katrina Wuest (FEI O—GER).
Complete results for the FEI Dressage World Cup Final may be found at http://events.scg-nl.nl/2009/lasvegas/results/results.htm.
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