Ashley Holzer Kicks off Florida Circuit with Success Ottawa, Ontario— Canadian Dressage rider Ashley Holzer kicked off the Florida winter circuit with success, racking up wins at the CDI 3* Gold Coast Opener, held February 16-18 in Palm Beach, FL.

Holzer, who currently resides in New York City, NY, rode her 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Pop Art to a double win, topping the FEI Grand Prix with a score of 70.25%, before moving on to the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle, where the duo scored 76.05%.

“Pop Art was unbelievable,” said Holzer. “He has developed into a fabulous Grand Prix horse.” Even more impressive was the fact that Holzer had only one week with her new Freestyle music, created by fellow Canadian Karen Robinson from Applause Dressage, before the competition.

Holzer also had success aboard her 16-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Jornello. The duo placed sixth in both the FEI Prix St Georges and the FEI Intermediaire I with scores above 64%.

In the FEI Prix St Georges, Canadian Dressage rider Shannon Dueck, who currently resides in Loxahatchee, FL, finished fifth with 64.917% paired with Control, a nine-year-old Danish gelding owned by Evan Lindsay.

“I was thrilled with Control,” said Dueck. “He is a very talented horse, and he proved at this show that he is incredibly consistent in the competition arena.”

Dueck is aiming Control for a berth on the Canadian team taking part in the Pan American Games this summer. Also placing in the Advanced division was Chris Von Martels of Ridgetown, ON, who earned eighth place in the Intermediaire I with a score of 63.40% riding Patricia Tomney’s 15-year-old Westphalian gelding Korenbloem Charmeur.

“The facility was fantastic,” said Dueck. “We were all grateful to the management of the Gold Coast Opener for putting on a great competition, particularly as they had to reorganize the CDI dates.” 

The international judging panel included Cara Whitham ( FEI ‘O’ – CAN), Liselotte Fore (FEI ‘I’ – USA), Gisela Holstein (FEI ‘I’ – IRE), Jeanne McDonald (FEI ‘C’ -USA) and Marian Cunningham (FEI ‘I’ – PER).

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