As January winds to a close, Canadian dressage athletes have been showing the high quality of skill and competition that they are bringing to the 2019 show season, posting multiple scores above 70% during the third week of the Adequan Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) in Wellington, FL.
Each year, Canadian snowbirds kick off a new season by flocking to the AGDF for seven weeks of CDI-level competition against some of the best dressage combinations in the world. And 2019 is proving to bring early success for the canucks.
During AGDF 3, held Jan. 23-27, Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu of Saint-Bruno, QC, helped to set the standard with All In (Tango x Damiro), the 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding she co-owns with her father, Craig Fraser and husband, Marc-Andre Beaulieu. Together, Fraser-Beaulieu and All In were the highest-ranked Canadian dressage combination at the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games, and the pair carried their success into 2019 by setting a personal best score early in the season: on Jan. 24, Fraser-Beaulieu and All In earned a score of 72.761% to win the CDI 3* Grand Prix.
“I am thrilled with All In’s performance this past weekend. My goal was to score over 71%, and we managed to achieve our goal,” said Fraser-Beaulieu. “We have been working on perfecting the movements and cleaning up areas where I know we can score higher points, and it’s paying off.”
Confident in her ability to earn high marks with her trusted liver chestnut, Fraser-Beaulieu is prepared to conquer the AGDF 5 CDI 5* competition in February before taking a short break from the competition ring, as she and her husband prepare to welcome their first child in June.
“All In has been nothing but a perfect partner for me and also deserves an easier year,” added Fraser-Beaulieu. “My eyes are on Tokyo, so that will be our focus!”
Canada has also been well represented in the small tour at AGDF. Tina Irwin of Stouffville, ON, and Laurencio (Laurentio x Donnerhall), the 12-year-old Oldenburg gelding she owns with husband, Jaimey Irwin, broke the 70% barrier in all three of their tests at AGDF 3. They kicked things off with second place in both the CDI 3* Prix St. Georges (72.647%) and the Intermediate I (71.029%), before closing in for the win in the Intermediate I Freestyle, where they scored a notable 75.900%.
“It was a good start to the Florida season with Laurencio. Despite a few mistakes, I know we will bring the scores up more as the season progresses,” commented Irwin. “I look at starting the season with a good base and building up my scores from there. Also, through consistent and correct training and eliminating mistakes in the ring, I will be bringing up my scores several percent.”
Speaking of her ability to earn those crucial extra percentage points, Iwrin added, “I absolutely know when my test is going well while I am competing, which gives me more confidence in my horse’s quality and my own ability to allow me to push for a strong finish.”
Up-and-coming Canadian, Lindsay Kellock, who currently calls Wellington, FL home, kept the high-scoring trend going at the CDI 1* level during AGDF 3. She rode Floratina (Fidertanz x Rubin-Royal), Chloe Gasiorowski’s 11-year-old Hanoverian mare, to a score of 70.196% for third place in the Prix St. Georges, then returned to win the Intermediate I with 71.471%.
These two scores added to an international competition record comprised solely of scores above 70% for the talented duo, who began their FEI partnership in December 2018 with hopes of competing at the 2019 Pan American Games, set for July in Lima, PER.
“It feels amazing to start the season with all of our scores above 70%,” commented Kellock. “I always strive to have higher scores each show, and I was happy this weekend that we received a 71%, so hopefully next show we can go higher than that! I know this mare doesn’t have a limit and if I ride well she can get more points.”
Competition continues at the AGDF until mid-March, with the next CDI competition taking place Feb. 6-10. For more information and results, visit http://gdf.coth.com.
More from Horse Sport:
