Canadian Olympian Ashley Holzer finished in fifth place in the Grand Prix at the World Dressage Masters Palm Beach, presented by International Polo Club, held Jim Brandon Equestrian Center January 26–29, in Wellington, FL, USA.
A Toronto native, Holzer rode Breaking Dawn, the flashy bay 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding sired by Akribori and co-owned by Holzer and P.J. Rizvi. Scoring 71.404%, Holzer was tied for fifth with Anja Plönzke of Germany riding Le Mont d’Or, but Holzer and Breaking Dawn’s higher collective scores were used to break the tie and secured the pair the fifth place finish.
Breaking Dawn moved up to Grand Prix in the fall of 2011, and Holzer is thrilled with the horse’s aptitude for the sport. “I am just over the moon about Breaking Dawn’s test,” raved Holzer. “He went in there and almost seemed to relax when he saw the crowd was cheering for him. It was an even better test than last week. I’m excited about tomorrow night. It should be very exciting.”
American Steffen Peters and Ravel won the Grand Prix with a score of 81.468%. Second place, with 78.468%, went to Charlotte Dujardin of Great Britain riding Valegro, and third was awarded to Tinne Vilhelmsson-Silfven of Sweden riding Favourit with a score of 73.149%.
The judging panel for Friday’s Grand Prix test included Wim Ernes (FEI 5* ¬NED), Stephen Clarke (FEI 5* GBR), Gary Rockwell (FEI 5* USA), Isabelle Judek (FEI 5* FRA) and Lisolette Fore (FEI 4* USA).
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