Canadian Olympian Belinda Trussell of Stouffville, ON continued her winning streak in Wellington, FL, after securing two major wins that broke personal and Canadian records during week eight of the Adequan Global Dressage Festival (AGDF), held March 2-6, 2016.
Trussell, who kicked off her 2016 season during AGDF 3 in February with strong wins in the CD-W FEI Grand Prix and Grand Prix Freestyle, has only continued to prove she is a force to be reckoned with aboard her veteran partner, Anton Antaeus x Shirley), a 16-year-old Sachsen-Anhaltiner gelding owned by her mother, Robyn Eames, and husband, Mark Trussell.
During the CDI-W AGDF 8, Trussell first claimed victory on March 4 after scoring 73.700% in the CDI-W FEI Grand Prix against a strong field of 37 international competitors. The duo returned for the CDI-W FEI Grand Prix Special on March 6, where they scored over two percent higher than the closest contender, not only winning, but breaking both their personal record and the Canadian record for the Special with a score of 75.529%.
“Anton was stellar this week,” said Trussell, who refers to Anton as ‘a miracle’ due to his comeback from an injury that vets feared would end his career, which put him on the sidelines for over two years. “He was brilliant in the ring. I had a personal best score in both the Grand Prix and the Grand Prix Special and achieved a Canadian record score in the Special.”
Trussell continued, “I am so proud of Anton and so grateful to my wonderful team. Hearing the Canadian anthem twice in one week among such a competitive field was incredible.”
Fellow Canadian Olympian, Jacqueline Brooks from Cedar Valley, ON also saw success in the big tour classes, scoring 68.940% for eighth place in the CDI-W FEI Grand Prix aboard her 2012 London Olympics partner, D Niro (D-Day x Napoleon 625), a 17-year-old Swedish Warmblood gelding owned by Mary Brooks and Brookhaven Dressage Inc. They were also the top Canadians in the CDI-W FEI Grand Prix Freestyle on March 5, taking fourth place on a score of 71.525%.
Right behind Brooks in fifth place (70.225%) in the Freestyle was 2015 Pan Am Games individual silver medalist, Chris von Martels of Ridgetown, ON, partnered with his recently acquired mount, Divertimento (Di Versace x Ferragama), a 14-year-old Westphalian gelding he owns with Lövsta Stuteri AB, previously ridden by Tinne Vilhelmson-Silfvén of Sweden. Evi Strasser, a 1996 Olympian from Ste-Adele, QC, followed in seventh place, scoring 69.550% with her 13-year-old Oldenburg gelding, Renaissance Tyme (Royal Diamond x Dream of Heidelberg).
Jill Irving of Moncton, NB, a former national-level hunter competitor who returned to dressage in 2008, also picked up a spot on the big tour scoreboard, taking sixth place (68.118%) in the CDI-W FEI Grand Prix Special with Degas 12 (De Niro x Regazzoni), a 14-year-old Hanoverian gelding she owns with Windhaven Farm. Irving was also successful in the small tour, placing fifth in the CDI-W FEI Prix St. Georges with Donnatella 79 (De Niro x Canaster I), an 11-year-old Oldenburg mare also co-owned with Windhaven Farm. The duo went on to take fifth place in the CDI-W FEI Intermediate I (68.377%).
Jaimey Irwin from Stouffville, ON also earned impressive results in the small tour, highlighted by a third place finish in the CDI-W FEI Intermediate I on a score of 70.482% with Donegal V (Johnson x Gribaldi), an eight-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by the Team Irwin Supporters Group.
Outside of the CDI competition, AGDF 8 hosted the popular annual Palm Beach Dressage Derby Exhibition, which follows a ‘knock-out derby’ format, with paired riders competing on the same horse in back-to-back tests, and the highest scoring rider invited forward to a second and final round. Von Martels emerged as the winner against international competitors Laura Tomlinson (GBR), Adrienne Lyle (USA) and Juan Matute Jr. (ESP) after besting Lyle with a score of 64.605% aboard Legacy’s Ambicioso in round one and scoring 70.008% with Leuchtfeuer DE to beat out Tomlinson in the final round.
For complete results from AGDF 8 and a full schedule of the remaining competitions in the AGDF series, visit click here.
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