Canadian Olympian David Marcus of Campbellville, ON, reached another milestone, making his world championship debut as a member of the Canadian Dressage Team at the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ in Normandy, France.
Held over two days, August 25 and 26, to accommodate the 100 entries representing 31 nations, Marcus and Chrevi’s Capital were among the first half of the competitors to contest the Grand Prix. Among the highlights of their test, the pair demonstrated fluid half-passes, soft and elevated passage, and straight and correct two-tempi changes to earn a score of 70.357% from the seven-member panel of international judges. At the end of the first day of competition, Marcus and Chrevi’s Capital are currently ranked 12th in the standings among 48 starters.
“I think he’s a world-class horse,” said Marcus of Chrevi’s Capital, a 14-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding (Chrevi’s Cavallo x Weinberg) owned by Deborah Kinzinger. “I let him do his thing, and I think he did it really well.
“Overall, I was really happy,” continued Marcus, 33. “I think Capital really tried. He’s coming into a whole new level of confidence and rideability. I think it was pretty good.”
Competing during a constant rain, Marcus and Chrevi’s Capital had the support of the crowd in the Stade d’Ornano, which accommodates 21,000 spectators.
“We’ve taken a long time building his confidence,” explained Marcus, who is coached by Oded Shimoni while Alison Malatestinic acts as Chrevi’s Capital’s groom. “For him to come into a stadium this big with this many people, and when you come in, everyone cheers; he handled it well. When you come out of that tunnel and into the arena, it’s a whole different energy. We’ve had the luxury of being in and out of the arena a few times in training since we’ve been here. He honestly didn’t feel nervous. If anything, he felt like I could ride him. I could push him a little bit, and he was listening.”
In their preparation for the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, Marcus and Chrevi’s Capital scored a personal best Grand Prix score of 72.30% in their final competition at CDI3* Verden, Germany, on August 9. Three weeks earlier, the pair competed at the prestigious CDIO5* Aachen, Germany, as Canada’s sole representative. Since making their grand prix debut in 2012, Marcus and Chrevi’s Capital have continued to improve their partnership and their standing on the international stage with each competition.
“My feeling going around the ring was that he was going to be really calm and relaxed and listen to me,” said Marcus. “It was a nice feeling for me; I had confidence to push him a little bit. I had a mistake because of that in my extended trot where I pushed for a little bit more, but we are at the WEG and we all want to do our best. For him to post a score that’s close to what he’s getting at home, I am really happy with how today went.”
Fellow Canadian Dressage Team member Karen Pavicic of Surrey, BC, riding Don Daiquiri also competed for Canada on the opening day of competition, earning 69.486%. Canada is currently sitting tenth among 24 nations while Germany leads the medal hunt, followed by The Netherlands and Great Britain, respectively. Megan Lane of Loretto, ON, riding Caravella and Belinda Trussell of Stouffville, ON, riding Anton will compete on Tuesday to determine Canada’s final placing in the team standings.
“I am happy to be a team member here,” said Marcus. “I think we have a great team, and a really strong team.”
The top 30 athletes in the individual standings move forward to the Grand Prix Special on Wednesday, August 27. From there, the top 15 contest the Grand Prix Freestyle on Friday, August 30, to determine the individual medals. For more information on the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, visit www.normandy2014.com.
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