Canadian vaulters completed their Individual Freestyle to wrap-up Round 1 of Vaulting competition at 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) on October 7, 2010 in Lexington, KY.
The Individual Freestyle consisted of a routine with elements chosen by the vaulter, designed to music and performed at the canter. Round 1 of the Vaulting competition is comprised of the Individual Compulsory Test and the Individual Freestyle.
Canada’s top female vaulter was Jeanine van der Sluijs of Olds, AB, who scored 7.810 for her skilfully executed Freestyle with Oliver, an 11-year-old bay Warmblood gelding owned Josef Martonovich.
“My Freestyle was amazing. It was really incredible, and it was the best performance that I could have done. Nothing went wrong and it was just great. The best part about it was that I was just able to enjoy it and relax. I went out there and showed what I love to do,” said van der Sluijs, who earned 6.859 for her Individual Compulsory Test, and had a Round 1 total of 7.335 for 18th place overall.
Alisa Schmidt of Chilliwack, BC performed an energetic Freestyle, which scored 7.235, with Badge, Josef Martonovich’s 11-year-old Belgian draft gelding. The two day total for Alisa Schmidt included a score of 6.389 in her Individual Compulsory Test for a final Round 1 total of 6.812 for 22nd spot.
“I am happy with how everything went today,” said Alisa Schmidt. “My scores were great, and it was my highest international Freestyle result to date. I am very pleased.”
Marland and Phoenix, Rebecca Marland’s Paint draft cross gelding, earned a Freestyle score of 6.615. When combined with her Individual Compulsory score of 6.781, Marland had a two day total of 6.698 for 24th place.
“My freestyle went pretty well. There were a few shaky spots, but overall I am I am pretty happy,” said Marland. “My experience here at WEG has been great.”
With Smokin’ Joe, an eight-year-old Belgian Draft horse gelding, Colin Schmidt of Chilliwack, BC, received 6.200 for his Freestyle performance.
“Although I am pleased with my clean performances at these games, my horse scores were low, which dragged my combined score down considerably,” said Colin Schmidt. “Smokin’ Joe received an average score of 5.6 at our CVI in Chilliwack just four months ago. To then have scores for him of only 2.75 here at WEG was rough.”
“I am very happy to have been part of this team—a team where everyone consistently helped each other. We all learned a lot from this experience, and will start applying these lessons today. We are looking forward to the next championships,” said Marita Hoppe, Chef d’équipe. “We are proud to be part of the Canadian Equestrian Team, and are thankful for all the support and help we have received from Equine Canada.”
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