Week seven of the 2021 Adequan® Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) began at Equestrian Village at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) in Wellington, FL, on Thursday, February 25, with top placings for the USA’s Steffen Peters in the FEI Grand Prix for Freestyle CDI5*, presented by CaptiveOne Advisors, and Sabine Schut-Kery with Sanceo in the FEI Grand Prix for Special CDI5*, presented by Palm Beach Equine Clinic. The classes started out the five-star week, which continues through Sunday, February 28.
Peters and the 2008 KWPN gelding by Spielberg, owned by Akiko Yamazaki and Four Winds Farm, kicked off their week on a high note, besting the FEI Grand Prix for Freestyle CDI5*, presented by CaptiveOne Advisors with a score of 77.109%.
“After the test he felt like he had another two tests in there,” began Peters. “This is actually the right weather for him, where I can ride him a little bit and he settles down a bit more. That warm weather is what we are going to face in Tokyo, maybe even quite a bit hotter than this, and Mopsie seems to be ready for it. He’s been very consistently in the 76, 77 percentile, and that’s super exciting that I can ask for a bit more. Today he had a very clean test with a good, relaxed walk, so I’m extremely happy.”
Peters and the gelding have won every class they have competed in this season, and Peters is moving into tomorrow’s freestyle with hopefulness. “I think it’s always fun to support the organizers in the five-star freestyle,” he explained. “If we do well then, it’s nice to give back to our people, and help to pay the bills a little! We’re really looking forward to it. The freestyle is one of my favorite tests to ride, though sometimes it’s not Mopsie’s, but the night atmosphere is still something he needs to get used to.”
The pair’s final AGDF competition will be next week during AGDF 8 at the Palm Beach Dressage Derby, and then Peters’ plans are tentative based on the status of the global pandemic and the state of the world.
He concluded, “I’ve always believed that our federation makes very good decisions for us. Since Europe is still on lockdown at the moment, it doesn’t really make sense to go there. I will just wait for the input from the US [Equestrian] Federation, and I know they will make the right decision. I’m looking forward to doing the Palm Beach Derby here next week, and Mopsie will get a nice break for March, and then in April we will start to pick it up again.”
Second place honors in the FEI Grand Prix for Freestyle CDI5*, presented by CaptiveOne Advisors went to Katherine Bateson Chandler (USA) and Alcazar, Jane Forbes Clark’s 2005 KWPN gelding by Contango, earning a score of 69.913%.
“I was really happy with my horse today,” said Bateson Chandler. “He does struggle with tension at times and I’d prefer him to be a little bit more relaxed, but I need some of that positive tension, so there’s always a fine line. I was happy with how it worked out in there.”
Bateson Chandler noted the gelding’s honesty this season, coming into his sixteenth year and getting more comfortable with the competition. “This whole season he’s been as honest as he’s ever been in his career,” she stated. “When that happens you really realize that it takes years for these horses to mature to this level. I still had one mistake in the one [tempis], which was really frustrating because I’ve had those the last three tests, but overall his general rideability was good. I’m super happy with his attitude. It’s not so easy in this weather because it’s hot and he’s a big black horse, but he’s been down this centerline a lot so I think he’ll be very excited to move on, and hopefully we’ll get a season elsewhere. In the meantime, this is a fantastic show and we’re lucky to be able to have it.”
Third place went to the USA’s Guenter Seidel on Equirelle, Leatherdale Farms and Louise Leatherdale’s 2009 KWPN mare by Florett AS, with a 69.304%. Seidel said, “Today we had a lot of mistakes, but they were more my mistakes than hers. This is her fourth show in a row and it’s getting a little better, but we are just chipping away at it and hopefully we will work our way up with the score.”
The pair has never ridden a freestyle under the lights, but Seidel explained that at this stage in his young mare’s career, the miles are important regardless of the atmosphere. He concluded, “She hasn’t shown under the lights yet, so we’ll see. She’s already such a hot horse, so I don’t know if it will be a plus for me! It’s the show atmosphere itself, so I think you just have to do it and keep going. It doesn’t matter if it’s large or small; it’s the same for the horse when they are learning.”
Results FEI Grand Prix for Freestyle CDI5*, presented by CaptiveOne Advisors:
1. Steffen Peters (USA) on Suppenkasper, Akiko Yamazaki and Four Winds Farm’s 2008 KWPN gelding by Spielberg: 78.696, 77.283, 77.174, 76.413, 75.978; 77.109%
2. Katherine Bateson Chandler (USA) on Alcazar, Jane Forbes Clark’s 2005 KWPN gelding by Contango: 68.587, 70.217, 71.413, 69.674, 69.674; 69.913%
3. Guenter Seidel (USA) on Equirelle, Leatherdale Farms and Louise Leatherdale’s 2009 KWPN mare by Florett AS: 70.652, 67.391, 69.239, 68.696, 70.543; 69.304%
4. Yvonne Losos De Muniz (DOM) on Aquamarijn, her own 2005 KWPN mare by United: 68.804, 68.696, 71.739, 69.022, 67.500; 69.152%
5. Jan Ebeling (USA) on Indeed, Vantage Equest Group II, LLC’s 2008 Danish Warmblood mare by Hofrat: 67.609, 65.978, 65.870, 65.978, 65.543; 66.196%
6. Sahar Daniel Hirosh (ISR) on Whitman, Jane Suwalsky’s 2003 KWPN gelding by Rhodium: 64.783, 63.152, 61.848, 63.587, 63.261; 63.326%
Sabine Schut-Kery and Sanceo Top the FEI Grand Prix for Special CDI5*
In the FEI Grand Prix for Special CDI5*, presented by Palm Beach Equine Clinic, the USA’s Sabine Schut-Kery and Sanceo took the highest honors of the class with a 74.522%.
Schut-Kery and Alice Womble’s 2006 Hanoverian stallion by San Remo re-entered competition after a summer break in November, earning scores of over 74% in the CDIs in California before arriving in Florida in January. Those classes, along with a national class last week at AGDF, helped prepare the pair for their biggest competition in a year.
“Sanceo was really great,” noted Schut-Kery. “Any errors made today were rider errors, and I think I lost him in the zigzag. However, he felt great in the first part of the test and then recovered quite well [from those rider errors]. I have no complaints, and I feel like we are getting to the point where we can see where we want to push more, and where we need to finesse things.”
Schut-Kery and the gelding will compete in the FEI Grand Prix Special CDI5*, presented by Palm Beach Equine Clinic on Saturday, and Schut-Kery plans to continue to perfect the duo’s performance for the remainder of the competition, at which she is thrilled to be competing.
She exclaimed, “Having this five star is amazing. When I look around, a lot of the places are closed down all over the world. We are so fortunate. I think everybody agrees that we would follow any protocol, just to be able to keep going. Speaking for myself, I have a horse that’s 15 years old. It’s not like he’s eight or 10, and one year doesn’t matter. For me, it’s very special to be here and be invited to this competition, to the five star, and that there is that caliber of show. Thank you to everyone that puts this on and supports it.”
The 52-year-old is currently second on the USA Dressage Shortlist behind Peters and hopes to remain there through the spring and summer. “I’m planning to do one more show in March,” she said, “though I haven’t decided yet which one. After that we will hopefully go home for a little break and make it onto the [updated] short list. It would be great to go to Europe, but obviously nobody knows right now.”
Second place in the FEI Grand Prix for Special CDI5*, presented by Palm Beach Equine Clinic went to another current short list pair, Adrienne Lyle (USA) on Harmony’s Duval, Duval Partners LLC’s 2008 KWPN gelding by Rosseau, with a 72.587%.
“We were very honored to get an invitation to the five star and want to thank all of the sponsors for putting on this amazing show,” Lyle began. “I chose the Grand Prix Special with Duval because that is our main focus with him right now. My goal is to try to qualify for the short list, so we are focusing on the Special. He felt really good in the warmup, and I’m really happy with the work we are getting out of him. He’s kind of a funny horse; he went in there and his brain went mach 90 and we lost each other a little bit for the first half of the test, but that can happen and I can’t complain. The work is going well, and he is feeling good at home. We are going to alter the warmup a bit for the special to see if we can keep his nerves under control, and we’ll see how it goes.”
Third place honors were presented to Charlotte Jorst (USA) on Kastel’s Nintendo, Kastel Denmark’s 2003 KWPN stallion by Negro, with 72.326%, who is also sitting on the short list behind Schut-Kery and Lyle.
“Nintendo was just incredible as usual,” stated Jorst. “He just comes out every single day, and he must be the most honest horse I the universe. He always tries his best, and he did again today. I’ve been working on getting him ‘through.’ I’m so grateful to have a horse to ride in a five star. That has always been such a huge dream, and now it’s coming to fruition. I got a little teary-eyed in the barn because it’s so emotional for me to be able to continue to ride. I learned to ride the grand prix with this horse, and now he’s allowing me to continue to ride. I’m also trying to get on the short list. That’s my dream and my goal, so if he allows me to get there, it would be amazing.”
Earlier in the day, Germany’s Frederic Wandres topped the leaderboard in the FEI Prix St. Georges CDI3*, presented by Donato Farms piloting Hof Kasselmann’s 2013 Hanoverian gelding by Hochadel, Harrods 3, to a final score of 74.382%. Second place went to Michael Klimke (GER) and Domino 957, Uwe Kappel’s 2012 Westphalian mare by Den Haag 12, with a 70.765%. Third place was captured by Dongseon Kim (KOR) with Lord Nunes, Dongseon Kim’s 2012 Rheinlander stallion by Lord Loxley I, with 69.382%.
In the FEI Grand Prix CDI3* for Freestyle, presented by Premier Equestrian, Australia’s Kelly Layne earned a career high score with Kelly Layne and Nori Maezawa’s 2009 Oldenburg gelding by Sir Donnerhall I, Samhitas. Second place was captured by Jennifer Williams (USA) on Sueno Hit, her own 2008 Oldenburg gelding by Sandro Hit, with 68.826%. Third place was rounded out by Dongseon Kim (KOR) and DSK Belstaff, a 2007 Hanoverian gelding by Brentano II, earning 68.500%.
Competition at AGDF 7 will continue tomorrow with a full schedule of classes, including the FEI Intermediaire I CDI3*, presented by Donato Farms and the FEI Grand Prix for Special CDI3*, presented by Hygain Feeds, before the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle CDI3*, presented by Premier Equestrian and the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle CDI5*, presented by CaptiveOne Advisors beginning at 7 p.m. For more information and to see a full list of results, visit www.globaldressagefestival.com.
Results FEI Grand Prix for Special CDI5*, presented by Palm Beach Equine Clinic:
1. Sabine Schut-Kery (USA) on Sanceo, Alice Womble’s 2006 Hanoverian stallion by San Remo: 73.478, 74.348, 75.109, 76.413, 73.261; 74.522%
2. Adrienne Lyle (USA) on Harmony’s Duval, Duval Partners LLC’s 2008 KWPN gelding by Rosseau: 72.065, 73.696, 71.413, 71.522, 74.239; 72.587%
3. Charlotte Jorst (USA) on Kastel’s Nintendo, Kastel Denmark’s 2003 KWPN stallion by Negro: 71.739, 72.065, 74.022, 71.957, 71.848; 72.326%
4. Lindsay Kellock (CAN) on Sebastien, Enterprise Farm Equestrian LLC, and Lindsay Kellock’s 2006 Rheinlander gelding by Sandro Hit: 70.870, 73.043, 71.304, 71.848, 69.783; 71.370%
5. Christoph Koschel (GER) on Eaton Unitechno, Unitechno, Inc’s 2009 KWPN gelding by Wynton: 70.326, 71.630, 73.587, 70.217, 70.761; 71.304%
6. Naima Moreira Laliberté (CAN) on Statesman, KML Inc’s 2007 Hanoverian stallion by Sandro Hit: 71.630, 74.239, 67.609, 70.326, 70.978; 70.956%
7. Chris Von Martels (CAN) on Eclips, Barbara Soederhuizen and Chirs Von Martels 2009 KWPN gelding by Apache: 70.543, 70.326, 71.630, 70.652, 70.109; 70.652%
8. Catherine Haddad-Staller (USA) on Frankie, her own 2009 Hanoverian mare by Florencio 2: 70.109, 70.978, 69.239, 69.348, 69.783; 69.891%
9. Jill Irving (CAN) on Arthur, Windhaven’s 2005 KWPN gelding by Jazz: 66.957, 69.457, 71.196, 67.935, 68.587; 68.826%
10. Susan Pape (GBR) on Harmony’s Eclectisch, Susan Pape and Harmony Sporthorse’s 2009 KWPN stallion by Zenon: 65.109, 66.957, 66.304, 66.739, 68.152; 66.652%
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