IT’S A HAT TRICK FOR STEFFEN & RAVEL!

CDIO Aachen is the dressage rider’s quest, an annual gathering of the sport’s luminaries, each aiming for the prestigious Aachen titles. This year Steffen Peters and Ravel captured all three legs of the competition, winning the Grand Prix, Special and Freestyle. The dynamic pair handily topped the field in the Grand Prix with a slam dunk 77.83%. Next closest was Hans Peter Minderhoud and the elegant Nadine, coming in at 72.468% --  more than six points behind the leader.

The anticipated rivalry was to be between Ravel and the team of Anky van Grunsven and Salinero.  Though the latter took fifth in the Grand Prix (71.362%), Anky once again proved that she is a fierce competitor and never to be counted out. She and Salinero were neck and neck with the American team right up to the final halt.  In a squeaker, they ended up second (76.583%), missing first by only .334 percentage points.

The anticipated final leg would be hot. Anky was now ready to do what she does best, the Freestyle, and Steffen was going to keep his steely nerves fully engaged. The end result was an astounding tie in the technical, so the difference would come in the artistic.  Edging out the “Queen of Freestyle” 454 to 443 total percentage points, Peters and Ravel’s difficult, well-executed kür to rock music won the class with 85.6%.  Four of the five judges placed them first, all with their artistic marks ranging from 91 - 93%.  The Klassic Kur team is proud to have produced the score for this World Cup Championship team. The now well-publicized work uses music by the Rolling Stones, Men Without Hats, and Coldplay.  The performance can be seen on youtube.

Gladstone 2009

Singing (& Dancing) In The Rain

The focus of a national championship should be the riders, but this year, it was the show-canceling weather.  By Sunday June 21, puddles permeated the United States Equestrian Team grounds and the predicted winds and rains caused the final leg of competition to be called off. The Small Tour competitors were not given the opportunity to show their Freestyles, and the Grand Prix riders missed the Special, which had already been postponed from earlier in the week. Keeping a sense of humor, a giant fish from the Hong Kong Olympic jumping course was planted at “C”. 

With many inexperienced Grand Prix horses and a West Coast contingent unaccustomed to rain and mud puddles, Friday’s higher scores went to those who not only had talent, but whose horses had the steadier nerves. However fuller confidence and great artistic endeavors

completely rearranged the placement in Saturday’s Freestyle class. Klassic Kur client Adrienne Lyle and her Brentina Cup partner Wizard left their number nine spot far behind them and surpassed all to win the Freestyle with a 74.95%. Right from the first ear-catching, fiddle-playing notes of “Thank God I’m a Country Boy”, the highly original score captivated the fans in the packed tent. Wizard missed his opening line of single tempi changes, but Adrienne skillfully got him back on track and the pair didn’t err after that. Staying in sync with their music in the mucky conditions, they performed difficult canter sequences to “Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy”, enchanted us with their walk music “You Were Always on My Mind”, showed us a high-stepping expressive trot to Charlie Daniel’s “The South’s Gonna’ Do It Again”, and finished with a strong passage tour to Rascal Flatt’s “Life Is a Highway”. A big fan of Country style, Adrienne clearly showed her connection to the music which was recorded in Nashville itself. Enjoy the performance on youtube courtesy of Dressage Daily.

Adrienne also showed her consummate capabilities by moving her other partner Felix from sixth in the Grand Prix to fifth in the Freestyle. Felix earned a 70.40% dancing to a rhythm and blues program highlighted by “Soul Man” and “Play That Funky Music, White Boy” for passage and Lionel Richie’s “Dancing on the Ceiling” for trot.

The traditional mounted awards were abandoned,

and the ceremony moved to the balcony of the historic site.

Lauren Sammis and Sagacious showed fortitude and artistry as well.   Placing tenth in the Grand Prix, the duo came back in the freestyle to earn a 72.45% and land squarely in third place. Adapting their popular Billy Joel kür from the Pan American Games, they danced in their best “New York State of Mind” fashion to tunes such as “River of Dreams” at canter, “Pressure” at trot, and passage tours to the strains of “Allentown”.