It was a winning weekend for Canadian riders at the CDI 3* Cedar Valley, held June 16-18, 2017 at the Royal Canadian Riding Academy (RCRA) in Cedar Valley, ON.
Leading the way in the big tour was Canadian Olympian, Belinda Trussell. The Stouffville, ON native rode Tattoo 15 (Tuareg x Ramiro’s Son) to a pair of impressive victories. Trussell and her 14-year-old Westphalian gelding earned their first win in the CDI FEI Grand Prix on June 16, wowing the crowd and the judges to score 69.880%.
“Tattoo is starting to develop more quality in the Grand Prix,” noted Trussell. “I am very excited his talent is starting to show through. We still have mistakes, which are costly, but I am thrilled with his performance at Cedar Valley. Each Grand Prix gets better as the season progresses.”
Fellow Canadian and hometown favourite, Jacqueline Brooks finished second in the Grand Prix, earning 66.360% aboard D Niro (D-Day x Napoleon 625), an 18-year-old Swedish Warmblood gelding owned by Mary Brooks and Brookhaven Dressage Inc. Elizabeth Steacie of Brockville, ON, took third with a mark of 64.560% riding Callahan (Cordoba x Matcho AA), a 12-year-old Hanoverian gelding she co-owns with Deborah Dudgeon.
Trussell’s second win came just one day later when she and Tattoo 15 dominated the competition in the CDI FEI Grand Prix Special. Improving on their earlier performance, the pair scored 70.765% to secure their place atop the leaderboard.
“The highlight was getting a 9 for Tattoo's one tempis on the center line,” exclaimed Trussell. “He has enormous quality in the changes and he was able to perform it!”
Eiren Crawford also landed near the top of the leaderboard in the Grand Prix Special, taking second (63.471%) aboard Warello (Warkanson x Lord Vancouver XX), her 14-year-old Canadian Warmblood gelding.
Brooks and D Niro danced their way to victory in the CDI FEI Grand Prix Freestyle on June 18. With a stunning routine performed near flawlessly, the duo earned high praise from the judges through their final mark of 72.225%. Guatemala’s Esther Mortimer took second on a score of 67.625% aboard Diamond Geezer. Steacie and Callahan once again brought home third, this time with a mark of 65.600%.
In the small tour, Tom Dvorak of Hillsburgh, ON rode Cyrus (Contucci x Cor Noir) to victory in the CDI FEI Prix St. Georges on June 16. He and the eight-year-old Oldenburg gelding owned by Carla Bahr scored 70.351% to secure the win over Trussell and Carlucci (Contendro I x Compliment), a 12-year-old Hanoverian gelding owned by Barbara Holden Sinclair, who earned 69.386%. Fellow Canadian, Christilot Boylen, piloted her 10-year-old Westphalian mare, Rockylane (Rock Forever x Rombach), to a third-place finish with 69.386%.
On June 17, Dvorak once again found himself in the winner’s circle, this time in the CDI FEI Intermediate I. He and Cyrus had a final mark of 69.693%, narrowly besting Boylen and Rockylane who finished second with 69.298%. Trussell and Carlucci took third, scoring 68.553%.
“Our results really showed we’ve done our homework,” explained Dvorak. “Cyrus performed the Prix St. Georges with ease. He was perfect in the bridle and fun to ride. In the Intermediate I he’s still a bit green, so I sometimes feel like I have to help him a bit. Cedar Valley’s test was our most consistent to date. He felt a little tired part-way through, but stayed with me.”
In the CDI FEI Intermediate I Freestyle, it was Boylen and Rockylane who took the win. The pair earned a remarkable 77.583%, breaking their personal best score of 77.000% from the CDI 3* Ottawa Dressage Festival in May.
Lori Bell of Beaverton, ON, and Flirt (Florencio x Donnerhall), her nine-year-old Oldenburg gelding, finished second with 71.750%, while Ute Busse of Breslau, ON, and Stiletto (San Amour I x Rosenkavalier), a nine-year-old Oldenburg mare she co-owns with Patricia Scherrer, landed in third with 70.083%.
In the Young Rider division, Alexandra Meghji of Toronto, ON took home top honours in the CDI FEI Young Rider Team test on June 16. Scoring 66.447%, she earned the victory riding Rigo (Rotspon x Weltmeyer), a 16-year-old Hanoverian gelding owned by Diana Belevsky. Finishing second was Sophie Dean-Potter of Caledon, ON, who earned 64.167% riding Wendy Dice (Redford x Welt Hit II), a 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare owned by Helena Dean.
It was once again a one-two finish for Meghji and Dean-Potter in the CDI FEI Young Rider Individual test on June 17, with Meghji earning 67.939% and Dean-Potter scoring 65.965%. In the CDI FEI Young Rider Freestyle on June 18, Dean-Potter came out on top. She and Wendy Dice brought home the win with 70.500%. Meghji wasn’t far behind, scoring 70.042% for a close second.
Ava MacCoubrey of Coburg, ON, swept the CDI FEI Junior division with Ritter Benno (Rolls Royce x Weinberg), a 16-year-old Westphalian gelding owned by Nicholas Hansen. She kicked things off with a score of 65.856% to take the win in the Team test on June 16, and then followed up with her second win after scoring 69.781% in the Individual on June 17. Posting her best score of the competition, MacCoubrey earned 71.750% to complete the hat trick in the CDI FEI Junior Freestyle on June 18.
Allison Youngdale of Osgoode, ON captured second and third in the Team test riding RF Cosima 201 (Conello x Sir Shostakovich XX) and Ramiro (Blue Hors Don Romantic x Rambo) with scores of 64.189% and 62.432%, respectively. RF Cosima 201 is her 12-year-old Holsteiner mare, while Ramiro is her 10-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding. In the Individual test, Youngdale’s horses swapped places with Ramiro in second (65.482%) and RF Cosima 201 in third (64.781%).
Youngdale and Ramiro again finished second in the Freestyle with 70.708%, while Maryse Bousquet landed in third with 63.250% riding Marzipan (Mattgold x Rheingold), a 20-year-old Hanoverian gelding owned by Chantal Hurtubise.
For more information and full results from the CDI 3* Cedar Valley, visit www.rcra.ca.
Source: Equestrian.ca