I had a blast watching the USEF Networks live streaming coverage from the comfort of my sofa this weekend then heading out to train on my future superstar, Hansel. What better inspiration than to watch the top 15 horses in the nation at Grand Prix right before training! Every horse and rider combo had some spectacularly inspiring moments!
Yes, yes… Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock you’ll know that horse and rider teams are vying for coveted positions on the short list for both Able-bodied and Para-equestrian USA Dressage Teams in Gladstone, NJ right now.
This past weekend the nation’s top 15 able-bodied dressage riders competed in the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special. Leading both days was Steffen Peters and Legolas 92. Steffen had this to say to the USEF Network “This place has such wonderful history, a lot of champions have come out of this arena.” The complete USEF Press Release can be found online at http://news.horsegirltv.com/?p=2934. Wrapped up weekend cumulative scores put Steffen on top with Tina Konyot & Calecto V in 2nd, Todd Flettrich and Otto in 3rd and Ann Romney’s Rafalca with rider Jan Ebeling coming in 4th. See the complete cumulative scores below:
Day 1, Class 1, FEI Grand Prix 2009
- 76.06% Peters, Steffen – Legolas
- 72.79% Konyot, Tina – Calecto V
- 71.53% Ebeling, Jan – Rafalca
- 71.15% Flettrich, Todd – Otto
- 70.55% Seidel, Guenter – Fandango
- 70.47% Lyle, Adrienne – Wizard
- 68.02% Harding, Shawna – Come On III
- 67.94% Blitz, Heather – Paragon
- 67.92% Blinks, Susan – Robin Hood
- 67.79% St Jacques, Pierre – Lucky Tiger
- 67.45% Koford, Jim – Rhett
- 67.36% Bateson-Chandler, Katherine – Nartan
- 66.81% Raine, Kathleen – Breanna
- 66.66% Parra, Cesar – Van the Man
- 66.38% Sammis, Lauren – Sagacious HF
Day 2, Class 5, FEI Grand Prix Special
- Peters, Steffen – Legolas, 77.93%
- Konyot, Tina – Calecto V, 76.67%
- Flettrich, Todd – Otto, 73.07%
- Ebeling, Jan – Rafalca, 72.04%
- Lyle, Adrienne – Wizard, 71.58%
- Seidel, Guenter – Fandango, 70.07%
- Blitz, Heather – Paragon, 70.00%
- St Jacques, Pierre – Lucky Tiger, 69.91%
- Harding, Shawna – Come On III, 69.49%
- Blinks, Susan – Robin Hood, 68.02%
- Raine, Kathleen – Breanna, 67.89%
- Sammis, Lauren – Sagacious HF, 66.76%
- Koford, Jim – Rhett, 66.60%
- Bateson-Chandler, Katherine – Nartan, 66.56%
- Parra, Cesar – Van the Man, 63.33%
If you’d like to watch this week’s live coverage of able-bodied you can point your browser to http://usefnetwork.com/featured/2012USEFDressageFestivalofChampions/
The action doesn’t stop this week! Today kicks off the Para-Equestrian Selections. Unfortunately these are not being streamed on the USEF Network but you can follow the action via Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/USParalympics or https://twitter.com/#!/USPEA and keep up to the moment with scores at devonwoodscores.com/. If you’re lucky enough to be at Gladstone watching this week please use hashtag #ParaEqTrials when tweeting and please let USEF know (networksupport@usef.org) you’d love to see the live streaming of next years event and perhaps they even host Para and Able-bodied in the same arenas. One can never have the audience too full in dressage stateside and what a perfect way to expand the reach!
On a side note, HorseGirlTV has some schweet able-bodied and para-equestrian Official London 2012 Merchandise (Ev you rock!) to give away over the next month so check back for details. You can always subscribe to my Equestrian Life & Style Guide for free to ever be in the know!