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| Competition 15 - Grand Prix Special - Sunday 28th Oct. - Page 1 | |||||||||||||
| There was a
wonderful atmosphere of anticipation, as the time for the Grand Prix Special drew near.
Perhaps it was that this event was the last class for the 2001 Australian Dressage
Championships, and the enthusiastic crowd were keen to make the most of four fabulous days
of dressage. Or perhaps it was due to the uncertainty of the eventual winner, in
this very close field of Australia's top FEI riders and their fantastic horses! The lead up events over the past days, saw three individual winners in the competition so far. On Thursday, Di Jenkyn and Snowy River Blackwood worked superbly to win the Intermediate 11 Championship. Mary Hanna with Limbo, and Rachel Sanna (Downs) and Yardley Aphrodite, did not take part in this class - so it was not a real comparison! Friday's Grand Prix de Dressage (Short Test - as is customary in World Cup events) was won by Rachael Sanna and Yardley Aphrodite with a little over 1% clear from Di Jenkyn on Snowy River Blackwood. Saturday Night was fun time, an evening devoted to dressage to music or the Kür as it is formally known in Europe. In the Grand Prix Kür, Heath Ryan and Stirling Stilton emerged the winners with a - big risk, big mark - sequence of one handed, one times changes on the circle. So today's class was open ... with the first place being available to the combination who were still fresh and focussed after four warm, and taxing days of high quality dressage. As is customary the top 12 horses from the previous two Grand Prix events are eligible to start in this event (it is all of the riders goal to make it through to the 'Special'! ). The order is random until the final four, which start in reverse order as per the placings so far. Today Rozzie Ryan on the beautiful liver chestnut gelding Arglen Kaleb (by the imported Trakehner stallion Kaliber) were first to go. |
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Rozzie did a wonderful job on
this obviously hot horse. She told me that he is very 'spooky' and is really
frightened by the white arena edging and even worse those terrifying potplants.
Rozzie demonstrated such skill and tact and the horse appeared to me more prepared to go
into the corners! Kaleb REALLY shows great talent for the Piaffe and Passage and would have earned big marks for this work, which was beautifully regular. |
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A great Kür ride for Rozzie
Ryan and Arglen Kaleb - a 14 year old Trakehner TB cross by Kaliber (imp) from the
Thoroughbred mare, Kelvin Lass. They finished in 7th place with a percentage of 60.79% |
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Second to start is Mary Hanna's
second string FEI horse - Pretender. He is a truly outstanding type, with
fabulous expression in the trot work. His canter is not quite as established, but
improving. This competition was quite a tall order for him, as he is relatively new
to Grand Prix. He was lovely to watch and is sure to cause some worries to other competitors in a year or so. |
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Pretender - an imported gelding
by the Thoroughbred Playmate and from the mare Desiree. Here Pretender shows his
great talent and posture in canter half pass - seldom do you see such perfect balance! They finished in 9th position, on 57.58% - and Mary was very pleased with this result. |
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Byalee Tomorrow and Heath Ryan put in a solid performance. This horse always appears to do his best but there were problems in the rhythm of the Piaffe and Passage. When you consider that these sequences along with the accompanying transition marks make up 40% of the Grand Prix test - any weakness in this area is very costly. | ||||||||||||
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Byalee Tomorrow by Ludendorf
from Stirling Scataway, was so well ridden by Heath Ryan who has been working cosely with
Harry Boldt. Heath style appeared to be "Less is More" and it
appeared to be working for him. This combination finished on 56.88% and in 10th position. |
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Campaspe Park Greta and Lisa
Alexander from Victoria are National Elite Squad members and always do a good job, but
Greta seemed a little flat today - perhaps it was the trip or weather conditions quite a
bit warmer than us Victorians are used to for this time of the year!
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Greta who was bred in Victoria
at the Northern Warmblood Stud, is by the imported/exported/imported stallion Granada -
who is known to produce great moving horses. The mare has a real talent for Piaffe
and Passage but did not show her best today. They finished with a score of 55.212% |
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| Grand Prix Special - Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | |||||||||||||
| 2001 National Dressage Championships - Report Index | |||||||||||||
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