The 19-year old Spanish Grand Prix rider Morgan Barbançon Mestre swept the board in the Kur tour at the 2012 outdoor season opener CDIO Saumur, held at the French National equestrian centre in Saumur, France, on 26 - 29 April 2012. Aboard the 15-year old licensed KWPN stallion Painted Black (by Gribaldi x Ferro) Barbançon won the Grand Prix and Kur to Music.
Barbançon's winning weekend in Saumur started out with a stellar, faultfree ride in the Grand Prix for which she earned a personal best score of 75.340%. The international panel of judges, which included O-judges Peter Holler and Wojtek Markowski as well as I-judges Carlos Campos, Gustav Svalling, and Karin Kruger, ranked young Morgan first ahead of dressage greats Edward Gal and Hans Peter Minderhoud.
"The Grand Prix was the test of my life," an ecstatic Barbançon told Eurodressage. "He was extremly good and very attentive to me and to what I was asking from him. He felt really relaxed and forward, which was very nice."
Trained by Anky van Grunsven, Barbançon went on the dominate the Grand Prix Kur to Music, which was ridden in the indoor school as a torrential downpour of rain had flooded many of the outdoor schools in Saumur. Riding to the 1998 Slings & Kerkhofs' arranged Tango freestyle, Morgan produced her second personal best score of the weekend, 79,875%, to win the Kur despite two small mistakes.
"In the Kur he was very attentive to me, but it's a pity for the change in the extended canter and the left pirouette," Morgan explained. "They were my fault because I brought him back too much. I really like riding to this music, which I think it is so beautiful!"
Over the past few months, Morgan confirmed to have worked hard on getting more straightness in the tempi changes and riding the zig zag more accurately.
"I learnt how to count in the zig zag. It wasn't easy for me," she said with a smile. "There is so much to think about if you want to ride a nice one. I also worked a lot on the straightness of my changes. That was my major problem and the reason why I was failing the tempi's each time."
Barbançon confirmed that the extreme weather conditions left her unshaken, while they were a challenge for many other riders from all levels competing in Saumur.
"Luckily I didn't have to ride in the rain with him," Barbancon said with relief. "The weather conditions didn't affect Painted Black at all, so that is something positive. I only had to ride Ahorn in the pouring rain and that was not cool. The arena was so deep, he couldn't even move."
Morgan also brought along her 13-year old Austrian bred Ahorn for the small tour. She finished second with him in the Prix St Georges (68,158%) while her sister Alexandra Barbancon competed the Dutch bred gelding Webbe (by Jazz) in the Junior Riders division.
Since last year the 16-year old Alexandra Barbançon has shifted her attention from schoolmaster Mr Q (by Matcho AA) to the younger, more challenging liver chestnut gelding Webbe. Alexandra placed 6th in the team test (67.000%) and won silver with the Spanish team in the Nations' Cup. She went on to finish 12th in the individual test (66.211%) and sixth in the Kur (70.850%).
While Alexandra has all eyes set on competing at the 2012 European Junior Riders Championships in Berne, Switzerland, in July 2012, Morgan has one goal on her mind, the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Her next step on the road to the Olympics will be the 2012 CDIO Rotterdam in June.
Photos © Cavahorse.com
Related Links
Scores 2012 CDIO Saumur
Barbancon on Top in Grand Prix for Kur at 2012 CDIO Saumur
Gal and Barbancon Lead the Way in the Big Tour at the 2012 CDI Drachten