Despite the pressure of U.S. Championships in Gladstone, NJ hovering less than one month away, beautiful weather and a spectacular setting in California allowed dressage riders and horses to enjoy themselves at the Woodside Spring Dressage CDI*/Y/J in Woodside, CA, May 18 - 20, 2012.
As a valuable qualifier for the Northern California region, horses and riders competed for coveted qualifying scores from judges Jayne Ayers (FEI 4* USA), Natalie Lamping (FEI 4* USA), and Brenda Minor (FEI 4*CAN). “This Woodside show was fabulous, with great new footing which is super consistent. I loved the show and how well it ran,” noted competitor Paula Langan.
All-new Olympic Mix footing, the same high-tech option used at such prestigious events as the World Cup Finals and the 2008 Olympics, was installed and ready to go at the Woodside Horse Park just in time for the event. “This footing is simply terrific,” noted show organizer Glenda McElroy. "This is the first show I have held here since they and installed the new footing and the riders were so positive and excited about competing on it." Larry Gimple, general manager of the Woodside Horse Park, explained how the Park has made a commitment to upholding the highest competition standards for exhibitors. "Once we made the decision to invest in new footing, we decided to go with the Olympic Mix since it was the best available,” said Gimple. “We put it in the all the rings and warm-up areas before the first hunter/jumper show of the year and they were thrilled, so I'm also very pleased that the dressage riders loved it as well.”
The atmosphere and new footing certainly agreed with veteran High Performance rider Mette Rosencrantz, who partnered with Anne Solbraekke's 12-year old Danish bred Mosegaards Rico (by Robin x Diamant) to sweep all three tests in the CDI small tour division. “Woodside Spring was fun for me because it's a different venue where I have not been in quite a long time," Rosencrantz noted. "The new footing in both the warmup and show rings is wonderful, and was well-prepared and maintained over the course of the weekend.” Rosencrantz is currently poised to receive an invitation to attend the USEF Festival of Champions to contest the Intermediaire I National Championship as one of the top twelve-ranked horse/rider combinations in the country. After top-four finishes during April's Festival of the Horse CDI in San Juan Capistrano, and she strengthened her position with the weekend's wins by earning 68.904% in the Prix St. Georges; 69.386% in the Intermediaire I; and 72.667% in the Freestyle.
In the CDI Young Rider division, the #2 and #3-ranked Young Riders in the country battled for top scores. Brandi Roenick rode her new star and 2011 Pan American Games Gold-Medal-winning mount Weltino's Magic (by Weltino x Diamond Boy) to claim both the Team Test (70.482%) and Individual Test (72.807%). Closely following in second for both classes was Genay Vaughn riding Starr Vaughn Equestrian, Inc.'s 11-year-old Hanoverian stallion Donarweiss GGF by (De Niro x Hohenstein) with scores of 70.132% and 69.211%, respectively. But for the freestyle, Roenick turned to her longtime partner Pretty Lady (by Iglesias x Sit This One Out xx) to win the blue ribbon with a score of 70.958%.
For the Juniors, Stephanie Early and her own Hanoverian mare Panash (by Pablito x Lortzing) are looking to earn another trip to the FEI North American Junior and Young Riders Championships this year as members of the Region 7 Junior Team, and convincingly won both the Team Test (66.306%) and Individual Test (66.623%) in pursuit of their possible return to Kentucky.
Related Link
Scores 2012 CDI Woodside