British rider Nikki Crisp and her 18-year old Dutch warmblood mare Pasoa reigned over the big tour at the 2015 CDI Addington on 19 - 22 March 2015. Crisp won the Grand Prix and the Grand Prix Kur with 70.380% and 76.575% and twice edged out French rival Marc Boblet on the 13-year old Oldenberg mare Noble Dream (by Caprimond x Donnerhall) who scored 69.760% and 72.275%.
Training just a few hours away from the grounds at Addington, Nikki and Pasoa (by Damocles x Hamilton) had a pretty easy trip to the competition venue. Nikki was excited to see what the mare would produce early this 2015 show season.
“Pasoa has been at Grand Prix level for a few years now but I feel she has really developed over this last year. She was fabulous at the show. No complaints, only small mistakes,” Nikki told Eurodressage.
The pair's first ever run through their new music, Nikki realised that a few things still need to be adjusted in the kur, but “all was fab apart from that”. She continued: “the music is from Saturday Night Fever and it is really fun. It definitely makes you want to move your feet so Pasoa loves it!”
With a busy year of shows at home and abroad set on her calendar, Nikki trains with Hans Schmiedler who comes over to her training yard for one week every month.
“I ride professionally and I have several other horses knocking on the door of Prix St Georges, including a fabulous stallion by Spielberg and an Up to Date gelding that I think are really spectacular," Crisp explained. "They have a lot to live up to!!”
Professional French team rider Marc Boblet has his own barn one hour from Paris and had given his top horse Noble Dream a long time off after the CDI-W Lyon in October. Addington was his first show back for the season.
“We had a very long trip down to Addington, about 12 hours all together with the truck and the ferry," said Boblet. "She was quite relaxed when we arrived and she did a good Grand Prix with no major faults to finish second. In the freestyle I tried to piaffe in a different way but Noble didn't understand what I wanted. Apart from that she felt really good.”
Marc’s next competition will be the 2015 CDI Hagen Horses & Dreams at Hof Kasselman on 23 - 26 April 2015 and his main goal this year is the European Championship in Aachen over the summer.
“At home I also have a very nice mare, Well Done de la Roche, who just won her first national show for 7-year old horses," he said. "She has a very good mind and is a big hope for the future. I am also training Special Agent, a gorgeous dark bay stallion as well as Spirit of Voice, a 4-year old black stallion, who I am counting on in the next years.”
Text by Sarah Warne - Photos © Risto Aaltonen / Astrid Appels
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