Katherine Bateson Chandler Tops All-Female Grand Prix Special at 2025 CDI Myakka City

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2025 CDI Myakka City

Female US athletes filled the top four slots in the Zen Elite CDI3* Grand Prix Special on Sunday, May 4, at TerraNova. Katherine Bateson Chandler led the charge, though it was by the slimmest of margins — a theme of the weekend — over second-placed Kasey Perry-Glass.

All Female Top Three

Bateson Chandler of Wellington, FL, rode Jennifer Huber’s 13-year-old mare Haute Couture to 69.468%. Perry-Glass notched 69.362%, with three of the judges placing her and Diane Perry’s 13-year-old gelding Heartbeat WP (by Charmeur) first. The judges also had a hard time choosing between Bateson Chandler and Perry-Glass in Friday’s qualifying grand prix, with the two athletes posting identical 68.087% scores.

In the Special, Katie Duerrhammer clinched third with 68.404% despite riding in one of the heaviest downpours of the day. It was her first CDI with Vividus QRE, a 10-year-old gelding by the Blue Hors Zack son Zaladin MI who was formerly campaigned by Danish Olympian and current world number one Catherine Laudrup-Dufour. Vividus was acquired by Kylee Lourie in late 2024 as Duerrhammer’s LA 2028 Olympics hopeful.

Determination

Bateson Chandler took over the ride on Haute Couture from Dinja van Liere, who was reserve for the Dutch team for the Tokyo Olympics with her. This victory marked the duo’s first win in a little over a year, helped by the eights they were awarded for the piaffe. Their high score came from the judge at B, Luxembourg’s Christof Umbach, who awarded the ride 72.447%.

“We had a bit of a weather situation with quite heavy rain, which was a bit of a challenge,” explained Bateson Chandler. “My horse has a little bit of character to her sometimes, but she handled it absolutely fantastically. I was trying to ignore the pouring rain in the warmup and still ride my ride and ride determined, so I was super happy.”

Personal Care

Bateson Chandler has ridden the mare by Connaisseur x Krack C for almost three years. The forging of the new partnership was not totally smooth, but she has finally unlocked the key to the sensitive horse.

“I’ve started taking care of her myself and it’s made the biggest difference,” she explained. “It’s been quite a challenge on my time because I have a busy business, but it’s been well worth it. We have a really tight relationship now; I groom her myself and take care of her and I know it sounds corny, but we’ve bonded that way. We also do quite a bit of groundwork which is something we added into the program last year. I do that all myself every day and it’s made a huge difference.”

Bateson Chandler usually spends summers with her trainer Carl Hester in England and travels to shows in Europe, although her plans for this summer are yet to be finalized.