Julie Wolfert and Buenos Dias in Day 1 of the CCI*.
Parker, CO – May 31, 2013 – The Colorado Horse Park’s CCI*, Training Three-Day, and Horse Trials kicked off with a full day of dressage competition on Friday. Julie Wolfert and Buenos Dias came out strong on the first day of the CCI*, earning a score of 44 penalties to take a convincing lead going into cross-country. Sydney Conley Elliott and SaffariO notched a score of 48.6 to sit in second place.
Elliott, who was competing SaffariO in his first CCI event, was happy with her horse’s effort. “My ride was actually pretty good for my young, one-star horse,” she said. “He was pretty rideable. Usually, he’ll go in and get a little bit of stage fright and get behind my leg, and then he’s just not workable. I was pleased to see something in the 40s because he’s got it; it’s just if he’ll let me ride it in there, and he was very good.”
Elliott noted that the highlights of her test were the entrance and the trot work. “He gave a good entry and his presence was good going down centerline,” she said. “The trot work was really good this time. The canter work still needs improvement and in the walk he is so lazy. He was just like, ‘Oh, I’m done.’ So that I’m definitely going to have to improve, but the trot work was great. He was a good boy.”
Elliott will be trying to catch up with Wolfert, who is also in with a good chance in another major division, Open Intermediate. Wolfert and Buenos Aires are sitting in second on a score of 35.40. But another Julie, Julie Norman on Consensus, edged her out in the dressage phase to take the early lead with 32.60. Norman said she was aiming to keep Consensus moving forward throughout the test.
“I had a great ride this morning,” Norman said. “He was very obedient and he was nice and forward. Sometimes he likes to get behind my leg so my goal today was just to go in and go forward. He really stepped up to the plate with me and I was really pleased with him.”
Norman said the best part of her test was the medium trot. “He’s got a big fancy trot and it’s kind of fun because I can go in there and show him off a little bit,” she explained. “We’ve been really working on his simple changes and I was really pleased with his changes. It was a little unfortunate in our walk – I felt him suck behind my leg a little bit in the turn, so I gave him a little leg and he was like, ‘Canter?’ So then he was a bit tense in the walk which hurt our score a little bit, but, for the most part, I was really pleased with him.”
In the Training Three-Day, Summer Peterson and Jake the Fish scored 36.10 for a narrow lead over Arden Stephen and All That Matters. Katie Cummings and Forstino earned 29.60 to sit in first in the Open Preliminary division, while Nicole Musmanno and Cobblehill JHN Imogen topped the Open Training leaderboard with 22.70. The Training Horse leader after dressage was Christina Henriksen with Princess Pavan, who scored 26.80 penalties, while Ella Algermissen and Balius’ 25.50 penalties secured them the early lead in the Training Rider division.
The Colorado Horse Park’s challenging cross-country course will test horses and riders as they move into the second day of competition and strive to go clear and fast. Riders in all divisions, from Beginner Novice up to Open Intermediate and the CCI*, will be faced with a variety of obstacles appropriate to their level, including three water complexes. Cross-country rides begin at 8:30 a.m. with the Open Training division.
Live scoring is available at http://www.evententries.com/livescoring/15284.html.
The Colorado Horse Park High Prairie Dressage I, II & III Fast Facts
What:
High Prairie Dressage USEF Level 3 Show
Event Dates:
May 31 – June 2, 2013
Contact Information:
(until May 28, 2013) 818-841-3554
(May 29 – June 2, 2013) 303-841-3892
Tentative Schedule:
Friday – Sunday: Unofficial Times will be mailed to all exhibitors prior to the show, and will be available on www.cornerstonedressage.com. Official times will be posted every morning one hour before the first scheduled ride.
Helmet Reminder: Effective April 1, 2013, for dressage: Anyone mounted on a horse must wear protective headgear.
Directions:
Address: 7375 E Bayou Gulch Rd, Parker, CO 80134
From North: I-25S exit Ridgegate Parkway – go east under the freeway. Ridgegate Parkway to S. Chambers Road, approximately three miles (Traffic light) – turn right/south onto Chambers Road. At end of Chambers Road turn left/east onto Hess Road. Hess Road to Parker Road/Hwy 83 – turn right/south onto Hwy 83 approximately four miles to Bayou Gulch Road. (Traffic light). Follow signs to Colorado Horse Park.
From South: I-25N, exit Founder’s Parkway. Founder’s Parkway to Highway 86, approximately four miles (traffic light). Turn east/left onto Hwy. 86 to Franktown/Hwy 83. At Franktown go north on 83 approx. 7 mi. to Bayou Gulch Rd. (Traffic light), turn right/east onto Bayou Gulch Rd. Follow signs to Colorado Horse Park.
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