Laura Graves & Verdades (Shannon Brinkman Photo)
Omaha, Neb. – Three strong dressage combinations will represent the U.S. in the 2017 FEI World Cup™ Dressage Final at the CenturyLink Center Omaha, Neb. Running from March 30 – April 1, 2017, Laura Graves & Verdades, Kasey Perry-Glass & Goerklintgaards Dublet, and Steffen Peters & Rosamunde are in excellent form heading into the Final.
Graves (Geneva, Fla.) has found much success since her last Final appearance in 2015, where she finished fourth with her own Verdades. She and the 2002 KWPN gelding won team gold and individual silver at the 2015 Pan American Games, following that up with team bronze and individual fourth-place finishes at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in their Olympic debut last summer. This year, Graves and “Diddy” have won at every turn at the Adequan® Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) and earned numerous scores above 80%.
Perry-Glass (Orangevale, Calif.) will make her Final debut with Diane Perry’s Goerklintgaards Dublet, and the pair is a serious combination. She and the 2003 Danish Warmblood gelding impressed in their Olympic debut last year, helping to bring home a team bronze medal. They have continued to shine since their time in Rio, most recently winning the Grand Prix CDI-W and Grand Prix Freestyle CDI-W and earning a score of 80.805% in the Freestyle during week eight of the AGDF.
Peters (San Diego, Calif.) will make his fifth Final appearance in Omaha with Four Winds Farm’s talented 2007 Rheinlander mare, Rosamunde. He and “Rosie” have continued to develop their partnership since they began competing together in 2014. They garnered top placings throughout 2016, including wins in the Grand Prix CDI3* and Grand Prix Special CDI3* at CHIO Rotterdam. The pair began 2017 by winning the Grand Prix Special CDI3* and Grand Prix Freestyle CDI3*at the Las Vegas High Roller CDI & Open Show, and head into the Final having finished second in the Grand Prix CDI-W and third in the Grand Prix Freestyle CDI-W during week seven of the AGDF.
Competition for the Final begins Thursday with the FEI Grand Prix beginning at 2 p.m. CT. Saturday’s FEI Grand Prix Freestyle begins at 2 p.m. CT, with its results determining the FEI World Cup™ Dressage Champion. Watch the live stream on FEI TV.
View more information about the 2017 FEI World Cup™ Dressage Final.
By Kathleen Landwehr, US Equestrian Communications Department