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Kate Shoemaker and Solitaer 40 Conclude AGDF Week 9 with Win in FEI Para Freestyle Grade IV

Kate Shoemaker and Solitaer in their winning Grade IV Freestyle Test. ©SusanStickle.com.

Wellington, FL – March 10, 2019 – Week 9 of the Adequan® Global Dressage Festival (AGDF), presented by Adequan®, Mission Control, Nutrena, and Fair Sky Farm, concluded on Sunday, March 10, with a morning full of FEI Para Freestyles from Grade I to Grade V. The two Para-Dressage weeks that AGDF offers are great opportunities for Para riders to get to ride in the international ring and get feedback from the international panel of judges.

Kate Shoemaker (USA) and Solitaer 40 rode to their third win of the week in the FEI Para Freestyle Grade IV – CPEDI 3* with a score of 75.208%. The pair has had a strong week and rode to a personal best score of 74.309 in their Individual Test on Saturday.

“I think today our highlight was in our shoulder-in. Maybe not because they were the best part of our test, but because they were the most improved and he was really, really solid in them today: staying on the line, keeping the bend, and staying uphill,” said Shoemaker of her 12-year-old Hanoverian gelding by Sandro Hit. “I was really happy that both days he’s actually been able to score eights in the shoulder-in, which is actually something we’ve been working so hard on this last year.”

Shoemaker’s freestyle test was actually a bit of a challenge at first for her. “That choreography was actually about 18 months in the making. However, when I was first working on it, we couldn’t do it. It was way too challenging for both Soli and me,” commented Shoemaker. “We kept at it and then last summer before our U.S. Team Invitational Event before WEG, we rode this choreography for the first time and it came out really well.

“Tom Hunt ended up doing our music, and it came out perfect for Soli. I think a lot of it is that I really love the music, so I can really ride to it. It has a lot of feel, which helps me really be able to fit what I’m riding,” concluded Shoemaker.

For more information and a full list of results, visit www.globaldressagefestival.com.

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