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Katherine Bateson-Chandler and Alcazar Conclude Another Successful AGDF Season

Photo courtesy of JRPR.

Wellington, Florida (April 8, 2016) – Throughout the 12-week Adequan Global Dressage Festival series in Wellington, Florida, Katherine Bateson-Chandler and her partner Alcazar, an 11-year-old KWPN gelding owned by Jane F. Clark, asserted themselves as tough competition in the Grand Prix division. The two have risen to the top ranks on the leader board several times throughout the season with their funky freestyle test set to the tunes of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition,” Wild Cherry’s “Play That Funky Music,” and Bateson-Chandler’s favorite, Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars with “Uptown Funk.” Concluding the final week of the season, the groovy combination boosted Bateson-Chandler and Alcazar to the third place spot with a solid 72.050 percent in the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle CDI 3* presented by Harmony Sporthorses.

“This week was also our best Grand Prix yet,” Bateson-Chandler commented about their 70.840 percent Grand Prix test earlier in the week. “This sport is tough and can really knock your confidence where you have such highs and lows. This season I feel such an amazing camaraderie between everybody, more than ever before. That’s a very special thing.”

Exhibiting distinguished improvements in both test execution and confidence in the international arena, Bateson-Chandler and Alcazar have risen under the pressures of intense competition and the exciting yet nerve rattling show environment. Bateson-Chandler and Alcazar’s Grand Prix Freestyle stole the spotlight during week ten, where they braved the blazing Floridian heat and captured a 72.425 percent for the pair’s first CDI victory of the 2016 season. Further adding to their accolades, the combination earned the highest American placing with a 73.450 percent in the Palm Beach Dressage Derby presented by Everglades Dressage.

“He’s still a green horse, but he keeps stepping up to the plate, and I’m really proud of him. He is becoming more and more comfortable in the ring,” Bateson-Chandler remarked.

As the Floridian temperature rises once again, Bateson-Chandler and Alcazar gear up to cross the pond to their home base in England for the summertime. While in England, the pair trains with British Olympic Gold Medalist Carl Hester. Last summer, Bateson-Chandler wrapped up a successful European dressage tour with a strong 71.350 percent finish at the Comite Equestre De Saumur CDI 3* in Saumur, France. Before that the pair competed at the Dressage at Hickstead CDIO 3*, where they were the highest-placing American combination.

Bateson-Chandler offers training and coaching services through her business KBC Dressage. Her international Grand Prix experience ensures that her students – both human and equine – have the competitive edge necessary for success in the dressage ring. KBC Dressage offers training services, lessons, clinics, and prospect selection for clients. For more information about Katherine Bateson-Chandler, visit www.kbcdressage.com.

Contact: Katherine Bateson-Chandler
chandlercarlos@aol.com
908-391-9096

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