Pablo Gomez Molina & Ulises de Ymas. Photo © SusanJStickle.com.
The opening day of an exciting week at the Adequan Global® Dressage Festival (AGDF) saw top talent rise with a new personal best for Spain’s Pablo Gomez Molina in the Iron Spring Farm CDI3* FEI Grand Prix on Thursday morning. Thirty athlete combinations rode down centerline to kick off Week 7 of competition at the venue.
As one of the final entries, Gomez Molina piloted the 13-year-old P.R.E. gelding Ulises de Ymas (Seni Indio x Superior II) to his top-finishing score of 71.087% in the class for the highest honors. Breaking the 70% mark, but still falling short of Gomez Molina’s total, Susan Pape (GBR) and Harmony’s Eclectisch rode into second place with a score of 70.587%. The victory lap was rounded out by the USA’s Anna Marek on Fire Fly, who finished with a score of 69.500%.
USA Scores Home Team Win in Under-25 FEI Nations Cup
The FEI Nations Cup for Under 25 riders, presented by Diamante Farms, was the feature competition on Thursday during opening day of week 7 at AGDF. The under-25 division was a clean sweep for team “stars and stripes” who pocketed the gold with a point total of 139.736. The home nation also secured the silver medal with a finishing score of 135.500. Rivals to the north, Canada landed in the bronze position with a final tally of 133.118.
Benjamin Ebeling (USA) boasted the only score to break 70% in the CDIOU25 Intermediate II, presented by Diamante Farms, which left him both with the team gold and individual first place aboard Ann Romney’s 13-year-old Oldenburg gelding Status Royal OLD (Statesman OLD x Rubin Royal OLD). Ebeling’s performance was a repeat of his victory during the same event last year in which he and the mount scored only a slight fraction below their most recent test on a percentage of 70.647%.
In an impressive performance during her debut as a team rider for the United States, Callie O’Connell clinched the class’s overall second-place position by earning 69.089% for her performance aboard the Ruling Cortes LLC Owned 14-year-old KWPN gelding Eaton H (Wynton x San Remo).
For more information and results, visit www.globaldressagefestival.com.