Tag Archives: Carrie Schopf

Schopf and Saumur Go Two for Two with Grand Prix Special Victory

Carrie Schopf (ARM) with Saumur. ©susanjstickle.com.

Wellington, FL – February 26, 2022 – A beautiful day of competition on Saturday of week 7 of the 2022 Adequan® Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) culminated in the feature class of the day, the Grand Prix Special CDI3*, presented by Fair Sky Farm. Armenia’s Carrie Schopf and Saumur made it two for two this week, following their win in the qualifier on Thursday with a victory in the Special.

Twelve competitors entered the stadium to strut their stuff, where towards the end of the class, Jessica Howington (USA) and her 15-year-old KWPN mare by Sir Donnerhall I x Gribaldi shot to the top of the leaderboard with a 70.149%. Just after her was Carrie Schopf and Saumur (Sancisco OLD x Tanzmeister I) who rode to a personal best of 70.979% to just edge out Howington for the blue ribbon.

“Anybody can win on a given day, especially when the scores were as close as they were today,” reflected Schopf. “But it’s really gratifying to have your work and your thought process rewarded.”

Schopf is an amateur rider who does have grooms who help her with her horses, but for Saumur, she does it all herself.

Their partnership was on full display today as Schopf utilized the 14-year-old Oldenburg gelding’s technical prowess in combination with her own enjoyment of the test to excel in the extensions.

She explained, “This is a very forward test in the trot work especially, and it’s forward that if you swing with them, you can really capture that energy. You can really let them sail, so I just stepped on the gas pedal and went!”

Boucher and Mourits Post Wins

Earlier in the day, Beatrice Boucher (CAN) continued her successful week with Summerwood’s Limei after besting the field of 14 competitors in the Intermediate I CDI1* class. This marks Boucher’s second international win in as many days with Monica von Glahn’s nine-year-old Hanoverian mare by Londonderry x Weltmeyer. The pair earned particularly strong marks in the flying changes with 7.5s and 8s, propelling them to a personal best score of 70.912%.

In the Intermediate A CDI3* class, Luuk Mourits (NED) rode Harmony’s Don’t Stop the Feeling to a win with a score of 68.235%. The 13-year-old Hanoverian gelding by Don Primus x Noble Roi xx, owned by Harmony Amateur Sports Foundation, bookended the performance with strong passes down the centerline and shined throughout both the extended and collected trot work.

For more information and results, visit www.globaldressagefestival.com.

Saumur and Carrie Schopf Scoop First International Grand Prix Win at AGDF

Carrie Schopf (ARM) aboard Saumur. ©susanjstickle.com.

Wellington, FL – February 24, 2022 – The bonanza of dressage in week seven of the 2022 Adequan® Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) continued with the two three-star grand prix classes on Thursday, February 24, 2022. It was a momentous day for Armenian rider Carrie Schopf. The American-born 64-year-old recorded her first international grand prix win with long-time partner Saumur. They posted a personal best of 69.087% to top the Grand Prix CDI3*, presented by Fair Sky Farm, vanquishing 14 other combinations. Americans filled the remaining podium places — a pattern repeated across the day — with Codi Harrison second (67.652%) on Katholt’s Bossco and Jessica Howington and Cavalia taking third with 67.261%, despite an error of course.

Saumur, a 14-year-old Oldenburg gelding whom Schopf competed at the European Championships in Rotterdam in 2019, was fresh and full of energy, even after his test.

“You can see how much energy he has, and sometimes he makes himself tense because he wants to do more than I want him to do,” explained Schopf, who is based in Germany and has ridden Saumur since he was eight. “My goal was to have a test that flowed, and where he felt comfortable and wanted to do his job and to be a team with him.”

Alcazar Is King of the Castle after Break from Competition

After a year out of the CDI ring — and a career of almost 100 international tests — Katherine Bateson-Chandler’s ride Alcazar showed he has lost none of his sparkle. Jane Forbes Clark’s 17-year-old gelding by Contango led the Grand Prix CDI3* (the qualifier for the freestyle), presented by Premier Equestrian, with 68.826%.

Bateson-Chandler spearheaded an American clean sweep of the podium: Hope Cooper claimed second with 68.500% on Hot Chocolate W and Susan Dutta finished third, riding Don Design DC to 67.174%.

“I’ve had him since he was six,” said Bateson-Chandler, who also nursed him back to health following colic surgery in the summer of 2016. “I hate to say he feels like my old shoe, but he does. He had a big break, so I changed up my warm-up this time and it was one of the best, most honest feelings I’ve had in the ring with him.

“It’s really fun to have one that you know that well and you’ve trained yourself,” she continued. “He’s really my friend, and we’ve spent so much time together and been through so many different travels. It’s a nice feeling, when they want to keep going in there and doing it at his age with the amount of showing he’s done.”

A unanimous and high-scoring win in the Prix St. Georges CDI3*, presented by Donato Farms, handed the winner’s sash to Bianca Berktold (USA), riding her own Imperial. First to go in the all-American field, Berktold and the nine-year-old KWPN mare by Charmeur pulled off a 73.000% performance, almost 2% higher than their previous best in this test. Judge at E, Germany’s Katrina Wüst, awarded the pair over 75%. Berktold and Imperial have finished on the podium in all four of their 2022 AGDF starts, and this week marks their first three-star show.

For more information and results, visit www.globaldressagefestival.com.