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West Palm Beach Hosts Most Successful Season Ever for International Dressage

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(L) Noreen O'Sullivan, Steffen Peters, Tinne Vilhelmson-Silfven , Tina Konyot, John Goodman. Photo Credit: Lynndee Kemmet

Thousands of horses and riders converged in West Palm Beach Florida from around the world to compete once again this winter, making this season the richest and most successful season ever for Dressage in Florida.  The ever-popular Wellington Classic Dressage (WCD) and Gold Coast Dressage Association (GCDA) shows at the beautiful Palm Beach County Jim Brandon Equestrian Center were joined this year by International Horse Sport Palm Beach (IHS) shows at the Equestrian Estates Horse Park.  Combined, these three Dressage organizations host more than 23 weeks of competitions year-round, including 6 International CDI competitions.

The premiere event of the winter season was clearly the World Dressage Masters CDI5* Series Presented by Axel Johnson Group.  The World Dressage Masters is one of the richest Dressage Series internationally, with only 4-6 shows hosted around the world, each boasting over 100,000 Euros in Prize Money (approximately $140,000).  The WDM CDI5*Palm Beach Show was hosted March 9-12, 2011 by Wellington Classic Dressage, with International Polo Club as Presenting Sponsor.  “We are honored to host this very prestigious show for 2011 and beyond, and to work with the WDM team and IPC to make this year’s event a resounding success,” stated John Flanagan, Managing Partner for Wellington Classic Dressage.  What an honor too, that America’s top rider, Steffen Peters on Ravel, owned by Akiko Yamazaki, took home the top prize by winning the WDM Grand Prix Freestyle with a score of 84.53%, followed by Sweden’s Tinne Vilhelmson-Silfven on Favourit with 77.90%, and US Rider Tina Konyot and Calecto V with 76.65%.  The 2012 WDM CDI5* Palm Beach is slated for January 26th-29th, 2012.

Wellington Classic Dressage’s eleven-show series kicked off high season with the Wellington Classic Holiday Challenge in December and wrapped up the winter season with the Wellington Classic Challenge III on the 1st of May.  The WCD series is held at the very popular Jim Brandon Equestrian Center, which boosts excellent footing and stabling, several competition rings, including a covered arena, riding trails and a Western Events area on over 111 acres.   Gold Coast Dressage Association, the local GMO hosted their centerpiece show also at Jim Brandon, the GCDA Opener CDIW.  International Horse Sport hosted Florida’s traditional favorite and longest-running CDI, the Palm Beach Dressage Derby CDIW, as well as 4 other shows at the beautiful Horse Park at Equestrian Estates in nearby Loxahatchee, which this year underwent many upgrades and improvements.

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*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Contributors/Press, Disciplines, Dressage, Events, Phelps Media Group

European Horses Arrive in Florida for World Dressage Masters Palm Beach

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Steffen Peters will compete with Ravel. Photo Credit: Susan J. Stickle, Phelps Media Group.

Wellington, FL – March 4, 2011 – The World Dressage Masters Palm Beach CDI5* presented by International Polo Club Palm Beach is now just five days away. The American edition of the world’s premier dressage series will begin on March 9th with the FEI Horse Inspection, followed by two days of world class competition. Five top European dressage horses arrived in Miami from Amsterdam on March 3rd. They are expected to move from quarantine to the competition venue, the Jim Brandon Equestrian Center in West Palm Beach, on Saturday.

The WDM Palm Beach is the richest dressage competition in North America, with 100,000 Euros in prize money. It will take place in combination with the Wellington Classic Dressage Classic II CDI3*. Both competitions are produced by Wellington Classic Dressage.

Also now in South Florida, having arrived by air from California, is the most successful dressage horse in US history, Akiko Yamazaki’s Ravel. With his rider, Olympic medalist Steffen Peters, Ravel won the 2009 World Cup Dressage Final and two individual bronze medals at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

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*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, Contributors/Press, Disciplines, Dressage, Events, Phelps Media Group

2011 World Dressage Masters Palm Beach Thanks International Polo Club Palm Beach for Continued Support

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Margaret Duprey's Otto, ridden at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games by Todd Flettrich. Photo Credit: Susan J. Stickle

Wellington, FL – February 21, 2011 – The World Dressage Masters Palm Beach, which forms part of the world’s most prestigious dressage series, will take place on March 9-11, 2011 at the Jim Brandon Equestrian Center in West Palm Beach, FL. The preservation of WDM Palm Beach is due to the generous and enthusiastic support of its presenting sponsor, International Polo Club Palm Beach.

When it was announced that the 2011 World Dressage Masters Palm Beach was to be cancelled, it appeared that the world’s richest dressage competition would disappear from North America. However, the Goodman family, International Polo Club Palm Beach and its members stepped in quickly to ensure that the show would go on. “In my talks with Mr. Goodman, he showed a profound interest in not only saving the Masters for 2011, but to extend IPC’s commitment for the long-term,” says WDM Managing Director John van de Laar. “WDM, IPC and Wellington Classic Dressage created a three year agreement, so from now on it can only get better.”

A dressage competition sponsored by a polo club isn’t as odd as it sounds. Events featuring dressage, such as the breast cancer fundraiser Challenge of the Americas, have been held at the International Polo Club for the past number of years. Approximately 20 percent of IPC members are involved with dressage in South Florida, including International Dressage Rider Arlene ‘Tuny’ Page.

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Competitions, Contributors/Press, Disciplines, Dressage, Events, Phelps Media Group

World Dressage Masters Palm Beach Presented by International Polo Club Palm Beach

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Wellington, FL – February 7, 2011 – Dressage is the oldest of equestrian disciplines and the basis for true harmony between rider and horse. The Greek philosopher Xenophon wrote the first recorded book on horsemanship in 350 BC. At that time and long after, horses were trained for warfare. During the Renaissance the riding schools of Vienna and Saumur contributed a lot in sophisticating dressage.

However only in the 20th century the public discovered the beauty of the ‘dancing horses’. The 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm were the first to stage dressage on an Olympic level. Dressage has never left the Olympic podium since and with the introduction of the Grand Prix Freestyle to Music in 1996 in Atlanta, dressage quickly gained popularity all over the world. Grand Prix Dressage, the highest expression of horse training, is considered to be the art of equestrian sport.

To compliment this fantastic sport and to contribute to its further internationalization and growth, sports marketing agency SportBizz, equestrian innovator Exquis have launched the World Dressage Masters (WDM) initiative in 2008. In 2011 the World Dressage Masters will feature four top class CDI5* shows:

9-11 March, Palm Beach, Florida USA

2-5 June, Munich, GER (final Nürnberger WDM Rider Ranking)

7-9 July, Flasterbo, SWE

29-31 July, Hickstead, GBR

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Competitions, Contributors/Press, Disciplines, Dressage, Events

Germany’s Anja Plönzke Tops Nürnberger WDM Rider Rankings

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Anja Plönzke on Le Mont d'Or at the Exquis World Dressage Masters in Falsterbo, Sweden in mid-July. Photo: © 2010 Ken Braddick

Anja Plönzke of Germany is atop the latest Nurnberger World Dressage Masters Rider Rankings after the first two of five CDI5* events on the 2010-11 lineup in which Nurnberger Versicherungsgruppe awards €25,000 (US$31,800) to the winner.

So far this year in the events which count toward the award, the finished 2nd in the Grand Prix and 3rd in the Grand Prix Special at Cannes, France and 3rd in the Grand Prix in mid-June and 4th in the Grand Prix Freestyle at Falsterbo, Sweden last week.

Her results accumulated 1,090.5 points, with Poland’s Michal Rapcewicz in second place on 855 points and Anky van Grunsven of The Netherlands in third place with 765 points.

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Anky & Painted Black Win Falsterbo World Dressage Masters Freestyle for 5th WDM Title

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Anky van Grunsven receiving the Exquis World Dressage Masters trophy from WDM CEO Anthony Kies and daughter, Renee. © 2010 Ken Braddick

FALSTERBO, Sweden, July 10 — Anky van Grunsven gave a display of her trademark Queen of the Freestyle when she rode IPS Painted Black to victory in the Exquis World Dressage Masters Grand Prix Kür presented by Axel Johnson Group for her fifth WDM CDI5* title in two years of the richest lineup of competitions on the globe.

Competing in the inaugural €100,000 (US$126,400) WDM at the Falsterbo Horse Show and her first time at this summer beach resort, Anky and the 13-year-old stallion posted a score of 82.40 per cent. The freestyle that was presented by Axel Johnson Group had total prize money of €60,000 (US$75,800) with first place earning €16,000 (US$20,200).

Germany’s Ulla Salzgeber and the 10-year-old mare Wakana showed none of the spookiness from shows earlier this year and placed second on 75.90 per cent with Tinne Vilhelmson Silfven and Favourit awarded 75.40 per cent. They were the hometown favorites of the enthusiastic Swedish crowd that numbered 3,000 paid spectators and many hundreds more who crowded every available place around the arena in sunny weather with temperatures above 80 degrees (27C).

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Jonny Hilberath & Amüsant Win Moorland Grand Prix Special Dressage Derby

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Jonny Hilberath and Amüsant in victory gallop after winning Exquis World Dressage Masters Grand Prix Special. © 2010 Ken Braddick

FALSTERBO, Sweden, July 9 — Germany’s Jonny Hilberath who has been competing Amüsant internationally for just four months notched their first victory Saturday by winning the inaugural €30,000 (US$37,860) Moorland Grand Prix Special Dressage Derby presented by Agria as part of the Exquis World Dressage Masters.

Jonny and the 12-year-old Oldenburg gelding owned by Elisabeth Max-Theurer and competed once internationally by her daughter, Victoria, almost two years ago scored 69.292 per cent despite mistakes in both the one- and two-tempi changes. The Netherlands’ Christa Laarakkers and Divoza Horseworld Ovation finished second with 67.250 per cent and hometown favorite Charlotte Haid Bondergaard on Lydianus was third on 66.292 per cent.

For Jonny and Amüsant’s first WDM, and the first time the Falsterbo Horse Show has included the prestigious CDI5* in its competition schedule the win earned them €9,500 (US$12,000) while Christa, who competed at WDM in Palm Beach earlier this year, earned €7,000 (US$8,830) and Charlotte €5,500 (US$6,940).

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Anky & Painted Black Win First Falsterbo World Dressage Masters Grand Prix

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Anky van Grunsven on IPS Painted Black in the Exquis World Dressage Masters Grand Prix Thursday. © 2010 Ken Braddick

FALSTERBO, Sweden, July 8 — Anky van Grunsven, the most successful rider in the Exquis World Dressage Masters, on Thursday rode a newly recovered IPS Painted Black to victory in the Grand Prix of the first €100,000 CDI5* competitions staged by the Falsterbo Horse Show.

Tinne Vilhelmson Silfven, one of Sweden’s most popular dressage stars, gave the big crowd that turned out to support the event good cause to applaud even more enthusiastically than they did for all the riders when she and the 11-year-old Favourit turned in a performance that placed them second.

Anky and the 13-year-old stallion Painted Black was the unanimous choice by the judges for first place in the Nurnberger Versicherungsgruppe Grand Prix presented by Agria with a score of 75.234 per cent with Tinne and Favourit posting marks of 71.957 per cent. Germany’s Anja Plönzke and Le Mont d’Or, competing in their fourth WDM CDI5* event so far this year–Palm Beach in the USA, Munich, Germany and Cannes, France in addition to Falsterbo–was third on 68.723 per cent.

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