The Woodside Vaulters (Dirk Caremans/Hippo Foto/Shannon Brinkman Photo)
Aachen, Germany – The U.S. vaulters had a wonderful showing in the CVIO3*, part of the CHIO Aachen that took place July 11-13. Performing well in the Albert-Vahle-Arena in Aachen, Germany, the U.S. contingent had excellent rounds in the Squad and Pas de Deux competitions as well as respectable showings in the Individual divisions. In the CVIO competition, the U.S. came home with third-place honors.
The Woodside Vaulters demonstrated that they meant business in Aachen, earning great marks in the Squad competition. The squad, consisting of Tessa Divita (Emerald Hills, Calif.), Audrey Kiernan (San Mateo, Calif.), Siddartha Kreaden (Sunnyvale, Calif.), Kristen Kuhn (San Mateo, Calif.), Rachel Polati (Emerald Hills, Calif.), and Miki Yang (Los Altos Hills, Calif.), vaulted on Stanford, a 16-year-old Hanoverian gelding owned by Julie Divita and Woodside Vaulters, and were lunged by Julie Divita. In Friday’s Compulsory Test, the girls put forth a solid effort to come in fourth with a score of 6.310. The following day for their Freestyle Test, the Woodside Vaulters impressed with their routine set to music from The Wizard of Oz to finish third on a score of 8.298. The U.S. squad ended up fourth place overall with an average score of 7.254.
In the Pas de Deux division, Kristian Roberts (Moss Beach, Calif.) and Mary Garrett (Mountain View, Calif.) turned heads in their first competition partnering as a pair. They vaulted on Diva 506, an 11-year-old Oldenburg mare owned by RVC Gilching e.V., and were lunged by Carolyn Bland. In Saturday’s Freestyle Round 1, Roberts and Garrett seemed as if they had been competing together for much longer, finishing in fifth place on a score of 7.625. The pair improved their score for Sunday’s Freestyle Round 2, earning 8.308 to come in fifth once more. Roberts and Garrett were fourth overall with a score of 7.966.
Cassidy and Kimberly Palmer (Half Moon Bay, Calif.) also made a solid effort in the Pas de Deux division at the World Equestrian Festival. They partnered with Leon 364, a 16-year-old Wurttemberger gelding owned and lunged by Wolfgang Renz. The Palmer sisters kicked things off by earning a 7.210, putting them in ninth place in Saturday’s Freestyle Round 1. In the second Freestyle Round held on Sunday, the pair was ninth again with a score of 7.127. The Palmers ended up ninth overall with a score of 7.168.
Mary McCormick (Woodside, Calif.) led the U.S. vaulters in the Individual Female division. Vaulting on longtime partner Palatine, a 16-year-old Westphalian gelding owned by Sydney Frankel and lunged by Bland, McCormick was 12th in Friday’s Compulsory Test with a score of 7.257. She returned to the ring later that day to score 7.523 in the Technical Test to come in ninth. In Saturday’s Freestyle Test, McCormick improved to sixth with a score of 7.998. At the end of the competition, she was seventh overall with a score of 7.593.
Elizabeth Ioannou (Saratoga, Calif.) finished just behind McCormick in eighth place overall with a final score of 7.529. She vaulted on Jarl, a 16-year-old gelding owned by Lasse Kristensen and Emma Seely, and was lunged by Kristensen. Ioannou began the competition by tying for 13th place in Friday’s Compulsory Test with a score of 7.222. She then earned a score of 7.671 to end up sixth at Technical Test. In Saturday’s Freestyle Test, Ioannou came in 12th on 7.693.
Garrett also competed in the Individual Female division, vaulting on Palatine and was lunged by Bland. On Friday she scored 6.566 to come in 23rd in the Compulsory Test and 6.917 to place 15th in the Technical Test. In Saturday’s Freestyle Test, Garrett improved her score to 7.148 to finish 19th. Overall, she ended up 19th with a score of 6.877
Like his Pas de Deux partner Garrett, Roberts also competed as an individual in the Individual Male division. He vaulted on Diva 506 and was lunged by Bland. He started off the competition Friday, earning 6.815 in the Compulsory Test to come in 13th and 6.323 in the Technical Test to place 14th. In Saturday’s Freestyle Test, Roberts scored 6.095 for finish in 18th place. He ended up 17th overall with a score of 6.411.
Colton Palmer (Half Moon Bay, Calif.) rounded out the U.S. effort in Aachen. Competing at the prestigious event for the first time, he vaulted on Glaxtown Billy, a 13-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by Mr. & Mrs. John Eccles and lunged by John Eccles. On Friday, he scored 5.885 in the Compulsory Test for 20th place and 5.310 in the Technical Test to come in 18th place. In Saturday’s Freestyle Test, he improved to a score of 5.965 for 19th place. Palmer finished 19th overall on a score of 5.720.
For the CVIO3* Freestyle National Teams competition, the scores of one Squad, one Female, and one Male Freestyle Test were combined to determine the winners. For the U.S., the Woodside Vaulters’ score of 8.054, McCormick’s score of 8.243, and Roberts’ score of 7.415 gave the U.S. a total of 23.712 to achieve third-place honors on Sunday. Germany I won with a score of 25.586, while Germany II came in second with a score of 24.480.
To find out more about the competition, visit http://www.chioaachen.de/en/.
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