U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions 2013 - Grand Prix Freestyle

Well, to no one's surprise, Steffen Peters and Legolas were this year's Grand Prix Champions. After a Special that was not their strongest, they pulled off an excellent freestyle with plenty of harmony and expression. The second and third place riders, Guenter Seidel and Kathleen Raine, showed huge improvement on their powerful horses. Also: way to go California dressage for claiming the top three places!


Steffen Peters & Legolas: 79.450%

• Peters's entrance passage and piaffe were nicely controlled and steady, and of course showed Legolas's amazing springiness. Transitioning to canter, the two tempis were straight and looked quite relaxed and ground-covering. The first pirouette was small, but could have taken more weight behind. There was a hitch at the beginning of the ones but the changes themselves were clean, if short in the stride. Peters's classic transition from canter pirouette to piaffe to extended walk was absolutely seamless, showing a horse that was relaxed and absolutely on the aids. The trot work showed nice long strides but could have had a bit more elasticity. The final piaffe pirouettes were excellent for Legolas because they forced him to put some of his energy onto his hind legs in the piaffe, lifting his whole frame. 

Guenter Seidel & Wylea: 76.450%

• The piaffe and passage that Seidel showed at the beginning of his test was rhythmic as a metronome. Throughout the test, the piaffe traveled forward quite a bit, but by doing so, Wylea was able to maintain energy and a clear rhythm. Wylea had super shoulder freedom and lengthening of strides in her extended trot, as well as a nice open frame.  The trot half passes had very good crossing, but looked a little stuck. The beat and cadence of the canter pirouettes was super, with little change from Wylea's collected canter. The one-tempis were nicely uphill. Seidel had a minor counting error in the twos. The final centerline of piaffe and passage was absolutely regular and beautifully expressive. Overall, the mare looked more relaxed in her mouth and eye today. Axel Steiner remarked that it was the best he had seen the horse go, and I whole-heartedly agree.

Shelly Francis & Doktor: 72.225%

• Francis started off with a superb piaffe that had very good sit and rhythm, as well as a nice degree of suspension. She then began her canter work with some one-tempis, but missed a few changes. Doktor got bit tense in the first pirouette, though it was still small and uphill. He took plenty of strides as he turned, but his steps were a little hurried. The extended walk had nice over-track and showed Doktor at his most relaxed. In his trot half-passes, the gelding steped very well up and sideways. The passage was very energetic but could come just bit more under behind. The last line of piaffe and passage was the most engaged, making for a good finish.

Cesar Parra & Van the Man: 70.725%

• After running home from a late meeting, I arrived in time to catch the second half of Parra's ride (he was first in the order of go). Van the Man struggled to keep a clear canter in his pirouette left, getting close and then changing behind, as well as propping up in front. The pirouette right was quite uphill and decently small. The one tempis were ridden on circle but lost a great deal of quality. The final piaffe had clear diagonal steps but the rhythm became rather slow, while the passage had a good deal of power.

Kathleen Raine & Breanna: 70.225%

• Raine began on one tempi changes that were of good quality and to the music, but unfortunately not all of them went through. Her two tempi changes were superb, with nice big uphill strides that were relaxed in the body. In her canter pirouettes, Breanna wanted to swing her haunches out. The extended canter could have shown longer strides. The well-engaged passage hit the beat of Raine's music exactly. The piaffe showed no change of rhythm from the passage, though it could have come under more behind. There were a few bobbles in the passage when an eager Breanna got over engaged behind. The rhythm of the Michael Jackson music for the trot was usually just a hair too slow for Breanna's steps. The trot work traveled powerfully from behind, though there were some moments of hesitancy's or resistance in the transitions between movements. The trot half-pass left showed incredible crossing. 

James Koford & Rhett: 69.675%

• Koford entered and struck off into his canter half-passes immediately after his halt. After a single pirouette with quite nice sit, Koford transitioned down to trot. In his extensions, Rhett was a little downhill. The horse tripped at the beginning of the first passage, but the rest was a real highlight with super suspension and elevation of the horses limbs. The one tempi changes were enormous, springing way off the ground, though the horse became touch croup high.  Rhett showed a superb rhythm in the walk work. At the end of his test, Koford rode a double canter pirouette to piaffe, resulting in the best piaffe of the test.  Koford rode lots of transitions between trot and canter work with out there being harsh changes in the music, which made for an interesting program (interesting in a mostly good way!).

Brian Hafner & Lombardo: 67.200%

• Lombardo showed some tension in a half-rear before entering the arena, and it appeared again in the first piaffe. The passage had good suspension. Hafner's half-passes had very nice crossing and lateral reach. The extended trots were ground covering with open strides and good over-track. The second piaffe showed no resistance, though it wasn't very active. The collected walk was very tense and the extended walk lacked over-track.  The horse reared again in the transition out of walk. The tempi changes were uphill and correct though not terribly dynamic. The collection in the canter pirouettes was very good with the horse keeping nicely active and uphill.  The resistances were quite a shame as the picture in the movements was really very good. 

Sharon McCusker & Wrigley: 63.050%

• Beginning with his piaffe and passage, McCusker's horse was expressive in the movements but lost all a lot of energy in his transition out of piaffe. This issue appeared not just on the first line, but throughout the test. The first canter pirouette got stuck and unbalanced. It was followed by uphill, lively one tempis. The twos were peppered with lots of ones. The extended walk had nice over track but the collected walk had a break and some tension. Wrigley's trot half-passes needed more crossing. The horse's quality in each movement is very good but there were two significant to the test: the music was not really expressive enough for a freestyle, and McCusker's aides were often more visible than one would ideally want.