Steffen Peters & Legolas 92: 75.255%- Peters started on a not quite square halt and unbalanced first corner, but the extended trot was decently energetic. The passage rhythm was superb, with few moments where the hind leg hitched up (which has been an issue in past tests). The horse broke into canter a for a strident the beginning of the third extended trot. The extended walk was relaxed but should have stepped more energetically into the bit. The transition from walk to piaffe was perfect and the piaffe was absolutely in place with even elevation in front and behind. The second piaffe got a bit flat in front and overactive behind in a few steps but was still very good. The rhythm of Legolas's canter is not the best, with the leading front leg coming down very quickly. Still, the canter half-passes jump sideways very nicely. There were no problems in the tempis but they should have shown more jump. The extended canter was quite good with Legolas finally showing a clear canter rhythm. The pirouette were tiny but bit heavy and flat-footed in front. The final centerline is really the highlight of any test for this combination and that showed today.
- This mare had lots of shoulder freedom in the extended trot and opened her strides nicely but it would have been nice to see her come up a little more in front and show a bit more power from behind. Wylea is very active with her knees in the passage and has decent but not outstanding elevation. The extended walk showed big clear relaxed strides. The piaffe was plenty active but a touch too forward. The transitions between piaffe and passage were impeccable. The tempis were nicely ground-covering. The extended canter showed nice long strides but could have been more uphill. One of the one tempis down the centerline was close behind. Seidel rode pirouettes that were tiny and in an excellent canter rhythm, but a bit low in front. The fantastic final piaffe showed super elevation of the limbs and a very clear rhythm.
Beatrice Marienau & Stefano 8: 67.275%
- The trot half passes were quite nice with good—almost too passage-like—suspension. The passage had very good spring and a lovely frame though there was the odd step where the horse couldn't quite maintain it. The extended trots were quite short behind. The extended walk got a bit deep in the neck. The transition from walk to piaffe was quite clean, though the piaffe drifted forward and sideways a bit. The second piaffe was better collected but also a little tense. Stefano jumped together behind in the transition from passage to canter. In the canter half-passes the horse slightly lost the clarity of his canter rhythm. The tempis were obedient. The canter pirouettes needed more sit. Marienau rode a very obedient and pleasant test.
Michelle Reilly & Umeeko: 64.373%
- This pair had very nice entrance with a square and prompt halt. Umeeko had good shoulder freedom and nice open strides in his extended trot. The passage was a little small but totally regular. The trot half passes needed a little more strength pushing sideways. The contact with the bit was lovely and soft. The transition to walk from massage got a touch stock but the extended walk showed lovely relaxation and a good open frame into the bit. There were couple resistant canter strides in the first piaffe. The second piaffe was very small and crept forward bit but was rhythmical. The transition from passage to canter was late and unbalanced. The one tempis were dead straight and energetic. He first canter pirouette needed more energy while the second rotated a bit too quickly, but both were quite well-controlled by Reilly. The final centerline was not extraordinarily dynamic but was very correct, including the transitions. A nice combination.
Kimberly McGrath & Winslow: 64.333%
- Winslow had a quite dull collected trot but came nicely uphill in his extended trot. The horse showed significantly more engagement with the right hind than the left in his passage, but overall the movement had decent rhythm and suspension. The second trot half-pass got quite stuck and needed more energy forward and sideways. The transition to piaffe was excellent: clear and prompt. The piaffe was clearly regular and nicely lowered in the croup and the transitions in and out were balanced. There were quite a few mistakes in the two tempis, seemingly because the horse got a bit behind the leg. There was also a mistake in the ones. The first pirouette was small but a bit stuck and off the contact, the second nicely active and uphill. The final extended trot had lots of power from behind and the final centerline was very well ridden.
Lientje Schuller & Mike Tyson: 63.824%
- Mike Tyson showed nice engagement behind in his extended trot. The first trot half-pass started at a wobbly angle but it ended with strong fluid strides. The passage needed a little more consistent collected suspension, at times becoming a bit too trot-like. The extended walk needed a little more stretch in the neck. Schuller's piaffe was quite nice out of the walk with very good activity even though it took a minute to develop. The transition up into passage was not quite clean but the piaffe itself was really earning points for that double coefficient. The canter half passes lost some of their forward energy. There was plenty of jump in the two tempis, but some of it was more behind than in front, so the horse became a little croup-high. The first canter pirouette lost some of the energy and rhythm of canter, the second was better in this respect, but needed to be a bit more on the hind legs. Mike Tyson almost got stuck (from too much sitting) in the final passage but Schuller rode through it well.
Coutenay Fraser & Birkegardens Lukas: 61.059%
- This pretty gelding got a little deep and tight in the first extended trot. The half-passes flowed over nicely. That passage seemed to be developing towards good elevation and was pretty consistently a bit irregular in its engagement. In the extended walk the horse was swinging through his back with his nose nicely in front of the vertical. The first piaffe out of the walk didn't really happen. The second was slightly better but there was little jump between diagonal pairs. The change after the second canter half-pass was late behind. There were a couple mistakes in the two tempis. The ones were clean and straight. The horse changed behind at the end of the extended canter. The first pirouette was small but lost balance and turned a little too quickly while the second was a little bigger but kept a better canter rhythm. Unfortunately the now double coefficient on the piaffe limited the score of this test a great deal.
April Atwell & Pavarottie: 60.804%
- In the collected trot work, Pavarottie is a little flat and deed in the neck for a Grand Prix. The half passes were rather quiet but had nice supple bend and good crossing. In the turn through the corners, Pavarottie lost some engagement in his passage, which overall could use a bit more elevation. Neither piaffe crossing the centerline found a settled rhythm unfortunately. There was a mistake in each line of tempis. The pirouettes were small and decently uphill. The final piaffe was quite nice in the rhythm and well in place. A steady test but needs a little more fire.
Lindsey Stroh & Lancelot: 55.902%
- This was a strong horse who seemed a bit dead today. Lancelot started a little sticky out of the halt. The trot work had nice energy but this sometimes came at the expense of some unsteadiness in the bridle and irregularity in the gaits. The collected walk was very tense. Out of the walk Lancelot dropped the bit and did not really offer a first piaffe. The second one was much much better with a decent rhythm and in place. The two tempis were relaxed and nicely uphill and the ones were clean. The horse trotted into the first pirouette, so the pair showed only a half-pirouette. There was a mistake in the the nine ones. The pirouette right stayed decently uphill but needed more jump behind. The final piaffe was quite good, but the passage was losing energy.
Rebecca Rigdon & Solei: 54.039%
- This mare is a dynamic mover but got a little tense in the back in the extended trots, making them a bit rushed. The passage had very good power and elevation. The passage before the walk lost some of its collection. In extended walk, Solei got a bit deep in the neck. The piaffe was going decently but then the mare showed a large resistance including rearing and going backwards. The second piaffe came off cleanly. The beautiful two tempis were almost immediately interrupted by another enormous resistance. There was a mistake in the one tempis and they seemed a bit tense in the strides. Rigdon was quite cautious in the pirouettes to avoid another resistance so the first was big and the second broke into a trot. There was a third resistance on the final centerline. This is quite a nice mare but clearly just very very sensitive. Rigdon handled it well.
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