USEF Festival of Champions 2014 - Prix St. Georges

            In the first class of the USEF Festival of Champions, Steffen Peters won the Prix St. George with Rosamunde on 75.974%. She is a fluid and light-footed mover with plenty of power. Peters rides her very nicely into a soft consistent contact. The trot work was very good with lots of suspension, though the young mare is still a touch slow in her rhythm. The walk pirouettes leaned a little to the inside. In the canter half-passes, Rosamunde was stepping well underneath herself and pushing strongly sideways. The left canter half-pirouette was more uphill than the right, though the one to the right was more balanced as it turned. In the tempis, the changes to the left were a hair restricted, but both were big and beautiful. This is a lovely mare for the future.

            Steffen also finished second on his student Brandi Roenick’s mare Apassionata with 72.921%. Peters also keeps a soft contact with this mare, but it is less consistent, with the reins sometimes getting a bit of a loop in them. In trot, Apassionata’s gait sometimes gets a bit mechanical and she flicks her toes in front. This tendency went away in the trot half-passes, though she was almost out behind. The shoulder-ins flowed nicely. The canter pirouettes were tiny and active, but could become more uphill. In general, the mare could be more consistently up in the shoulder.

   Third was Olivia Lagoy-Weltz on Rassing’s Lonoir, a bay with lots of presence in the arena (72.211%). The horse has a lovely uphill frame without getting tight in the bridle, though there were a few moments where he tilted his head a little in the bend. In the lovely half-passes the trot almost got too passage-y. Lagoy-Weltz’s kept the canter pirouettes small and balanced. The tempis could have jumped more forward, but Rassing’s Lonoir had excellent uphill spring.

            Fourth went to Elizabeth Ball on Avanti (70.947%). Ball rode her test really boldly, though at times this resulted to a number of small losses of balance. The first big extended trot was a tiny bit unsteady in the contact. Ball rode the voltes very nicely, maintaining the energy of Avanti’s trot without any loss of balance. The canter half-pirouettes were a bit big—a smart move to keep the energy of the canter—and the single flying changes after had lots of expression.

            Kimberly Herslow and Rosmarin finished in fifth (70.816%). Herslow and Rosmarin make a lovely harmonious picture, but with the jump to the big tour in their future, they need to start showing a little more dynamism in their tests. After their initial halt, Rosmarin was pulling down a bit in the bridle, but Herslow lifted him up for an excellent trot extension with lots of shoulder-freedom and overtrack. The trot became a little slow in the lateral work and the gelding dove down a little in the voltes. The canter pirouettes were tiny and Rosmarin could really sit, but they needed a bit more jump. Though there was an error at the end of the extended canter, it was uphill and impressive.

Kasey Perry & Goerklintgaards Dublet (70.605%)

This horse has a super active hindleg, with no changes in rhythm or uphill tendency in at any point in the trot work. The walk pirouettes were unbalanced. While the canter half-passes got a bit out behind, the second pirouette developed too much sit, and the horse broke coming out of it. The flying changes had lots of expression.

Dawn White-O’Connor & Aristo (69.895)

White-O’Connor has a lovely seat and rode a high-energy test, though Aristo tended to be a bit off the bridle—the contact was a bit too light. The shoulder-in had good swinging crossing. Aristo drove forward powerfully in the extended trot, but should have been a little more elevated in front. The walk pirouettes were big. The tempi changes were huge and effortless.

Heather Mason & Zar (69.289)

After collapsing into the first halt, Mason put together a nice energetic and powerful test. The extended trot was ground-covering, though it could have been a bit more up in the shoulder, a recurring minor issue. Zar also had a tendency to push his under-neck out just a hair. The lateral work in trot was super fluid. The canter pirouettes were small, though Zar could have been a bit quicker behind.

Melissa Jackson & Whirlpool (69.263)

Jackson rode Whirlpool in a slightly too open and low a frame, with the horse sometimes pulling down in the bridle. The trot work was absolutely rhythmical throughout. The extended trot reached forward well in front, but could have had a hair more overtrack. The collected walk was a little sleepy. It was a shame that Jackson had a small error at the beginning of the three-tempis, since the rest of the changes were consistently ground-covering.

Nick Wagman & Zenith (68.579)

Though there were a few irregular steps in the first extended trot, and Zenith had a bit of an inclination to pull down in the bridle, the horse’s strides had lots of power and shoulder-freedom. Zenith steps under very well behind in the trot work. There was a stride in the canter pirouette left where the horse changed behind. The work overall was of quite high quality, but the picture would have been slightly nicer if Wagman had appeared to be working a little less hard.

 

Christopher Hickey & Ronaldo (68.263)

Ronaldo had a number of small irregularities in the trot work as Hickey half-halted to maintain the elevation in the horse’s gaits. Ronaldo tripped in the first extended trot, taking several strides to regain his balance. The trot half-passes had lovely bend and crossing. The extended walk needed more overtrack. The change between canter half-passes was late behind. Ronaldo lost the canter in the half-pirouette left. The final extended canter was really bold and uphill. Though Ronaldo moved nicely forward and fluidly, there were too many mistakes for a top score.

Alix Szepesi & Majco Thunders Hattrick (67.895)

This Knabstrupper is not the most powerful mover, but Szepesi has trained him in such a nice classical way that he scores well and is a delight to watch. The extended trot needed more drive from behind. The voltes were well balanced, without the haunches swinging wide. The walk pirouettes were small and active, though the one to the right got a bit heavy in front. There was only one error in the test: a step of cross canter at the end of the pirouette right.

 

Jackie Ahl-Eckhaus & Wisdom MVS (67.289)

Wisdom moves a little heavy on his feet and not super uphill, giving Ahl-Eckhaus a bit of a challenge keeping consistent suspension in his gaits, but she did a nice job producing power. The horse pulled down a bit in the bridle in the canter half-pass. The canter half-pirouettes were small with the horse carrying himself nicely on his haunches. In the tempis, Wisdom could have pushed more a little more forward in each stride.

Charlotte Jorst & Vitalis (67.263)

Vitalis stands out with his huge gaits—no surprise. He moves very well underneath himself allowing him to move with elevation and shoulder freedom, but he was just too tense and tight in work to get a top score. The trot work was pretty impressive, but Vitalis was not using himself to his full potential in the canter. There were errors in the flying changes between canter half-passes and after the first canter pirouette. In the pirouettes, the young stallion got a bit deep in the bridle. There was an error in the four-tempis, and the tempis overall got a bit stuck and croup-high.

 

Angela Jackson & Allure S (66.763)

Jackson rode Allure nicely in the bridle, but though the work was correct all the way through, it was a bit flat. Jackson needed quite a bit more drive from behind in the extended trots.  The horse got a little close behind in canter for a few changes and at the end of the pirouette right. The half-pirouettes were a little big, but kept an active canter.

Sara Spofford-Bilinski & Lagrima (66.579)

Spofford-Bilinski rode a pleasant mistake-free test. Lagrima became a bit downhill in the voltes, but came up nicely and shortened in the frame for the trot-half-passes. In collected walk, the horse was a bit too open in the frame. The canter half-passes had nice bend and decent crossing, the tempis were nicely forward, but in general the canter was bit flat.

Justin Hardin & Wyatt Star (66.447)

The trot work of this combination was quite nice, but the walk and canter were weaker today. The shoulder-ins has nice flow, but Wyatt Star became a bit croup-high and tight behind the saddle in the half-passes. The gelding pulled out of the walk pirouettes. The canter rhythm was frequently not pure, getting quite heavy on the leading foreleg. There was plenty of uphill reach in the tempis, but unfortunately there was a mistake in the threes.

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