Wellington, Fla. – Feb. 23, 2018 – The CDI-W Grand Prix Freestyle started off on Friday as a beautiful South Florida evening, but it ended with a passing rain storm that surprised the second half of the class. While some horses were phased by the rain, Diane Fellows’ Havanna 145 kept her cool to receive a personal best score of 78.2 percent. Ridden by Ashley Holzer, Havanna 145 topped the leaderboard, while Holzer’s student Brittany Fraser followed in second place on All In.
Holzer, a four-time Olympian for Canada, had a busy year in 2017 as she switched nationalities in the spring to represent the United States and she began her partnership with Havanna 145. The pair had a successful season in 2017 winning a CDI3* Grand Prix Freestyle in Tryon, NC, as well as topping the leaderboard in the CDI3* Grand Prix (for the Special) and the Grand Prix Special at Dressage at Devon.
Not only did Holzer win tonight’s class, she helped coach multiple of her fellow competitors Friday evening, including second-place finisher, Fraser, Jill Irving and P.J. Rizvi. Though Holzer won tonight’s FEI World Cup qualifier, she is not aiming to head to Paris in April. Her goal for the summer is to place within the top eight American riders so she can compete in Europe.
Riding into second place was Canada’s Brittany Fraser on her 13-year-old KWPN gelding All In with a score of 75.850 percent, a new personal best for the pair. Fraser has owned All In since he was only 5-years-old and they made their Grand Prix debut in 2015. In 2017, Fraser rode the gelding to a win in the CDI-W at Dressage at Devon and a blue ribbon at the CDI-W Grand Prix Freestyle in Saugerties, New York.
American rider Shelly Francis and Doktor, a 15-year-old Oldenburg gelding owned by Patricia Stempel, rounded out the top three with a score of 73.560 percent. Throughout the 2018 AGDF season, Francis and Doktor have placed no lower than fourth place in any of their classes and have won a CDI3* Grand Prix and a CDI3* Grand Prix Special.
FROM THE WINNER’S CIRCLE
Ashley Holzer – First Place
On Her Ride:
“I’ve been in this game long enough to be grateful every time I win, especially because these riders beside me are such great company. My mare is such a good egg. She tries her hardest no matter how many times I ask her to try harder, she always does. Tonight there were a few times going into the rain where she was like ‘Really? In the rain?’ and she did it. She’s such a great mare, the best thing about tonight was she came out and after a very strong performance last night, tried again her hardest and I don’t think you can ever ask more from a horse – it’s amazing.”
On Her Freestyle:
“I googled “emotional, uplifting music” and then I sent it to Tamara Williamson and asked if she could make it fit with my horse and she did it. My goal was to make a floorplan that was easy enough for her to do, difficult enough and execute as cleanly and with the most precision that I possibly could – it’s not simple to execute anything. I did change it up in there and do the zig zag in the passage — that was not in my floor plan but I thought we’d try it and she did well. It was quite last minute. I’d like to increase my scores and I’d like to be over 80 – that’s where you have to be nowadays to be on the top. ”
On Her Future Plans:
“I’m hoping to make the top 8 to go to Europe. I have a mare so we can only be there for 60 days. Last year we took her to Europe and had a great time so I’m hoping to go over and do that again in Europe. I’m very excited and my goal is to be the best me and my horse can be. I think to expect too much from yourself and your horse is a pitfall and I think you can only really become the best when those are your expectations.”
Brittany Fraser – Second Place
On Her Ride:
“Surprisingly, he does not care about the rain – it can be pouring rain he just keeps going. He’s a sensitive horse so you’d think that would bother him but it really doesn’t. Each time I come and ride a freestyle I get a little higher score so I’m really happy about that. I did have a small mistake in my first line of two tempis, but overall I was really happy with how he was today.”
On Her Horse:
“This is his third year at Grand Prix and I feel like he’s finally just like ‘Okay, I know my job now, I know what to do’ and each time I go into the ring he’s trying harder and harder to give me a little more. I’m really proud of that. I’ve owned him for a really long time so he’s showing lots of progress. I got him at 5-years-old and I think we’ve shown every single level there is to show before this.”
On Her Future Plans:
“I’m gonna do the 4* and probably the Nations Cup at the end of March and maybe Tryon in April, and then I’m not totally sure.”
Shelly Francis – Third Place
On Her Ride:
“I felt like we warmed up well and started off pretty good, but then the rain progressed a little more — he doesn’t like the rain, so he’s kinda a little bit wimpy about that. He gets excited. He’s a little fireball, so when I came off of the first pirouette, I was supposed to do two tempis all the way through the serpentine and we got three and then we had a little miscommunication and that was a painful mistake, but overall he felt like he was trying really hard. He’s just a really good little horse.”
On Her Freestyle:
“Doktor’s music and my choreography are made by Marlene Whittaker and I’ve been doing it for a few years. We change it up a little here and there but I like it, he likes it – when it’s not raining.”
Results: CDI-W Grand Prix Freestyle
Place / Rider / Country / Horse / Total Score
1. Ashley Holzer / USA / Havanna 145 / 78.2
2. Brittany Fraser / CAN / All In / 75.850
3. Shelly Francis / USA / Doktor / 73.560
4. Yvonne Losos De Muniz / DOM / Foco Loco W / 73.25
5. P.J. Rizvi / USA / Breaking Dawn / 71.975
6. Karen Lipp / USA / Whitney / 69.375
7. Megan Lane / CAN / Zodiac MW / 69.175
8. Sahar Daniel Hirsoh / ISR / Whitman / 66.975
9. Eiren Crawford / CAN / Warello / 65.325
10. Jill Irving / CAN / Arthur / 65.225
11. Debbie Hill / USA / Cartier / 63.225
