Wellington, Fla. – Jan. 10, 2018 – Thrilled to get the first CDI-W of the 2018 Adequan Global Dressage Festival (AGDF) in Wellington, Florida, underway, top dressage riders from all over the world gathered at the global dressage facility. All horses set to compete in the CDI-W beginning on Thursday passed Wednesday’s jog inspection with flying colors.
Canadian rider Jill Irving has two horses entered in this week’s international competition: Degas 12 in the CDI-W, participating in the Grand Prix and the Grand Prix Freestyle, and Arthur who will be competing in the CDI3* Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special.
“I love Wellington,” Irving explained. “I’m really excited to get back into the ring with the horses. Aachen was our last big show and I’ve just been letting them have down time. We did a ton of hacking and I’ve really just worked on their gaits and little things to prepare for this show.”
Ellesse Tzinberg of the Philippines also expressed her excitement to be back in Wellington for the season. Tzinberg will be riding her Dutch Warmblood gelding, Triviant 2, in the CDI-W competing in the Grand Prix and the Grand Prix Freestyle.
“I’m excited to be back in the ring again!” Tzinberg said. “We decided to give the horse a couple of months off in the field and worked him in a water treadmill to keep his muscles up, which was really cool. We brought him back and competed in New York and Devon to see where he was and we scored the highest scores we’ve ever had so I think the rest was good for him.
“This is one of the qualifiers for WEG,” Tzinberg explained. “We’re ready to show the judges that we’re contenders. If we qualify, we’ll be one of the first from the Philippines so fingers crossed!”
Competition for the first CDI-W of the 2018 Adequan Global Dressage Festival will begin Thursday, Jan. 11, at 8 a.m. with the CDI3* Prix St. Georges class in the stadium. On Friday evening, the first CDI-W Grand Prix Freestyle of the season will take place under the stadium lights at 7 p.m.
