Wellington, Fla. – Jan. 25, 2018 – The competition became fiercer on Thursday as the CDI-W got underway at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival [AGDF]. The United States top pair, Laura Graves, and Verdades, rose to the occasion and topped the field of 22 horse and rider combinations with a spectacular performance. Graves and her 16-year-old KWPN (Florett AS – Goya, Liwilarda) had an expressive test, earning the pair a 79.63 percent. This is the duo’s first CDI performance since the CDIO5* in Aachen, Germany, where they were beat the world’s top-ranked rider, Isabell Werth, in the Grand Prix Special, and placed second in the Grand Prix and third in the Grand Prix Freestyle.
Coming in second during the CDI-W Grand Prix was Sweden’s Tinne Vilhelm-Silfvèn and Paridon Magi with a score of 73.978. Vilhelm-Silfvèn and the 15-year-old Swedish Warmblood (Don Primero – Napoleon 625, Napoli) gelding won the CDI-W Grand Prix and Grand Prix Freestyle during AGDF Week 1.
Shelly Francis and Patricia Stempel’s Danilo, a 14-year-old Hanoverian (De Niro–Andiamo, Annabella) earned a score of 73.870 percent and placed third in the large class. This pair also competed in the CDI-W during the first week of AGDF, where they earned second place in the Grand Prix.
From the Winner’s Circle
Laura Graves- First Place
On Her Ride:
“This is my first show out for this season, so I’m super pleased with my horse. We had some time off after Aachen last year, so for our first time back in almost six months to pick up right where we left off, feels fantastic. I tried a couple new things today — I always wait to the last show of the season to try new things, but this year I said to myself ‘I have a couple of ideas, I’m going to try them at the first show.’ We just tried a little something, some of it didn’t work and we had a little mistake. I tried something new when we came in before we entered the arena, and I think that worked for us.”
On Her Plans:
“We want to try for Paris obviously. I love the World Cups, it’s totally a different experience — it’s wild. It’s totally addicting. No matter what city you’re in, it’s so fun. That would be our goal, but I’m happy to say no to Paris if it’s not the best path for WEG, that’s the main goal right now.”
Tinne Vilhelmson-Silfvèn – Second Place
On Her Ride:
“I was really pleased with Magi today. Two weeks ago when we showed, the only thing I wasn’t happy with was our pirouettes, but today I felt like they were better. I like that we could work on something and progress going forward and I was able to get him more on my aids, I was very pleased with that today.”
On Her Plans:
“My hope is for us to get to Paris and to prepare him for the rest of the season. With that in mind, maybe we won’t show as much moving on. I’m aiming to do the 5* and then he’ll maybe get some time off since that is three big shows right at the beginning and we can train a bit then.”
Shelly Francis – Third Place
On Her Ride:
“I was very happy with my horse. He went into the arena a bit excited, but he held it together. Other times, like last year, he would get excited like that and maybe get a little dull and inside himself, now he’s just letting me ride him through that. He keeps making improvement from one show to the next. He’s starting to mature more into the work, so now it’s just keeping him from getting too excited, but he’s been feeling really, really good.”
On Her Plans:
“I would like to try for the World Cup with Danilo. And then I would like to try to get both horses [Danilo and Doktor] in the top eight standings to work towards going to Tryon.”
CDI-W Final Results
Rider / Country / Horse / Total Score
1. Laura Graves / USA / Verdades / 79.630
2. Tinne Vilhelmson-Silfvèn / SWE / Paridon Magi / 73.978
3. Shelly Francis / USA / Danilo / 73.870
4. Ashley Holzer / USA / Havannah 145 / 71.957
5. Brittany Fraser / CAN / All In / 71.217
6. Yvonne Losos de Muniz / DOM / Foco Loco-W / 70.217
7. Belinda Trussell / CAN / Tattoo 15 / 70.196
8. Megan Lane / CAN / San D’or / 69.217
