Wellington, Fla. – March 28, 2018 – On the final week of competition at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival, nine youth riders from three different countries made their way down centerline to compete for the team championship in the CDIO-U25 Nations Cup.
In the Under-25 division, teams are made up of two or three riders, with the top two scores counting for their totals. The team with the highest combination of the two scores walks away with the gold medal. Countries participating in the event were The United States, Spain, and Canada who entered two teams.
With top-quality rides, it was Team Spain who climbed to the top of the podium, earning the gold medal. The team featuring two riders earned a total score of 140.588. First in the ring for Team Spain was Rodrigo Encinas Fuentes aboard Cesar Parra’s 16-year-old KWPN gelding, Van the Man (Obelisk – Lady, Fruhling/Landjonker) and they earned a score of 68.294 percent. The second Spanish rider in the ring was Juan Matute Guimon and Don Diego Ymas, a 15-year-old Hanoverian gelding (Don Frederico – Wie Platine, Wolkenstein II) owned by his father, Juan Matute. Matute Guimon earned a score of 72.294 percent.
Earning the silver medal was the team from the United States. Three riders competed for Team USA this afternoon, allowing them to have a drop score, for a total score of 132.412. First in the ring for the U.S. was Kerrigan Gluch, aboard Bolero CXLVII, a 14-year-old PRE Stallion (Utrerano VII – Felina XVII, Urano II) owned by Hampton Green Farm. Gluch and the stallion earned a score of 65.706 percent. Next in the ring for Team USA was Natalie Pai aboard Unlimited, her mother’s 17-year-old KWPN gelding (Jazz – Clairudtih, Winckenburgh) earning a score of 65.442 percent. Their anchor rider, Molly Paris earned a final score of 66.706 percent aboard her 16-year-old Danish Warmblood mare (Don – Compeed, Solos), Countess.
The bronze medal went to Team Canada 1, who earned a total score of 131.647. Laurence Blais Tetreault rode first for Team Canada 1 and earned a score of 63.765 percent aboard Utah, a 17-year-old KWPN gelding (Jazz – Kolinda, Landwind II B) owned by Mathilde Blais Tetreault. The second rider on the team was Naima Moreira Lalibert aboard I Do Kiss, a 12-year-old Swedish Warmblood Stallion (French Kiss – Idonna, Donnerfly), earning a score of 67.882 percent.
The individual competition for the CDIO-U25 will start tomorrow with the FEI U25 Grand Prix at 1:25 p.m and will continue on Friday with the FEI U25 Grand Prix Freestyle at 2:30 p.m.
FROM THE WINNER’S CIRCLE
Team Spain – Gold Medal
Juan Matute Guimon
On Competing in the U25 Nations Cup:
“It’s always exciting to be a part of the team in the Nations Cup and it is a great opportunity to try to improve on last years results. Unfortunately, we did not have a great week last year, so I wanted to improve on that and do my best. It’s the first Nations Cup that I competed on a team with Rodrigo and I’m very happy about that, and excited for him – it’s a great achievement. This is a goal we’ve had since the beginning of the season – we wanted to participate in the U25 Nations Cup and I think we met the expectations!”
On His Ride:
“I think that our test was quite good. There are always things that can be improved, but I think that overall we had a clean test, and a competitive attitude – and I think that’s the highlight.”
Rodrigo Encinas Fuentes
On Coming Off of a Win in the Florida International Youth Championships:
“I tried to ride my horse the same as before – we worked on improving mistakes from a couple weeks ago and wanted to keep the forward progression. Each show gets better and better, which is nice to see.”
On Winning the Nations Cup Team Competition:
“It means a lot! Two guys from Madrid — it means a lot to represent our country and our city. I’m very proud to represent Spain this weekend.”
Team United States – Silver Medal
Molly Paris
On Competing on the US Team:
“These girls on this team are like family, we’ve known each other since 2014 when we were still juniors — we’ve been together a lot so it’s a great opportunity to be on the same team.”
On Her Ride:
“She [Countess] tries so very hard for me, she’s a super talented mare and I really can’t ask for more from her. We ran out of steam a little bit today and hopefully, we can get a little bit of a better score for her tomorrow, but overall I’m very happy. She’s a good girl and she owes me nothing, but here she is.”
Kerrigan Gluch
On Her Ride:
“I was really happy with my test today. My horse is still a new show mount for me – I haven’t competed him much at all, but he tries so hard for me. He’s awesome when we get in the ring. He’s the exact same horse here as he is at home — he’s the same everywhere and super honest, it makes riding him very enjoyable.”
Natalie Pai
On Her Ride:
“My horse is a bit more experienced than I am. I’ve had him for a little more than a year now. Today, I missed both sets of changes, I have trouble counting them, but he always tries so hard for me — I just have to learn to count better.”
On Competing on the US Team:
“It’s really awesome being able to be on the U.S. team and it’s been a lot of fun so far. I hope to continue to have more fun in the future!”
Team Canada 1- Bronze Medal
Naima Moreira Lalibert
On Being on the U25 Team for Canada:
“We’ve been on teams together for a while now – we’ve been on the Quebec teams since we were juniors, then we moved to the young rider team together and now we’re back doing the U25.”
On Her Ride:
“I’m quite happy today with my test. It’s a huge improvement since my first CDI! We’ve worked hard since January, and I’m happy to see all the work show in the test. I had a little mistake in the pirouette where he walked for a couple strides – which is very costly, but I hope we can fix it for tomorrow. I’m overall really happy with him – he’s come a long way.”
Laurence Blais Tetreault
On Being on the U25 Team for Canada:
“It’s really nice to be here together – we did juniors and young riders and now we’re finally moving up to U25, which is a difficult step, but we’re taking it and it’s going okay so far. It’s our first year at this level and I haven’t been riding my horse that long, so it can sometimes be more difficult, but it’s nice to be a part of the Nations Cup.”
On Her Ride:
“The canter tour today was better than at my past shows. I find the piaffe and passage very difficult so I think it will just take time for me to get used to my horse and improve it. The U25 is very fun, but difficult at the same time.”
CDIO U-25 Team Results
Spain
Juan Matute Guimon / Don Diego Ymas / 72.294
Rodrigo Encinas Fuentes / Van the Man / 68.294
Total Score: 140.588
United States:
Molly Paris / Countess / 66.706
Kerrigan Gluch / Bolero CXLVII / 65.706
Natalie Pai / Unlimited / 65.441
Total Score: 132.412
Canada Team 1
Naima Moreira Lalibert / I Do Kiss / 67.882
Laurence Blais Tetreault / Utah / 63.765
Total Score: 131.647
Canada Team 2
Tanya Strasser-Shostak / Renaissance Tyme / 66.029
Vanessa Creech-Terauds / Devon L / 60.588
Total Score: 126.617
CDIO U25 Intermediate II Results:
Placing / Rider / Country / Horse / Total Score
1.Juan Matute Guimon / ESP / Don Diego Ymas / 72.294
2.Rodrigo Encinas Fuentes / ESP / Van the Man / 68.294
3.Naima Moreira Lalibert / CAN / I Do Kiss / 67.882
4.Molly Paris / USA / Countess / 66.706
5.Tanya Strasser-Shostak / CAN / Renaissance Tyme / 66.029
6.Kerrigan Gluch / USA / Bolero CXLVII / 65.706
7.Natalie Pai / USA / Unlimited / 65.441
8.Laurence Blais Tetreault / CAN / Utah / 63.765
9.Vanessa Creech-Terauds / CAN / Devon L / 60.588
