Articles: Horse News
Jan Ebeling and Rafalca Make Top 10 at the Reem Acra FEI World
Cup Dressage Final
Jan Ebeling and Rafalca.
(Photo by Aly Sanderford/ Phelps Media Group)
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NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 28, 2011
By Helen Murray
Leipzig, Germany - The Reem Acra FEI World Cup Final got underway Thursday
evening with the grand prix presented by Sparkasse. The U.S. sent three
combinations to the arena in Hall One of the Leipzig Exhibition Hall. The
American horse/rider combinations did not disappoint in the field of 17.
jan ebeling WC 2011
First in the arena for the U.S. was Jan Ebeling and Ann Romney's
Rafalca. This veteran pair demonstrated fluid trot work emphasized by a
solid half-pass and had a consistent canter tour. Throughout the test,
Rafalca was the picture of obedience and finished with a fluent centerline.
The 52-year-old from Moorpark, CA, could not have been more proud of his
longtime partner and found vindication tonight for a tense FEI World Cup
Final debut in Las Vegas in 2009.
"I couldn't be happier with her, she didn't really have any mistakes and she
handled the arena really well, for me that was one thing I really wanted to
show everyone, she is not as silly as she was two years ago in Vegas."
Rafalca and Ebeling earned a score of 68.191% to finish the grand prix in
10th place.
Next in the ring for the U.S. was Shawna Harding and her own Come On
III. They finished in 15th place on a score of 64.696%. This pair from
Aiken, SC, started off their test with a strong first centerline and flowed
into a powerful extended trot. Throughout their entire time in the arena,
Harding and Come On III displayed expressive canter gaits, highlighted by
determined canter work.
The final pair for the U.S. was Vechta, Germany, based Catherine
Haddad-Staller and her own Winyamaro. The chestnut gelding with four white
socks demonstrated flashy movement throughout the test to score 67.34% and
finish in 11th place. They had an accurate test highlighted by active trot
work and a bold lengthening. In the second canter pirouette on the
centerline, the pair lost their rhythm but recovered the next movement with
a fluid extended trot.
Haddad-Staller was pleased with the maturity that the 11-year-old
demonstrated on such a large stage.
"I was quite happy with my ride, my horse is quite young for this type of
tournament. I was pretty happy excited he made it into the FEI Finals. He
was quite distracted in some parts of the test. It wasn't my most relaxed
test, but I was quite happy he kept it together in there."
The Netherlands' experienced pair of Adelinde Cornelissen and Jerich
Parzival captured the victory in the grand prix presented by Sparkasse
scoring 80.957%.
All three American combinations have qualified to compete in the grand prix
freestyle on Saturday evening.
Anne Gribbons, the USEF Dressage Technical Advisor was thrilled with all
three of these combinations moving onto the freestyle, but was not surprised
by their strong performances this evening.
"I love it, I love it, I really do. We didn't expect anything else," she
said.
The Grand Prix Kur for the Reem Acra World Cup Dressage Final will take
place Saturday April 30 in Hall One and is set to begin at 6:00 p.m. CEST.
Watch live action from the Reem Acra FEI World Cup Final on
http://www.feitv.com.
For news, videos, photos, blogs and results, visit
http://usefnetwork.com/2011FEIWCFinals/.
Details about the Finals are available at
http://www.engarde.de/events/index.php?eventID=65.
The vision of the United States Equestrian Federation is to provide
leadership
for equestrian sport in the United States of America by promoting the
pursuit
of excellence from the grassroots to the Olympic Games, based on a
foundation of fair, safe competition and the welfare
of its human and equine athletes.
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