Articles: Horse News
Jan Ebeling and Rafalca Finish Eleventh in 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 30, 2011
By Helen Murray
Leipzig, Germany - A strong field of 15 riders from nine nations contested
Saturday evening's Grand Prix Freestyle, to bring the Reem Acra FEI World
Cup Dressage Final to a close. There were three nations that qualified three
riders each for tonight's class; the United States, The Netherlands and
Germany. America's Catherine Haddad-Staller, Shawna Harding and Jan Ebeling
performed up-tempo freestyles in front of a large audience in Hall One of
the Leipzig Exhibition Center.
Haddad-Staller (Vechta, Germany) and her own Winyamaro started the evening's
competition with an impressive freestyle. The music selection played up the
Hanoverian gelding's expressive gaits and allowed for his character to shine
through. Highlights of Haddad-Staller's test included expressive lateral
work and her one-handed canter extension. The pair rode to a score of
70.161% and finished the Grand Prix Freestyle in 12th place.
Fellow American, Shawna Harding, followed Haddad-Staller into the ring with
an equally fun ride, scoring 67.625%. Harding (Aiken, SC) and her own Come
On III started their test with a high degree of difficulty by performing
tempi-changes upon her entrance on the centerline. Come On III was more
relaxed in his extended walk tonight than he was during Thursday's Grand
Prix test and had beautiful half-passes in both the trot and canter. This
pair ended their test with an exclamation point by finishing completely in
sync with their music. Harding and Come On III finished in 14th place.
Jan Ebeling of Moorpark, CA and Ann Romney's Rafalca followed up their
strong performance in the Grand Prix test with another highlight in the
Freestyle. From the very beginning, this pair was out to impress with a
technically challenging first section. Their music was set to the soundtrack
of the 1986 Robert De Niro movie "The Mission" and suited their choreography
perfectly. Throughout their powerful trot work, Ebeling and Rafalca stayed
perfectly in step with the music, helping them to earn a 72.589%. The pair
completed the Grand Prix Freestyle in 11th place.
Ebeling could not have been more pleased with the Oldenburg mare tonight and
found the experience riding for the U.S. in the Reem Acra FEI World Cup
Dressage Final extremely valuable.
"She gave her all, I couldn't be happier," Ebeling said. "The atmosphere is
here is just amazing. In America, we never get to ride in places like this,
never get to ride in front of so many people, so for us it's just
amazing. I'm just thrilled, it's always fantastic to represent your
country."
Adelinde Cornelissen and Jerich Parzival of The Netherlands were the victors
in tonight's Grand Prix Freestyle with a score of 84.804.
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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