Marco Bernal brought some big guns to the sixth Zada Dressage At The National and trotted off with
most of the prizes fromthe Dec. 7-9 show in Wellington, Fla.

Bernal, a Colombian native who resides in West Palm Beach, won a class at fourth level with Farewell (72.09%), an Intermediaire I class with Halbgott (70.50%) and both the Grand Prix and the Grand Prix Special with Diamore (68.33%, 69.70%).

“I’m really happy to see that the training program is working on three different horses,” said Bernal. “That’s what we showed at this competition. The training makes them winners.”

Although the show featured just two dressage rings, the bustle of the National Horse Show created a bigger atmosphere. Farewell, a 6-year-old Westphalian stallion (Fidermark—Riga, Rosenkavalier) owned by Bernal, was a bit surprised at all the commotion.

“He was a little bit crazy the first day, more than I thought,” said Bernal. “I had my hands full. He was acting too energetic, like a stallion. But the good news was that he came into the ring and behaved like a very experienced horse. Outside, he was up, but inside he was right with me. This horse is something special.”

Bernal imported Farewell as a 3-year-old from Germany. His full brother, Farewell III, was the 6-year-old Bundeschampionat winner, and all four siblings produced by the Fidermark/Riga combination have gone on to become approved stallions.

Bernal said he had excellent results with Farewell as a 4-year-old, scoring 85 percent at training level, so he’s kept him out of the show ring since then with the intention of bringing him out at the higher levels.

“He’s an excellent mover,” said Bernal. “He’s a nice horse with a short back and beautiful neck position. He mentally wants to work on your side, which makes the whole thing easier.”

And when Bernal found Farewell in Germany, he also found another special stallion, Halbgott. An
11-year-old Trakehner (Partout—Hatari, Consul), Halbgott was on the plane to Brazil this summer for the Pan American Games when he injured himself and was unable to compete.

“It was important to me to take him out there and show that he was ready,” said Bernal. “Unfortunately he couldn’t compete.”

He said that Halbgott is ready to move up to Grand Prix, but Bernal wanted to give him a bit more time in the small tour. “I thought it wasn’t fair to take him to the Grand Prix now,” he said. “Let him do well at the Prix St. Georges, Intermediaire I  and then move him up.”

And while Bernal loves to ride stallions, a special mare has stolen his heart at the Grand Prix level. Diamore, an 11-year-old Danish Warmblood mare (Diamond—Kalinka) owned by Richard and Meryl Cannon, just might be his ticket to the Olympics in Hong Kong next summer.

“She’s an excellent mare, all heart,” said Bernal. “She gives you everything in the ring. Her strength is a consistent, clean test. She’s not the most expressive, although her piaffe and passage are strengths. From the first stride to the last stride she is the same horse. It’s all nice and smooth. You don’t have a 9 and then a 4.”

Bernal, 45, has represented Colombia four times in the Pan American Games, including winning a team silver medal in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1999, but he’s never ridden in an Olympic Games.

She’s Finding Her Rhythm

Bernal used this December show as preparation for the late January Gold Coast Opener CDI (Fla.), and he wasn’t the only one. Denmark’s Mikala Gundersen debuted Horses Unlimited’s Pik L at Intermediare II, winning both her tests (69.26%, 65.12%).

Gundersen took over the ride on all the Horses Unlimited dressage horses from Cesar Parra in January of 2007, but she didn’t get much time with Pik L. Susan Dutta borrowed him to try to qualify for the Pan American Games, since Gundersen lives in Wellington but is a Danish citizen and wasn’t eligible.

The 14-year-old Hanoverian stallion (Pik Bube II—Abaja) has been a contender in the small tour for many years, placing fourth individually at the 2003 Pan American Games in the Dominican Republic with Parra. Dutta took him to Rio de Janeiro as the traveling alternate and then handed him back to Gundersen.

“I don’t know if anybody ever tried to move him up,” said Gundersen. “It was kind of my goal to see if I could move him up this coming year. Most of the movements he’s done for years. I felt him going pretty good, so I decided to try him in the I2 to see how he handles it.”

Pik L added the piaffe, passage and one-tempis with grace, although Gundersen admitted that he seemed surprised to do them in the arena.

“It’s still a little bit hard for him,” she said. “He does it much better at home, of course. It was not spectacular, but he did it. It will be much better once he learns to do it in the ring.”

Gundersen, 39, also rode one of Pik L’s sons, Pikk Primero, to blue in the 5-year-old test (75.00%).

“It’s so much fun to ride the father and the son at the same show,” she said. “He’s a lovely horse. He’s a lot like Pik L, but he’s a lighter type. He’s only 5, and he’s only shown this year. He still needs a little more experience in the ring. He’s a talented horse. Hopefully I can keep him and ride the 6-year-olds and then do the Prix St. Georges, but he might sell sooner than that.”

Gundersen visits Horses Unlimited often so she can keep her eye on the rising talent there. “Pik L is a pretty strong dad,” she said. “He passes a lot off to his baby—they’re all nice and rideable and pretty. I have a lot to come.”

It’s taken time for Gundersen to feel completely confident with some of her new rides from Horses Unlimited.

“It’s always hard to take over horses from somebody else,” she said. “For me it’s easier to ride the horses I’ve made myself. It does take some time to change the horses so they get used to my aids. That is the hardest thing, but it’s exciting for me to get such nice horses. I feel lucky that I was chosen to do this job.”

Gundersen balances being a mother to Claudia, 9, and Casper, 7, and her riding job. Her husband, Henrik, rides some of the Horses Unlimited jumpers.

She plans to continue showing Pik L and Pikk Primero and hopes to add Leonburg at Grand Prix and Wild Dance in the small tour at the next CDI.

“It was nice to have the show to get them out in December,” Mikala said. “It’s a tough show because you go right out with the jumpers and all the noises of the show; it surprises the horses a little bit. It was nice to get on Pik L. He’s done this before. But it was a little tough with the baby.”

He’s The Perfect Package

Jan Brons was another one who was pleased to give his horse a chance to experience some atmosphere. He rode Teutobod to a win in the Prix St. Georges (69.12%) and a second-placed finish in the Intermediaire I (65.87%).

“I took him there because it was so busy, and it gives you a good idea of what they’ll do when things get really big,” said Brons, 43.

He’s been riding the 7-year-old Dutch Warmblood (Lord Sinclair—Touch Of Class), owned by Carlene Blunt, for a year and a half. He won the regional championship at Prix St. Georges, but
this was their first time showing at Intermediaire I.

“He had some green horse mistakes in the Intermediaire I,” said Brons. “I looked at the videotape, and his frame and his posture looked good. Hopefully with a couple of more classes he’ll score as well as he does in the Prix St. Georges.”

Brons said that “Teddy” is an all-around strong horse with few weaknesses. “He is a good athlete,” he said. “He doesn’t think anything is all that difficult. That’s why I can really ride him around those classes and expect that he does OK.”

Although many horses found the atmosphere tough, Teddy didn’t have any trouble. “He’s pretty self-confident,” said Brons. “He’s not a spooky horse, and that plays to my advantage at the National Horse Show. He might look up at stuff, but he’ll rarely spook.”

Dressage at the National was a home show for Brons. “I can go home at night and sleep in my own bed,” he said. “It’s another day at the office. I like the horse show grounds, and I like the way it’s run. It was the perfect opportunity for me.”

He’ll continue to compete Teddy in the small tour but refused to speculate on goals for the coming season.

“I’m playing it day by day, and I’ll see what happens,” said Brons. “He’s pretty special. He’s hot enough to ride that you don’t have to chase him around, but he’s not so out of control that you can’t ride him. For me he’s the perfect package. I feel comfortable that he will make it to the Grand Prix.”

Sara Lieser