When the best small tour horses in the country gather together for the first time at the national championship anything can happen, but today, June 27, it was Michelle Gibson who came out on top of the standings with Don Angelo in the Prix St. Georges at the Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Dressage Festival of Champions in San Juan Capistrano, Calif.
However, the Prix St. Georges only counts for 30 percent of the overall Intermediaire I National Championship—the Intermediare I is 45 percent and the freestyle counts for 25 percent—and Gibson doesn’t have much room for error. Shawna Harding finished in second with Come On III (70.15%) just .35 percent behind Gibson. Steffen Peters is still in the hunt too with a third-placed finish aboard Montango.
“I was very happy with him overall,” said Gibson, Wellington, Fla. “He came into the ring, and everybody was clapping and his eyes got big, but I was very pleased with him. I felt like our canter tour was pretty strong. He’s 8 years old. Tomorrow will probably be his fifth I1.”
Gibson and Harding are helping each other this weekend, so there was some friendly teasing back and forth. “We’re both good competitors and good friends, so it’s fun,” said Gibson.
Harding said she lost the win with a mistake in her reinback. “I came into the halt, and he wasn’t quite square,” she explained. “I gave a small correction aid, and he over-corrected, got a little bit crooked against the fence, and when we went into the reinback, his hind leg got caught up in the railing, which spooked him.”
Other than that mistake, Harding had nothing but positive things to say about her ride. “We had some decent pirouettes—I think they’re getting stronger,” she said. “Our changes are getting more confirmed. We’re clearing up some of the stuff we had in Florida. He seems in good spirits.”
Peters’ mount Montango may have had the hometown advantage, since the pair hails from San Diego, Calif., but he was feeling a bit too spirited to put in his best test.
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“I had my hands full with Montango,” admitted Peters. “He came in and wheeled around a couple times. I had a hard time getting him into the ring. He stepped on himself. He never was quite as calm so I could really ride him. It was a conservative test. We went for a clean test. I watched Michelle and Shawna, and there was no doubt the ladies had better tests.”
But Montango came into the competition as the top-ranked small tour horse in the country, so if he settles down tomorrow in the Intermediaire I, the competition will really heat up.
The 11-horse field in the Intermediaire I Championship looked very strong. Some riders struggled with tension. Like Peters, Susan Jaccoma had trouble getting Wadamur into the ring, but once in, he put in a strong test for fourth place (68.50%).
Small errors and conservative riding brought the scores down for some of the other horses, but the majority of the tests were consistent and clean. Unfortunately, Elizabeth Hendrix did not start Donna Novella.
Earlier in the day, the up-and-coming riders got their chance to shine in the Brentina Cup Test. Adrienne Lyle rose to the top aboard Wizard (67.84%) over Kelly Casey on Luzifer (64.87%) and Lindsey Anderson-O’Keefe with Intrepid (62.92%).
Last week’s young rider champion, Kassandra Barteau, wasn’t able to compete in the Brentina Cup because her mount, Liberty, appeared off in the veterinary inspection.
Tomorrow, the second leg of the Grand Prix Championship and Olympic Selection Trials kicks off, but two competitors won’t be returning. Debbie McDonald didn’t present Felix, and Michael Barisone had to withdraw Neruda as well.
