Saugerties, N.Y.—Sept. 16

Yesterday Lars Petersen won the Intermediaire I at the Saugerties CDI-W with Chicco Roslev. The day before that he placed second in the Grand Prix with Mariett. Then today, Petersen completed his excellent weekend by winning the Grand Prix Special aboard Mariett (69.60%).

“I was happy with the ride,” he said. “She’s changing a little bit. The throughness is so much better, so I now can give more gas. Now sometimes I think I do a little too much, so I had a few mistakes here and there—a hind leg misstep in the twos and a bobble in the lengthenings—but I’m very happy with how the horse is progressing.”

The winner of Friday’s Grand Prix, Cesar Parra aboard Van The Man, was second today on a 68.84 percent. Canada’s David Marcus on Don Kontes rounded out the top three with a score of 67.40 percent. Petersen and Mariett were second in the Grand Prix on Friday.

“I thought I had a little more power today, and therefore maybe a few more little bobbles,” said Petersen. “Next we have to get the power and no bobbles.”

Mariett, a 14-year-old Danish Warmblood (Come Back II—Zendi, Sidney) mare owned by Petersen and Marcia Pepper, just did her first Grand Prix earlier this year in Florida. Petersen is taking her to Dressage At Devon (Pa.) in a few weeks, and then the Legacy Farms team will head back to their home barn in Wellington, Fla.

“We’ll see how she is in Florida to figure out what we’re doing next,” said Petersen. “I think her piaffe and passage are very good. Her tempis and her pirouettes are great; I don’t think she has real weaknesses. She’s a very sweet mare.”

Heather Mason, who rides with Petersen, topped today’s Intermediaire I freestyle aboard Zar with a 71.47 percent. Zar, an 8-year-old Dutch Warmblood (Iroko—Inga, Actueel) gelding, has been in Mason’s barn since he was 4 months old.

“I got him out of the Cornell University [N.Y.] breeding program,” said Mason. “I bought him as a stallion prospect, but then I gelded him because he got too big. Then I put him up for sale for a few years, and then I decided to keep him.”

Mason used the music, an Allegro Milano melody, from another of her horses, Warsteiner, for Zar’s first Intermediaire I freestyle.

“He was a very good boy,” she said. “He had a little mistake in the twos, but otherwise everything was really solid.”  

This is Zar’s first year in the small tour, and Mason is considering doing the USEF Developing Horse Prix St. Georges tests with him next year. He’s also heading to Devon in a few weeks.

“His temperament is very good,” said Mason. “He used to be really spooky, but he’s very good in the bridle and very steady.”

Canada’s Armand Valkenborg finished second in the Intermediaire I freestyle with Hermione 2.

Full results available online at Fox Village.