Guenter Seidel’s string of horses shows lots of promise.

Guenter Seidel found his horses wearing nothing but blue at the conclusion of the Dressage Getaway in Indio, Calif., on Feb. 13-15.

Seidel, who works out of Albert Court in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., won two second level tests with French Prince (75.26% and 72.70%), two Prix St. Georges tests with Trinity (70.26% and 77.10%) and both the Prix St. Georges and Intermediaire I High Performance Stakes classes with U II (74.03% and 73.59%).

“They were both solid rides,” Seidel said of U II’s performances in Indio. “In the [Intermediaire I] we made a mistake in the two tempis, but he’s very settled into the level he is doing.”

U II, an 8-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, has been Seidel’s partner since he was about 4. Together, they’ve been slowly rising up the levels and last year won the USEF National Developing Horse Championship.

“We bought U II as a 3-year-old from Egbert Kraak in Holland,” said owner Jane Brown. “He was kind and willing, and Guenter thought he showed promise. He has a great work ethic. He is always willing to learn.”

Brown, who looks forward to watching his progress continue, said that U II has an adorable personality and is fond of people playing with his tongue.

Seidel would like to see the horse become a little stronger and more consistent in each movement, but he is pleased with his progress. “He’s a very spooky horse,” he mentioned. “He’s afraid of other horses coming toward him, which can be a problem in warm-up. Other than that, he’s a great horse to work with.”

Crediting U II’s trot work as his strong point, Seidel said that his changes are a little green at times, but he hopes that U II will be ready for Grand Prix by the end of the year. “It took longer [to get the flying change] than we all expected,” said Brown. “Now he does them with ease, grace and power.”

“Anywhere he goes wrong are rider errors,” Seidel continued with a laugh. “If I ride him well, he can do a good job.”

Trinity, a 9-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, has been under Seidel’s tutelage for about six months. Standing 18 hands, the horse has just started his Prix St. Georges career.

Although Trinity scored well in both of his tests, Seidel said that they were not as polished as he would have liked.

“He’s still very green,” he said. “He has good gaits so he scores well, but he needs to be more accurate and polished. But he does have lots of talent. I’m very excited about him.”