WELLINGTON, Fla.--Steffen Peters on Suppenkasper won the Grand Prix CDI4* for Special, at the Global Dressage Festival on Jan. 28, and the following dayKent Farrington on Austria 2 won he 37,000 WEF Challenge Cup.

Steffen Peters on Suppenkasper (Photo by usan Stickle)Peters and Suppenkasper now have 16 wins in a row, concluding their Grand Prix performance with a 76.761 percent in the Grand Prix CDI4* for Special.

“We had a nice ride this morning,” Peters said. “Usually I work him twice on competition days. He felt great so I did exactly 22 minutes of work at 9:00 am, and 25 minutes in the warm-up today before the test, because sometimes the longer I work him, the hotter he gets. Remembering last year when I went into this ring, he was a firecracker, and the first test we did wasn’t as good. I rode a little bit with that mindset today, and rode a little more conservatively, and he surprised me. I think I could’ve ridden him a little more, but it’s a good start with a clean test, and I’m very happy with him. Usually the wind and cold air bothers him too, so he’s growing up.”

Peters and the gelding took part of the spring off, enjoying California and the break from competition.

“I think for both of us it was great to take a break,” he said. “I was pretty bummed that the World Cup didn’t happen last year, as that’s always such a highlight riding in front of an American crowd. But then you accept it, and for both of us it was good to take it easy. I enjoyed biking and boating, and Mopsie certainly took it easy in April and May, and then in June we picked it up again a little bit.”

 

“IF YOU LOOK at the world, there’s nothing good about COVID because we’ve lost so many people, and there is so much tragedy, but I think it really opened up my eyes," said Peters. "When I wake up in the morning and I can take a deep breath, I can appreciate those things. I wake up with more gratitude every single day, and I think that shows a little bit in the riding. If I have a ride that didn’t go that well, it’s not as significant now.”

“Knowing he was so good today, we are just going to do the five-star at the end of February, and then the Nations’ Cup," said Peters. "I really trust our federation, and I know that they will make the right decision when it comes to going to Europe, and for hopefully competing in Tokyo. I go day by day, and at the moment it doesn’t make sense to go to Europe, for obvious reasons, and I would be perfectly happy if we do the quarantine in the United States as planned, and then fly from here to Tokyo. That would be a good plan, but first I have to make the team.”

Canada’s Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu on All In placed second, scoring 71.891 percent, and Katherine Bateson Chandler on Alcazar, Jane Forbes Clark’s gelding by Contango, was third on a score of 70.913 percent.

Earlier in the day, Cesar Parra won the FEI Prix St. Georges CDI3* on Mr Bumblebee, scoring 71.00 percent, and Germany’s Michael Klimke on Harmony’s Astro was second place with a 69.676 percent with Marc Stanuschewski of Germany on Graciella was third with 66.794 percent.

In the FEI Grand Prix CDI3*, Benjamin Ebeling was first with a 71.804 percent, riding Illuster Van de Kampert, with Sweden’s Tinne Vilhelmson Silfvén second on Devanto with 69.022 percent, and Susan Dutta on Don Design DC was third with 68.609 percent.

 

FARRINGTON on Austria 2 was the first to return for the jump-off and, despite the disadvantage of going first, could not be caught, to win the $37,000 WEF Challenge Cup Round 3 CSI3* on Friday, Jan. 29.

Kent Farrington on Austria 2 (Photo by Sportfot)A total of 84 combinations contested the opening round of the class, all trying to qualify for Sunday’s $137,000 Grand Prix CSI3*.

With 15 qualifying for the jump-off, only nine elected to return for the jump-off round, with Farrington going clean in a blistering 38.29 seconds.

“I ride some very fast horses and Austria is one of the fastest, so if you’re going to go with her in the jump-off, she really only has one speed,” said Farrington. “I thought she was great today, and she looks ready to go for the season, so it was a great way for her to start.”

“Those smaller horses, they gain confidence from working out of speed, especially when the jumps get bigger and wide,” he said. “They have to be comfortable jumping off a big gallop so it’s a good way to start her. There are tough competitors here as always and it’s never easy to win, so I’m happy to get the win today.”

Laura Kraut finished second on Confu, finishing less than a second and a half off the winning time in 39.79 seconds.

Also double clear effort was Adrienne Sternlicht on Bennys Legacy, finishing in 41.04 seconds for third.

“I have a mixed group here at WEF,” he said. “I have some older, very experienced horses that I’m going to work in and out of the season trying to keep them going but not overuse them here, just like I normally do. I also have some younger ones, and I’ll move them up and down depending on what they’re ready for”

Earlier in the day, Laura Chapot of Neshanic Station, N.J., on Calafornia won the $6,000 Bainbridge Companies 1.40m Jumpers.