WELLINGTON, Fla.--Armenia’s Carrie Schopf on Saumur made it two for two, following her win in the qualifier on Thursday with a victory in the Grand Prix Special on Saturday,Feb. 26 at Global Dressage.
Carrie Schopf on Saumur (Photo by Susan Stickle)Schopf rode to a personal best of 70.979 percent to beat 12 competitors.
Jessica Howington on Cavalia was second with a score of 70.149 percent.
“Anybody can win on a given day, especially when the scores were as close as they were today,” said Schopf. “But it’s really gratifying to have your work and your thought process rewarded.”
Schopf is an amateur rider who does have grooms who help her with her horses, but with Saumur, she does it all herself.
“He’s so grumpy in the barn,” said Schopf. “He doesn’t mean anything by it, but he’s not a huge horse, so he has sort of a Napoleon complex.
“By being grumpy it makes him feel much bigger,” she said. “I don’t think he would go if I wasn’t taking care of him. I don’t think he would be as happy about things if he was just sort of handed over. I think for him, for whatever reason, it’s the whole picture.”
“THIS IS is a very forward test in the trot work especially, and it’s forward that if you swing with them, you can really capture that energy," she said. "You can really let them sail, so I just stepped on the gas pedal and went!”
“The single most important thing to me is that he stays happy and healthy,"said Schopf." If it works out in August that he’s still all of those things, and I feel comfortable with that, then I would go to the World Championships. For me, it’s really about enjoying my horse, and he’s such a pleasure.”
Earlier in the day, Beatrice Boucher of Canada capped her successful week with Summerwood’s Limei by beating the field of 14 competitors in the Intermediate I CDI1* class.
This was Boucher’s second international win in as many days, as she received particularly strong marks in the flying changes with 7.5s and 8s, resulting in a personal best score of 70.912%.
Silva Martin of Cochranville, Pa., placed second with a 69.059 percent on Esperanto.and Colombia’s María Alejandra Aponte González was third on Lord of the Dance on a score of 68.324 percent.
