DressageDaily: Grand Prix Hattrick for Trussell and Royan II at Port Jervis CDI

Saturday May 3, 2003

Grand Prix Hattrick for Trussell and Royan II at Port Jervis CDI

Trussel on Royan II Belinda Trussell of Stouffville, ON, won the Grand Prix, the Grand Prix Special, and the Grand Prix Freestyle to record a clean sweep of all the Grand Prix classes offered this past weekend and the CDI*** Port Jervis, in Port Jervis, NY, held April 24-27, 2003

Trussell, a member of Canada’s 2002 World Equestrian Games Team, riding her horse Royan II, a 13-year-old Oldenburg gelding, handily won the Grand Prix on Friday, April 25, with a score of 66.71%. Fellow Canadian Evi Strasser of Ste. Adele, PQ, aboard her 12-year-old Oldenburg gelding, Pryme Tyme, finished in fifth with a score of 62.83%. Finishing in sixth place was Gillian Sutherland of Unionville, ON, and her 11-year-old Oldenburg gelding Justin Tyme, owned by Karen Soupcoff. Right behind Sutherland, in seventh place, was Jacqueline Brooks of Mount Albert, ON, and her horse Finnegan, a 15-year-old Oldenburg gelding.

On Saturday, Trussell dominated the Grand Prix Freestyle with a commanding score of 70.43% with Royan II for the win. Strasser and Pryme Tyme finished in third with a score of 68.85% and Sutherland riding Justin Tyme placed fifth with 63.88%. Brooks finished in sixth place with 63.08%.

Trussell wrapped up her fantastic weekend with a victory in the Grand Prix Special with a score of 67.32%.

“Our detailed training this winter has paid off,” noted Trussell. “Royan felt great, fresh and ready to show. After owning him for a year, our partnership is really coming together.”

Adding to Trussell’s stellar performance was her double victory in the FEI six-year-old Qualifier test with a score of 74.6% and FEI six-year-old Test with 77.6% aboard Grand Marnier, a Hanoverian gelding owned by her husband Mark Trussell.

In the Prix St. Georges test on Friday, Ishoy finished in fifth spot with 64.70% aboard Coeur de Lion. Brooks and Gran Gesto placed sixth with 64.65% and Winter and Davidoff were eighth with a score of 63.60%. Bresee riding Raffles placed 10th with a score of 62.65%, and Strasser and Quantum Tyme were 12th with a score of 62.40%.

In the Intermediare I Freestyle on Saturday, Strasser riding Quantum Tyme, her eight-year-old Oldenburg gelding, placed third with a strong score of 65.80%. Brooks and Gran Gesto, an eight-year-old Oldenburg owned by Brinc Ltd. and Anne Welch, finished in sixth with a score of 64.08%. In eighth place was Andrea Bresee of Brockville, ON, riding Gina Smith’s nine-year-old Canadian bred Swedish warmblood, Raffles. Olympic bronze medallist, Cindy Ishoy of Hannon, ON, finished in ninth place riding her horse Coeur de Lion, a 10-year-old Holsteiner stallion.

Also on Saturday, Sutherland, riding Karolos, an 11-year-old Dutch warmblood gelding owned by Karen Soupcoff, won the Intermediare I Freestyle Consolation with a score of 61.95%. Jessica Costello aboard Litmanen, a 10-year-old Dutch warmblood owned by Judy Elliot, finished in third place.

Jacqueline Brooks Brooks and Gran Gesto placed third with 65.45% in Sunday’s Intermediare I. Strasser riding Quantum Tyme finished in fifth with 63.45%. Victoria Winter of Toronto, ON, riding Patricia Winter’s Davidoff, a 10-year-old Westphalian gelding, placed ninth. Ishoy and Coeur De Lion placed 10th, Sutherland and Karolos finished 12th, and Costello and Litmanen placed 14th.

Bethanne Murphy of St-Etienne De Beauharnois, PQ, riding her horse Wendela, a nine-year-old Hanoverian mare, placed eighth in the Young Rider Team Test and sixth in the Young Rider Individual Test.

At the CDI***Del-Mar in California, Dominique Culham of White Rock, BC, the only Canadian rider, aboard Matisse, her nine-year-old Dutch warmblood sired by Darwin, placed well in the Prix St. Georges with a score of 64.80%, and were 8th in the Intermediare I with a score of 65.30%. The duo placed 5th in the Intermediare I Freestyle with a score of 65.90%.

Photos copyrighted: Kathryn Eitutis