Sunday May 11, 2003

Heavy Dressage Show Weekend World Wide

Heath Ryan at CDI Sydney, Sidneva at CDI Jozefin and Linsenhoff at CDN Bad Salzuflen

The second weekend of May 2003 hosted world wide three top notch national and international dressage competitions. Take a tour around the globe with us to get updated on the latest dressage competition. We kick off in Sydney, Australia, where Heath Ryan won the big tour at the CDI Sydney.

Hosted at the Sydney Equestrian Centre, the Sydney CDI*** featured a large field of competitors, mainly from Australian, but also from Canada and the USA. Australian WEG Team rider Heath Ryan dominated the Intermediaire II and the Grand Prix Kur to Music aboard the Australian bred Stirling Stilton. Scoring a modest 65.902% in the Inter II and decent 69.775% in the Kur, Ryan was the big winner of the show. The Grand Prix was won by WEG rider Mary Hanna on Limbo. The combination just returned from Europe where they went for training by Sjef Janssen. In Sydney they received the winning 66.667% for their ride. Hanna beat the winner of the Special, Ricky MacMillan on her Hannoverian Crisp. MacMillan, a dentist by profession, received 65.32% from the judges in the Special which made her win the class.

The small tour was a Ryan extravaganza. Although Vickie Robertson won the Prix St Georges on Northern Invador with 64.833%, second placed Heath Ryan claimed the Intermediaire I title with 69.250%. Heath saddled Greenoaks Dundee for the class and beat wife Rozzie Ryan who rode Greenoaks Legend. In the Inter I kur it was Rozzie who went for the blue with 71.150%.

Two Americans competed on loaned horses in the Prix St Georges Derby at the CDI Sydney. Former North American Young Riders' Champion Leslie Eden steered Buccaneer to a 53.700% score and finished seventh in the derby. Californian Patty Mayer rode Lou Lum and placed eighth with 53.350%. Best competing "foreign" rider was the Canadian Daphne Haagmans who placed 6th with 55.700% on Barnclueth Harvest Moon.

Photos courtesy: Franz Venhaus