Monday August 8, 2005

Ashley Holzer Designs Victory at CDI Toronto Dressage Classic

Canadian Olympic Bronze Medalist Ashley Holzer rode Pop Art to victory in the Prix St. Georges on Friday at the CDI3* Toronto Classic running August 4-7 at the Royal Canadian Riding Academy in Cedar Valley, ON, just north of Toronto.

A large field of 18 competitors competed in the Prix St. Georges, which is one level of difficulty below the Olympic level of Grand Prix. A Toronto native, Holzer earned the winning score of 72.60% from the panel of five international judges, giving Holzer her first victory of the year on Canadian soil. Holzer spends the winter season competing in Florida, where she and Pop Art, her eight-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, enjoyed numerous wins.

Another Canadian Olympian, Tom Dvorak of Hillsburgh, ON, settled for second with a score of 69.15% riding Beaumarchais, Susan Holden’s 10-year-old dark bay Hannoverian gelding. Andrea Bresee who hails from Brockville, ON, where she trains at Franklands Farm, took third place. Riding Raffles, an 11-year-old Swedish Warmblood mare, Bresee earned a score of 67.50%.

Gillian Sutherland of Unionville, ON, rode the athletic 8-year-old Oldenburg gelding, Great Tyme, to fourth place for owner and long-time sponsor, Karen Soupcoff, by earning a score of 66.65%. Great Tyme was purchased last spring from yet another Canadian Olympian, Evi Strasser, who operates Good Tyme Stables in Ste-Adele, QC, and will be competing in Saturday’s Grand Prix at the Toronto Dressage Classic.

Rounding out the top five was Cheryl Meisner of Blandford, NS. At 23 years of age, Meisner, who rides for Nova Scotia’s Lobster Point Farms, was the youngest athlete competing in the Prix St. Georges division. Her horse, Paganini, is an eight-year-old Dutch Warmblood stallion by Havidoff that was purchased last October from well-known Dutch trainer, Bert Rutten.

In other competition, Belinda Trussell of Stouffville, ON, won the Intermediaire II with a score of 67.512%. Trussell, 33, who lives just down the road from the Royal Canadian Riding Academy, was riding Royan II, her 15-year-old Oldenburg gelding, with whom she represented Canada at the 2002 World Championships, 2003 Open European Championships and last year’s Athens Olympic Games.

With two competitions running concurrently, a national show sanctioned by Equine Canada and the United States Equestrian Federation and an international show sanctioned by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), over 200 athletes are contesting the Toronto Dressage Classic. Organized by Cara Whitham’s Equivents, Inc., the CDI3* Toronto Dressage Classic has welcomed competitors from across Canada, including British Columbia, Alberta and Nova Scotia, as well as numerous American athletes. For more information, including results, please visit www.equivents.com.

CDI3* Toronto Dressage Classic – CDI3* Prix St. Georges Results
1. Ashley Holzer Toronto, ON Pop Art 72.60%
2. Tom Dvorak Hillsburgh, ON Beaumarchais 69.15%
3. Andrea Bresee Brockville, ON Raffles 67.50%
4. Gillian Sutherland Unionville, ON Great Tyme 66.65%
5. Cheryl Meisner Halifax, NS Paganini 66.15%