Monday, March 6, 2006

Ashley Holzer and Gambol Win FEI Grand Prix Special at the Palm Beach Dressage Derby CDI***/CDIY

Canada’s Ashley Holzer continued her winning streak at the Derby, notching her third CDI win at the show. Holzer earned this victory with the Oldenburg stallion Gambol in the FEI Grand Prix Special, soundly outdistancing the field of 15 horses with a score of 69.080%. Leslie Morse and her stallion Kingston placed second with a score of 67.800%. Arlene Page of Wellington, Florida, and her gelding Wild One claimed third place with 65.840%.

Holzer was awarded the Gifted Memorial Trophy, the perpetual trophy for the CDI Grand Prix Special. Olympic Team Bronze Medalist Carol Lavell (Gifted’s rider at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics) and her husband Tom Lavell made the presentation.

Gambol is a 12-year-old Oldenburg by Gabor out of Arella by Lector, and owned by Diane Fellows. She has had the ride on the talented black for four years and is competing him in his first year of Grand Prix. Though the warm-up ring put three stallions and a mare together prior to the ride, creating some distraction for Gambol, Holzer noted that in the arena, the stallion was all business. “Once he’s being ridden and he canters down that centerline it doesn’t really matter what’s going on, he will put his mind to the job and he just does his job,” explained Holzer. “It’s a very difficult test for a horse in his first year of Grand Prix, but he doesn’t really seem to be put off by the difficulty. He really finds it easy and he almost likes it more. He likes to do his job.”

Holzer acknowledged that she has been on a winning streak, but described her philosophy on the string of victories. “I’m not going out to win. I’m going out to just ride good clean tests,” she said. “My horses are going well, I have a good team, and I’m getting good coaching. My horses are right where they need to be right now. I’m surrounded by a lot of positive people, which I appreciate, especially before the World Equestrian Games.” Holzer also noted that her teammate at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Evi Pracht, has provided excellent help for her in Florida. “She knows the right thing to say to keep me relaxed and focused on riding – not focused on winning.”

Holzer is aiming to qualify both Gambol and Imperioso for the 2006 World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany, and explained that the experience at the Derby CDI was helpful to her in the Canadian rider rankings and in preparation for the ‘head-to-heads’ in Canada that will determine the team. “It’s a great positive thing for me to have this under my belt – to know that I can ride well, and that I can ride clean and I can do well – that’s a very good feeling coming into the finals.” Currently the two stallions are one point apart in the Canadian rankings. “It’s a very amazing spot to be in,” Holzer said.

Assessing Gambol’s winning performance in the FEI Grand Prix Special today, Holzer said that what she appreciated most was, “his effort. The horse just puts out every time he goes down the centerline. I know he will fight for me and that’s a great feeling. There are lots of horses that you can’t count on, and that’s not the case here. I can completely count on him.”

HorsesDaily HorseMarket Stallions For Breeding
Gambol