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Sunday, April 1, 2007

Dressage at Equestrian Estates, Loxahatchee, Florida

Rainier Returns

While the tight test in the west goes on for the top three positions in the US League Finals to compete in the Las Vegas World Cup, Dressage in Florida resumed this weekend at Dressage at Equestrian Estates. The Olympic veteran, Jane Clark’s Rainier returned to the arena and aced the High Performance Grand Prix class with a 68.125%, not bad for his first time in the ring in two years. “Catherine just wanted to see if “Reindeer” wanted to do this again, and it looks like he does.” said Catherine Bateson-Chandler’s husband Carl, as he picked up her test and ribbon at the show office.

Robert Dover’s 2004 Olympic ride has now been passed on to his longtime assistant and protégé, Catherine Bateson-Chandler, who was Rainier's trusted groom during the 2004 Games. After a long absence from competition the 16-year-old Oldenburg gelding by Rolando was a happy boy going through the paces, just missing one change in the tempi’s but performing the piaffe/passage tour in his legendary steady style. Will the duo aim for Gladstone in June for the Grand Prix Championships at the USEF Festival of Champions? We will have to wait and see, but it’s likely if they hold their standings. Dover moves his training operation to New Jersey after the Florida season.

Grand Prix - USEF HP Qualifying
(H) Lamping "S", (C) Yukins "S", (B) Gurney "S"

• 1/Katherine Bateson-Chandler/ Rainier/ 68.125%
• 2/ Susan Dutta/ Gumshoes DC/ 66.042%
• 3 /Betsy Rebar Sell/ Wonderful Walden/ 65.903%
• 4/ Timothy F. Malin/ Harmony's Coolio/ 63.403%
• 5/ Elisabeth Austin/ Olivier/ 62.847%
• 6/ Susan Jaccoma/ Jellowa/ 58.750%