Steffen Peters and Lombardi II Win Overall Grand Prix Championship

Peters has won the Grand Prix championship twice at Gladstone before, but he said every win is special. “It’s always very, very special. This arena has so much history. It’s always a great accomplishment to win here and certainly the girls gave me a good run for my money, especially today.”

Considering that for some time he wasn’t sure if Lombardi II would make it as a Grand Prix horse, Peters couldn’t have been more pleased with the horse. Their Freestyle ride was to the music of River Dance and while Terri Gallo helped with music, Peters said the choreography is his.

Both Peters and Harrison-Nanes are now making plans to head to Europe and they’ll most likely compete in Aachen. But for King, the issue of Aachen and Europe was one more up-and-down issue she dealt with throughout the Festival competition. Originally, she and Idocus were planning a trip to Europe with a run for the 2008 Olympics a possibility. However, after the experience at Gladstone, the trip is no longer a certainty.

King said the future “is little tricky right now.” The problem is that McCarthy, the stallion’s owner, has contracts to breed Idocus that were made long before any thought that the horse might show in Aachen. The experience at Gladstone showed that the stallion can’t really keep up both his breeding schedule and a show schedule.

“Christine has made contracts and Aachen was not in her plans at the time,” King said. “So, if she can’t get out of the contracts to breed him, then there’s no sense in taking him over if he’s going to have to go through everything he just went through.”

Balkenhol and McCarthy have discussed the situation and King said all are trying to find a solution. If she gets to Aachen, she’ll be excited but King said she accepts that it might not happen.

McCarthy was on hand to watch her stallion compete and she said that everyone is “working on the logistics of a European trip.” And as of Saturday afternoon, she said “it’s looking pretty positive. The breeders are being pretty understanding of his showing and of having to work around that.”

McCarthy’s view is that breeders actually benefit if Idocus competes and shows well. It’s clear that she’s quite happy with both her horse and her rider. “Courtney’s a great rider and Idocus is a great horse. You can’t ask for more.”