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Friday, November 16, 2007

Dressage Dreams Fulfilled at Del Mar Classic CDI
By Kathy Beal

American Made “Prince” Aims at 2008 Olympic Dressage

In the Open Division, Peters pleasantly surprised all the Californians and judges with a debut in the Grand Prix on DG Bar and Willy Arts’ lovely 10-year-old Dutch gelding, Prince, by Hemingway out of a President mare. “This is a most exciting part of the show. To have Prince score a 68 percent under this international panel of judges in his very first Grand Prix was great. Willie has done a fabulous job with his training. He taught him a great piaffe and confirmed all his basics. He brought him to me in September to see what we could do with him. After working with him a short time, I told Willie that I thought he could be a true international horse. I am so fortunate to be the one to work with him in the Grand Prix. He learns quickly and willingly, thanks to Willie’s thorough preparations with him,” Peters said.

The collaboration of Willie Arts and the DeGroot family with Peters on Prince is a exciting news for America Dressage. “He is an American horse, trained here in America by Americans,” Peters said. This is actually a unique situation in international dressage. Prince will join Lombardi II and Ravel in the Olympic qualifying CDIs in the spring, hoping for a spot on the U.S. Dressage Team competing in the 2008 Olympics.

Photo: Steffen Peters and Willy Arts (DG Bar) looking over Prince's first Grand Prix test