2007 Palm Beach Dressage Derby

Harmony's Wyoming and JR Win Markel FEI Young Horse Classes

by Lynndee Kemmet and Astrid Appels

Thursday’s high score went to King and Harmony’s Wyoming, winners of the FEI Young Horse test. The pair earned a 79 percent riding their very first FEI Level Test for Six-Year-Olds. The Hannoverian gelding (by Weltmeyer), however, is only five. “He’s ready for the Six-Year-Old test, but he won’t really be six until August 27. So, he’s really young,” King said.

King went on to win the FEI 6-year old Young Horse class on Friday with an 82% score. The gelding impressed with his harmony and lightness throughout the ride. King had a soft contact with the bit and Wyoming stayed in front of the leg at all times, resulting in four beautiful flying changes.

The horse was bought by Harmony’s Sporthorses from one of King’s clients and was then given to her. Harmony’s Sporthorses pays half the costs for Harmony’s Wyoming, but King s the owner. “He’s very smart and very level-headed. What made him difficult was his silliness. He’s very smart, but he was very opinionated. It took him a long time to accept that I made the decisions and he didn’t,” King said.

Placing second in Friday's FEI 6-year old Young Horse class was the so far undefeated Oldenburg stallion Donavan, under his owner Dr. Cesar Parra. The Diamond Hit x Consul offspring impressed with his extraterrestrial walk and canter and balanced trot. The trot tour was lovely, the walk breath taking and the canter outstanding.

The judges, however, saw it differently and decided to degrade the walk to a 7.5. because in the collected walk he made a few prancing steps (the walk earned a 9.5 at the Bundeschampionate in Germany).

A hiccup in one flying change could explain a lower score in submissiveness, but it was very difficult to follow the judges when they granted the pair an overall mark of 77%.

"He's such an amazing horse to ride and every day I look forward to getting on him. He was high point scorer in four out of six classes he competed in," Parra said.

The winner of the FEI 5-year old young horse class was Janne Rumbough on the sympathetic steel grey gelding JR. Rumbough presented her Andalusian horse with a very light and gentle contact.

Only the transitions from walk to canter seemed a problem, as the over eager JR did not feel like waiting for the rider's aids.

JR is a PRE bred horse by Rumbough's Grand Prix stallion Gaucho III. It's JR first show season as he did his first competition at the National Horse Show in Wellington December 1-3, 2006.