The U.S. showed its increasing depth in the dressage discipline by topping the leader board in various tests at CDI*** Lingen (GER) held August 16-18, 2002.

Guenter Seidel finished 2nd in the Grand Prix held on Friday, a qualifier for the Grand Prix Special, with a 71.36% on Nikolaus 7 (Weinberg x Elise), a 13-year-old Westphalian gelding owned by Richard and Jane Brown.

Sue Blinks following in 4th place with a 70.36% on the 15-year-old Hanoverian gelding Flim Flam (Wilhelm Tell x Cilia) owned by Fritz Kundrun. Three of the top 4 places in Saturday’s Grand Prix, the qualifier for the Grand Prix Kür, went to U.S. riders.

German based Lisa Wilcox and the 10-year-old Oldenburg stallion, Relevant 6 (Rubinstein I x Havanna), won the class with a score of 74.95% while Debbie McDonald on the 11-year-old Hanoverian mare, Brentina (Brentano II x Lieselotte), owned by Peggy Thomas, finished 2nd with a 72.08%. George Williams, who is not a World Equestrian Games contender, came in 4th with a 70.24% on the 11-year-old black mare, Rocher (Rolls Royce x Fraenzi), owned by Chuck and JoAnn Smith.

The combination of Lisa Wilcox and Relevant 6 scored an 80.32% winning the Grand Prix Kür while Debbie McDonald and Brentina tied for second place with former Olympic Gold Medallist, Isabell Werth (GER) and her mount Anthony FRH with a 77.47%. George Williams and Rocher finished in 5th place, behind Anky van Grunsven (NED), the reigning Olympic Gold Medallist with a 74.16%.

Second place in the Grand Prix Special went to Sue Blinks on Flim Flam with a 74.44%, less than 1 percentage below the victor Lars Pedersen’s (DEN) score of 75% on his mount Blue Horse Cavan (Cavalier x Danena). Guenter Seidel and Nicklaus 7 finished in third position with a 72.40%.

The naming of the team for the World Equestrian Games to be held in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, September 10 – 22, 2002 will be finalized in the near future.

Related LinksHorsesDaily "On the Scene" at The World Equestrian GamesScores at Eurodressage.com