Fourteen horse-and-rider pairs went in front of the judges in Thursday’s FEI Five-Year-Old Preliminary Test, closing out the first day of competition in the Young & Developing Horse Arena at Lamplight. In the end, Pablo Gomez Molina (Wellington, Fla.) rode Cristina Danguillecourt and Yeguada De Ymas S.L.’s striking black Rhinelander gelding, Easy Di Fonteabeti Ymas, to the win with a score of 8.82.

Photo – Pablo Gomez Molina and Easy Di Fonteabeti Ymas (Photo Credit:  SusanJStickle.com)

“It’s been a short partnership, but the good thing with him is every day and every week he’s getting better and stronger,” said Gomez Molina. “Today he was really good in the test. It’s one of my best tests with him. I still feel like he can give me more and more in the arena and in everyday training. I’m really happy with him.”

Alice Tarjan (Oldwick, N.J.) concluded a busy Thursday of showing with a second-place finish with her own Summersby II, an Oldenburg mare. Michele Bondy (Wilsonville, Ore.) rode Sonnenberg Farm LLC’s KWPN gelding, Sonnenberg’s Kain, to third place.

Tell us about your horse.

Gomez Molina: “It’s a horse that Cristina Danguillecourt, the owner of Yeguada De Ymas, she saw the horse in Italy and then she liked him, and we went to try it and we’ve had him since October of last year. It’s actually a short partnership but the good thing with him is every day and every week he’s getting better and stronger. Today he was really good in the test. It’s one of my best tests with him. I still feel like he can give me more and more in the arena and in everyday training. I’m really happy with him.”

What do you think are some of the highlights? Did you agree with what the judges said today?

Gomez Molina: “Yeah! Obviously the canter is really good, and like I said, he can still get better. But then all the scores were really similar. So for me, what it looks like is he’s a really complete horse. He doesn’t have something super strong and a weakness. He’s really good in everything.”

What are you hoping to do with him in the future?

Gomez Molina: “At the moment, it’s a short partnership, so we just want to know each other and get it better. But at the moment I will still compete him in Wellington and maybe if we have the opportunity next year to take him to Europe…this year was a little more difficult with all the COVID stuff, but at the moment, we’ll just keep getting better.”

Is there anything you’re looking to improve upon for your second test here?

Gomez Molina: “Yes, like I said, I felt him really good, but like they said, at the beginning, he was still a little bit tired because the place, our first big competition together, and I just want to have him a little more with me and the canter was the best, the highlight today, but I still think that he can get more points there. So I think maybe get him a little better in the canter, but I hope he’s like today!”

Competition continues Friday with classes beginning in the Young & Developing Horse Arena at 8:00 a.m. CDT and the Grand Prix Arena at 8:15 a.m. CDT. Watch live on USEF Network.

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