Mette Rosencrantz Earns Hard-Fought Prix St. Georges Win

Prix St. Georges winners Mette Rosencrantz & De Noir 3. (Photo: Terri Miller)

The CDI Prix St. Georges test became an all out knock-down drag-out fight to the finish for championship honors at the California Dreaming Productions' Capistrano Dressage International CDI-W/Y/J/U-25. Guenter Seidel and his Westfalen gelding Rey del Mundo (Rock Forever x Fiona by Ferragamo) were the first to break the 70% barrier, but they were immediately followed by Charlotte Jorst with Fraktura (Kastel Denmark's Hanoverian mare [Ferro x Carilla by Grannus]) who narrowly overtook the lead with 70.316%. Not to be outdone, Mette Rosencrantz then threw down the gauntlet with Anne Solbraekke's elegant black Hanoverian gelding De Noir 3 (De Niro x Maharani by Matcho AA). Their harmonious test earned 71.974%, a score which remained atop the leader board for the duration of the class. The ground jury was quite impressed with what they saw throughout the morning from almost 30 horse/rider combinations. "I thought we had a very strong group with lots of quality and depth and very well-ridden horses," said judge Sandra Hotz (3* USA). "But the winner's ride today was very active and expressive with lovely fluency, and a lot of confidence."

"I really like to compete when I have a lot of pressure - the more pressure I have, the calmer I am," said Rosencrantz after the win. "And today I knew what I had to do: with so many good riders and horses in the class, the only way to beat anyone was to really go for it, and it paid off for me today. But when you're bold, it can make it or break it, and when everyone is so close you're only one mistake away from being knocked out of the placings. I think it's fantastic that we have so many good riders and horses here right now - you never know who's going to rise to the top on any given day."

Results

 

Complete results are available on the California Dreaming Productions website. Live video streaming of CDI classes with expert commentary by FEI judge Axel Steiner resumes at 8:00am PT on CDP Live, californiadreamingproductions.com/live-stream-test/. Click photo to view winning ride!

Formed by a partnership between long-time show organizer Glenda McElroy of Burbank, CA and Grand Prix riders and trainers David and Alisa Wilson of Chino Hills, CA, the goal of California Dreaming Productions is to bring a fresh face to international-level dressage competition on the West Coast. Additional show information is available on the new California Dreaming Productions website, as well as regular updates posted on Facebook. For more information, contact Glenda McElroy, glenda@cdpequestrian.com, or David and Alisa Wilson, david@cdpequestrian.com and alisa@cdpequestrian.com.