PrintShe couldn’t be happier with their progress as she makes the leap to Grand Prix.
Liz Austin didn’t have the year she’d hoped for in 2008. But after a win at the Centerline HITS-On-The-Husdon CDI*** in Saugerties, N.Y., Aug. 14-16, she believes she and Olivier are back on track.
In the CDI Grand Prix Special, Austin, 21, took the blue with Olivier, and they finished fourth in the CDI Grand Prix.
Austin, of Williston, Vt., was thrilled with her win aboard the 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood stallion owned by her mother, Madeleine. During the 2008 Florida circuit, Austin competed Olivier at Grand Prix, but much went wrong for the pair, which caused Austin to wonder if they would be able to replicate the success they had in the young rider ranks.
“It was not a good year,” Austin said. But she went home, went back to work and gave it another go this year. “And I couldn’t be happier. This year is going much better.”
Austin has been getting help from Michael Barisone, whom she’s known for years. She contacted him in January and asked him if he’d “do a bit of hand holding during a show.” He did and has been coaching her through this season.
She took her win in the Grand Prix Special with a score of 66.91 percent during the sweltering heat. Since temperatures were in the 90s, Austin cut her warm-up time before the Special and skipped the canter work to save her horse.
“It was the right decision in terms of his energy, but not doing any canter in the warm-up might have cost me as I did have that mistake in the one-tempis,” she said. “The piaffe-passage tour was OK. I wish we’d had a little more expression, but it was 92 degrees. The biggest thing is that he went in there, and he tried for me.”
Sharon McCusker and the 13-year-old Danish Warmblood Juli Sherif finished second on a score of 63.58 percent. Tina Konyot rode the 11-year-old Danish Warmblood Calecto V to third (63.37%).
Gearing Up For WEG
It wasn’t much cooler on Saturday evening for the CDI Grand Prix freestyle, which Lauren Sammis won aboard the 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood Sagacious HF, owned by Hyperion Farm. Sammis, who is working toward a spot on the 2010 World Equestrian Games team, scored a 72.35 percent to take the win.
Mikala Munter Gundersen and the 15-year-old Leonberg placed second (71.40%), and third went to Canada’s Cheryl Meisner riding the 12-year-old KWPN stallion Paganini (69.50%). Meisner, of Halifax, N.S., took a blue ribbon in the CDI Intermediaire I, scoring a 67.36 percent with the 16-year-old Dutch Warmblood Lucky Strike.
Sammis and Sagacious also won Friday’s CDI Grand Prix (68.25%) ahead of Konyot and Calecto V (67.74%).
Sammis, who is based in New Jersey, started competing Sagacious at Grand Prix this year, and they’ve been moving up the scoreboard throughout the season. They’ll take a break from competition after Dressage at Devon (Pa.) in September.
“It’s a WEG year, so it’s going to be a tough winter season, so he’ll need a break,” she said.
Sammis trains with Canada’s Ashley Holzer, who braved Friday New York City traffic to get to the show grounds and coach her student. Sammis said their strategy going into a WEG year is relatively simple: strengthen Sagacious, confirm the movements and most of all “not blow his confidence.”
Sammis and Sagacious’ winning freestyle was to the music of Billy Joel, but it won’t be the freestyle they’ll use in the 2010 show season.
