Lisa Slade

Steffen Peters and Akiko Yamazaki’s Ravel had another good night, winning the Grand Prix freestyle at the Del Mar CDI by almost 10 percentage points over Guenter Seidel and U II.

Ravel’s freestyle, performed to music by Coldplay and The Rolling Stones, earned them 81.30 percent.

“I was really happy,” Peters said. “He was even more supple and a little more expressive tonight than in the Grand Prix.”

Steffen Peters and Ravel have overcome a lot of obstacles in their career and they overcame another, albeit small, one tonight, April 30, with a win (74.51%) in the Del Mar CDI Grand Prix, held in Del Mar, Calif.

The Fédération Equestrian Internationale Dressage Task Force, led by chairman Frank Kemperman, announced that the new format for Olympic dressage competition will be tried during the CHIO Aachen World Equestrian Festival, in Aachen, Germany, July 9-18.

Kemperman is also the director of the Aachen World Equestrian Festival.

Buck Davidson was looking for a chance to redeem himself. Disappointed after his show jumping ride on Ballynoe Castle RM resulted in two dropped rails and a move from sixth place to 11^th in the CIC*** today, April 4, at The Fork, he knew he had to do better on My Boy Bobby.

When dressage finished up at The Fork on Friday afternoon, April 2, Buck Davidson on My Boy Bobby and Allison Springer on Arthur sat tied for first in the CIC*** with a 36.90 while Courageous Comet and Becky Holder, 40, led the advanced division with a 23.70.

Forty-nine teams completed dressage tests in the CIC***, and 45 rode in the advanced division over Thursday and Friday. Friday was a sunny day with the daily high temperature reaching 89 degrees in Norwood, N.C. Most horses seemed unaffected by the unseasonably warm weather.

Jill Henselwood had the obvious disadvantage of going first in both rounds of the $300,000 Grand Prix Of The Desert, held March 14 at HITS Thermal. It didn’t hamper her performance, however, and Henselwood and Bottom Line turned in two fault-free turns over Olaf Petersen’s courses in the Grand Prix ring and took home the top check.

“I hate going first!” Henselwood said after the class. “It’s a big advantage to be at the end of the class.”

Despite the fact that trainers aren’t allowed to assist riders when they’re warming up or walking the course for the R.W. "Ronnie" Mutch Equitation Classic, Theodore Boris wasn’t too worried. He felt like he could hear the words of his trainer, Karen Healey, in his head.

“It’s so nice to have Karen as a trainer,” Boris said. “It’s very confidence-building to be with someone who has so much knowledge. Even if she’s 20 miles away, you can still hear her voice.”

Maggie, Charlie and Haylie Jayne reflect on growing up in the horse business and finding their niches as young adults.

Ask any of the Jayne children how long they’ve been riding, and their answers are all the same: basically since birth. As sixth-generation horsemen, Maggie, 25, Charlie, 23, and Haylie, 21, were all exposed to the lifestyle when they came home from the hospital to the 140-acre Our Day Farm in Elgin, Ill., owned and managed by their parents, Alex and Linda.

Wilhelm Genn was enjoying an excellent Sunday before he even set foot in the Grand Prix Field at the Gulf Coast Winter Classic IV today, March 7. This morning he coached his son Ryan, 18, to first place in the $15,000 Nordic Lights High Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper classic on his Poco 3.

Catherine Rinehart admitted a fair amount of luck went into her win in the 2010 $10,000 The Chronicle Of The Horse/USHJA Hunter Derby, held March 5 during the Gulf Coast Magnolia Classic IV in Gulfport, Miss. It was lucky she got the ride on Primera at the beginning of the week, lucky she had an earlier ride in the hunter derby to figure out her plan for the course, and even a little lucky she rode Primera four years ago when he was just a first year green horse so she knew what to expect with him.