Loxahatchee, Fla., March 4

Paragon and Heather Blitz towered over their competition, literally, in the CDI Prix St. Georges at the Palm Beach Dressage Derby. The 18-hand gelding easily won in the 43-horse field, scoring an impressive 76.05 percent to beat second-placed Shawna Harding and Rigo by almost 5 percent.

“Somehow, he has big invisible wings somewhere,” said Blitz after their buoyant victory gallop. Although the Danish Warmblood (Don Schufro—Pari Lord) appears leggy and a bit ungainly at the halt, when he moves, all his parts come together, and the impression he presents is one of lightness and harmony.

“He’s just coming 8 this month, so his strength keeps building,” said Blitz, Wellington, Fla., as she explained why the scores continue to increase. They’re three for three so far in the Prix St. Georges at the CDIs they’ve contested this year.

“Every month he’s a stronger horse,” Blitz continued. “I’ve gotten a lot of help from Robert Dover in the past month. He’s encouraged me to push him to this point of really forward going and a little bit more pushing connection issues. Now that he’s strong enough, I think I can push those issues, and he’s ready to start going like a big boy. I kept a lot more power from his extensions in through the corners and the short sides as well, so it really helped me out in my lateral work to have that kind of power happening, not just in the extensions and the obvious parts, but in a lot of the transitions.”

Sweden Reigns Supreme

While Paragon is proving tough to beat in the small tour, in the large tour it’s all Tinne Vilhelmson-Silfven. The Swedish citizen and veteran of multiple Olympic Games has dominated the Grand Prix since she arrived in Florida with her string of horses. Today she scored a commanding win in the Grand Prix for the Grand Prix Special aboard Don Auriello, leading the class on 70.00 percent over Tina Konyot and Calecto V (65.95%).

The 9-year-old Hanoverian gelding (Don Davidoff—Wey o mey) is new to Grand Prix and new to Vilhelmson-Silfven, who has only had him for eight months, and windy conditions could have put him on edge.

“I thought he would be more tense, but he wasn’t at all. He was really coping with it. He really has a good mind. He’s trusting. I’m still learning and learning how to do with him. I was really happy with him,” said Vilhelmson-Silfven.

“He was really super to ride today. He’s been more tense and maybe more spectacular the other times I’ve ridden him. Now he was a little bit more relaxed, but it was a super feeling that he could trust me and learn to go Grand Prix,” she continued.

Mistakes marred Konyot’s test with Calecto. Her usually reliable partner had trouble in the one-tempis, broke to canter in the final extended trot and evaded the final halt.

A Change Of Career           

This is a big year for horses competing in the small tour, because the superstars of the Prix St. Georges and Intermediaire I will represent the United States at the Pan American Games this fall.

But one horse at the Palm Beach Dressage Derby almost went to the Pan Ams in a different sport—eventing.

Four years ago Close The Deal was injured shortly before the selection trials for the Pan American Games. Bonnie Mosser had good results with him, including a third-placed finish at the Jersey Fresh CCI*** in 2006 and an advanced win there the following year.

“Bob” recovered from his injury and did a few more events with owner Rebecca Polan, but the Dutch Warmblood (by Art Deco) wasn’t going to hold up to eventing anymore.

So Polan decided to see where they could go with dressage with help from trainer Pati Pierucci. “He was always so wild that I never even tried that hard before,” she admitted. “The goal when I was eventing him was to wear him out so I’d have a fighting chance at not leaping out of the arena.”

Now Polan, Charlottesville, Va., is showing the 17-year-old gelding at fourth level and Prix St. Georges with the goal of entering him in a CDI this year. “It’s been kind of tricky sometimes because he definitely gets tense and excited, but he’s finally figured out there is no cross-country jumping to go to,” she said. “Now he’ll walk back to the trailer calmly. It’s been really cool and different, and I’ve been having a lot of fun. I wish that I could do these dressage tests now as an eventer, because we would have been unbeatable.”

For full results, visit the Palm Beach Dressage Derby website.