Lexington, Ky., Oct. 7
The U.S. para dressage riders may not have won a medal yet at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, but their hopes are still high with one more set of medals to be awarded in the freestyle tests. Laura Goldman narrowly missed a medal in today’s individual 1a test, claiming fourth place.
“I think [my individual test] went pretty well,” said Goldman. “But I know there were some mistakes. I still get pretty uptight and nervous, but when I get on [Carlingford JD] it all goes away. I like my freestyle, so I’m really looking forward to it.” The Ia test only involves walking, but Goldman plans to trot in her freestyle.
The United States’ second-highest placed individual was grade IV rider Robin Brueckmann, who finished sixth on Raison D’Etre with 65.87 percent.
“I was very pleased with my ride,” said Brueckmann. “It was better than [the team test]—more forward, more elastic. My horse felt good; he felt wonderful.”
In the team competition, the United States finished seventh with an overall team score of 398.28. It was not necessarily the result Chef d’Equipe Missy Ransehousen was looking for, but she was pleased with their efforts.
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“Obviously, we would all love to win a medal, but in all reality, we still need to climb up the ranks a bit with all the judges,” said Ransehousen. “The riders need more exposure. For the team, we have quite a few green riders on the team that nobody knows. They haven’t done any big competitions in Europe. It’ll come. But overall, I’m pleased with how my riders did. Obviously, I’d like higher scores, but I think they performed to their best ability.”
The team consisted of Brueckmann, Goldman, Susan Treabess, and last minute addition Jonathan Wentz. Wentz, originally the first alternate, was added to the team after veteran Rebecca Hart decided to concentrate on the individual competition.
“I felt it was the best decision for our team because I was not feeling quite as strong as usual,” said Hart. Hart placed first and second in the USEF WEG selections trials for para dressage. But her individual test didn’t go as well as she’d hoped—she placed 11th with her Norteassa. “I would have liked a bit more energy. I was happy with how he was listening to me in the test, but for better scores, we need more energy,” Hart said.
See full results of the WEG para dressage competition here, and tune back in to www.chronofhorse.com for all the freestyle action.
