WELLINGTON, Fla.--Shelly Francis of Loxahatchee, Fla., riding Doktor, won both the Grand Prix on Jan. 12 and the Grand Prix Special on Jan. 14 at the Global Dressage Festival at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington.

The Dressage Festival runs for 12 weeks, through March 31, and includes seven CDI shows.

Francis scored 70.404 percent despite being penalized for an error of course.

“Everybody says I’m just getting old, but I used to go off course when I was young too,” said the 59-year-old Francis. “I had a few bobbles in my rides, which you don’t want, but I feel I’m coming out a little stronger than last year.”

“He was very nervous if you moved on him,” said Francis of Doktor, who has made huge progress since shefound him as a spooky 5-year-old.. “He had this fear-running thing, and it took me a long time to be able to wear a tailcoat. I try not to let him get afraid; for example I put ear plugs in for the awards, and today he was okay. But in the tests he’s really focused.”

Francis’ major aims for the year include the FEI World Equestrian Games in Tryon and World Cup classes with Doktor and her other grand prix ride, Danilo and is using the Dressage Festival as her preparation platform.

 

SHE HAS been on a health kick to boost her performance.

“I lost 40 pounds of weight in five months, and I think the whole picture probably looks a lot nicer,” said the 5’2” Francis. “I feel I can sit better, too. It’s the second time I’ve lost weight; I’m one of those women who can swell and shrink.”

Francis finished 1.68 percent above second-placed Jill Irving of Canada on Arthur, with the USA’s Megan Gardner on Zaffier finishing third.

Heather Blitz of Wellington added another blue ribbon to her collection in the FEI Intermediate I Freestyle CDI3*.

Riding her own 9-year-old Danish warmblood Praestemarkens Quatero she earned 75 percent exactly, beating the previous day’s small tour winners, Canadian Diane Creech on Robbie W, who was second.

 

THE U.S. PARA-Equestrian Dressage Team had another victory at the Dressage Festival on January 19-21.

The team consisted of Sydney Collier of Ann Arbor, Mich., Katie Jackson of Austin, Texas, Angela "Annie" Peavy of Wellington, and Kate Shoemaker of Peoria, Ariz..

The team competed in two tests - the FEI Team Test on Friday and the FEI Individual Test on Saturday - which each counted 50 percent toward the overall team score.

The U.S. Para-Equestrian Dressage Team won with a total team score of 414.754 percent, over Canada which scored 406.638 percent.

Michel Assouline, USEF Head of Para-Equestrian Coach Development and High Performance Consultant, led the U.S. Team to the win.

Assouline noted that this week's strong performances are a good sign for the future.

"I'm really pleased with the progress," he said. "It's a long-term project; there is a big challenge because we are far from the standard of Europe, but I can already see changes. I can see here already that we have eight scores over 70 percent before the freestyles. We are aiming for Tokyo, and we have to get a good team for the FEI World Equestrian Games in Tryon."

Riding in Grade IV was Shoemaker on Solitaer 40, who finished third on Friday and then won on Saturday with scores of 69.708 percent and 71.463 percent, respectively.

It was a strong return to the competition ring for Solitaer 40, who has been back in work for six months since breaking his coffin bone.

"He's gaining strength, and we're finally getting back to where we were before," said Shoemaker. "This is a really big deal for us to be here. The vets originally said WEG was going to be out of the question. We're just delighted to be here and delighted that we're getting better every day."

 

SHOEMAKER noted that the judges gave her feedback on Friday for her horse to show more energy.

"We took that to heart and did that today in the warm-up, and it showed in the test as well," she said. "They showed that they were much happier with that today, and we were pleased. He just felt fantastic. He was very with me every step of the way, asking, 'What's next? How much can I give?' I think it really showed."

In their first team performance representing the United States since Solitaer 40's injury, Shoemaker said this competition was "really significant."

She continued, "It was nice to have a nod from the selectors that they're seeing an improvement and seeing it's going in the right direction. WEG has been our unspoken goal. I think we need to take it up to the next notch, and we're going to get there. We're heading in the right direction. It's nice to have a confidence boost from the judges, in them saying, 'Yes, this is heading in the right direction. Keep going.'"

Also competing in the Grade IV tests was 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympian Annie Peavy on Royal Dark Chocolate, who scored 72.833 percent in their team test on Friday, and returned for a score of 69.024 percent in the individual test on Saturday for third place.

"I was really happy with her," said Peavy, the 2017 USEF Para-Equestrian Dressage National Champion. "It's been a year that I've owned her, so I think we're really molding and understanding each other better each show. It's just much more focused and down to each detail for the test that we need.

"Yesterday was obviously much better than today!" she continued. "Today there was some excitement with her in the arena, but even when we have those days, I never feel like it's out of control. I still know her and she respects me. Yesterday she was just another level of supple, and going, and free in her body. It just felt very smooth."

In Grade V, Jackson rode Royal Dancer, and scored 63.298 percent in the FEI Team test and received 65.000 percent in Saturday's FEI Individual test to win both classes.

Collier, a 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympian, on Western Rose, scored 66.607 percent in the FEI Team test for Grade I and seventh place.and on Saturday competed in the FEI Individual test and scored 65.119 percent for ninth place.

Along with increasing scores, Assouline also saw great team camaraderie at the CPEDI 3*.

"We have more unity," he said. "It is a sport, but you need team spirit as well, where they are together. It drives the sport forward. Amicably speaking, they become more competitive, which is a good thing. It makes them ride better. That's where the standard is getting higher. There are more riders now, and they're more often together. It's quite exciting to have all of these combinations that are breaking the 70% barrier."