WELLINGTON, Fla.--Jordan LaPlaca on Gold Play won the CDI3* Grand Prix Special with their best ever score of 79,425% on Saturday, Feb. 21 at the Global Dressage Festival.
Jordan LaPlaca on Gold Play (photo by Centre Line Media)It was only Gold Play’s second CDI Special, but nevertheless LaPlaca had an excellent performance on the inexperienced 11-year-old gelding to post their first plus-70% CDI score in the Grand Prix Special.
The duo made their international big tour debut in February, and, just a month later, they won twice during the seventh week of the Festival.
It was a U.S. one-two-three, with Kevin Kohmann, who was born in Germany but switched countries in 2021 to ride under the same flag as his wife Devon Kane, finishing second.
Kohmann on Famous scored 68.34%, and Bianka Berktold on Imperial was third with 66.298%.
LaPlaca and Gold Play’s score was trending around 72%, but mistakes in both lines of one-time changes got marks as low as 3.5, dropping the score.
Their final score of 70.425% eclipsed their only other CDI Grand Prix Special result by more than two percentage points.
“BREAKING 70% was so exciting!” said the Connecticut-based trainer, who is also an FEI driving competitor and whose horses also benefit from an all-around education. “You always strive to be better and better, and as that starts to unfold, it’s that much more rewarding. This is just the beginning of what I believe this horse can do."
“He trusts me implicitly, and I trust him,” he said. “This season, I’ve gained more and more trust in the ring with him. I’ve had him since he was a baby [after finding him at Hof Kasselmann in Germany as a 4-year-old], but being in the big ring is a totally different pool. I’ve never had a bond with a horse like I have with him. When he kicks into the piaffe/passage and realizes it’s game on, I feel like time is stopping. That’s something special with a horse.”
LaPlaca has help from his mentor Albrecht Heidemann, and also trains with U.S. Dressage Team Chef d’Equipe, Christine Traurig.
He splits his time between Ledyard, Conn., and Loxahatchee, Fla.
Gold Play’s younger years were spent hacking, galloping and vanning to various facilities to get used to working anywhere.
LaPlaca placed the blame for the mistakes in the changes squarely on his own shoulders, saying, “That was all me. I got complacent and stopped riding because I was thinking, ‘Oh, he’s going so nice!’ I’m still trying to find the balance of how to keep the harmony alongside the corrections and the education in the test. It’s all a process, and I take my hat off to ‘GP’ for putting up with me with it.”
LaPlaca is aiming towards the USEF Dressage National Championship in Ocala in May.
With his scores trending upward, LaPlaca has put himself on the selectors’ radar for the squad of U.S. riders who travel to Europe each summer.
Would he take that opportunity if it arises?
“Heck yeah, why not?” said the 37-year-old, who credits his wife Caitlin’s dedication and organization, as well as his assistant trainer Kathleen Cronk for facilitating this dream.
“I’ve waited my whole life to get here, so I’m not stopping now," he said. "The world’s my oyster and I’m just waiting to figure out where it’s taking me.”
