WELLINGTON, Fla.--France’s Morgan Barbançon on Habana Libre A won the FEI Grand Prix Special CDI4* on Jan. 29 at the Global Dressage Festival.
Barbançon’s 74.404 percent on the Dutch warmblood is their highest Grand Prix Special score to date.
At 11 years old, Habana Libre A was the youngest horse in the class.
Barbancon finished more than three percentage points clear of second-placed Anna-Christina Abbelen of Germany, who rode Sam Donnerhall to score 71.234 percent, and. Spain’s Pablo Gómez Molina was third on Ulises De Ymas with 69.915 percent.
“I’m super happy,” said the 30-year-old Barbançon, who is competing at AGDF for the first time. “I’m on cloud nine. Honestly, I thought we would get a 72 percent or maybe 73, and I would have been super happy with that, especially after the Grand Prix, which we didn’t have such a great ride in, with too many mistakes and a lot of tension, and I was feeling a bit disappointed."
“TODAY, I had such a floaty, fluid ride, and I didn’t push,” she said. “My goal was to give him confidence in the ring and have a fault-free test, and that’s what I had. There were hiccups here and there, but it felt like such a nice ride. Next time I can push him a bit more because he was confident in there.”
“When I saw the score I started crying because he’s come a long way," she said. "We’ve had him since he was 4, and he wasn’t always the easiest, so this was very special.”
“I don’t have any set plans for the rest of the season,” she said. “I’m looking at the five-star with Habana, but I’ll take it week by week. I’m here until the end of March, so there is no rush and no pressure, and I’m here to compete as much as possible. I want to give him the confidence in the ring, where he wants to go and wants to do it.”
The second qualifiers in the Future Challenge Young Horse Grand Prix Series and the Future Challenge Young Horse Prix St. Georges Series sent two more combinations through to the Grand Final, which takes place in AGDF 11, from each class.
These classes aim to identify and nurture talented, up-and-coming young FEI horses.
In the Future Challenge FEI Intermediate II Future Challenge Qualifier, Alice Tarjan rode her own Summersby II to 70.833 percent, while Ali Potasky on Inxs was second with 69.558 percent, claiming the second qualifying slot.
“It’s a great division,” said Tarjan, who rides as an amateur. “I’ve been here the last three years and it’s a super way to get the greener horses into the CDI stadium and in front of the CDI judges without the pressure of a CDI."
“Summersby is a really great horse, and only 8 years old," she said. "I’m just happy that she stayed with me through the whole test. The horse has to get stronger in the work, but she’s really honest and the atmosphere didn’t seem to affect her at all.”
After the Future Challenge series, Tarjan plans to campaign Summersby at developing Grand Prix this year.
In the small tour class, Germany’s Michael Klimke placed first on Harmony’s Fado with a score of 70.832 percent in the FEI Prix St. Georges class, and Kelly Layne of Australia was second on Living Diamond, scoring 70.539 percent to also qualify..
The next qualifiers at both big tour and small tour levels will be held during AGDF Week 5.
In the CDI3* FEI Grand Prix Special, Great Britain’s Susan Pape on Harmony’s Eclectisch had another victory, adding a 70.021 percent win to their blue ribbon in the qualifying Grand Prix class.
“Our ride felt nice and powerful today,” said Pape. “Unfortunately, I had a mistake in the twos and the ones on the centerline. But other than that, it was very good. The passage on the left lead was very good for him and expressive. In the canter work, the ones were beautiful, and so was the extended canter.”
“He’s been a very easy horse to take over,” she said. “He was very well trained. He wants to go in there and do it right. He’s in a good mood every day. If he were a person, he would say, come on, let’s go out and have a drink. He’s just a real pal.”
Saudi's Caroline Chew Saudi placed second, the same place as in the Grand Prix, on Blue Hors Zatchmo on a score of 68.128 percent, and Chris Hickey on Stenagers Wyatt Earp, who at 11 was the youngest in the class, was third on 67.936 percent.