Ebeling 11th at World Cup Dressage

By Staff Report May 1, 2011

In Leipzig, Germany, a strong field of 15 riders from nine nations contested the Grand Prix Freestyle on April 30 to bring the Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage Final to a close. The Netherlands’ Adelinde Cornelissen  and Jerich Parzival waltzed their way to victory to the strains of Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker Suite.” Denmark’s Nathalie zu Sayn-Wittgenstein and Digby finished second, while Germany’s Ulla Salzgeber steered Herzruf’s Erbe to third. The 2010 title-winner, Edward Gal of the Netherlands, finished fourth with a great performance from the ever-more-confident Sisther de Jeu.

The U.S. sent three riders to compete: Jan Ebeling of Moorpark, Catherine Haddad-Staller, who’s based in Vechta, Germany, and Shawna Harding of South Carolina.

Haddad-Staller and her own Winyamaro started the evening’s competition with a routine that earned them a score of 70.161 percent and a 12^th-place finish. Harding followed, riding her own Come On III to a score of 67.625 percent for 14th place. Ebeling and Rafalca (a 14-year-old Oldenburg mare by Argentinius out of Ratine owned by Ann Romney, Amy Roberts Ebeling and Beth Meyer) followed up their strong performance in the Grand Prix with a beautifully performed routine set to the theme from the film The Mission. The pair earned a 72.589 percent and ended up in 11th place.

“She gave her all—I couldn’t be happier,” Ebeling said of Rafalca. “The atmosphere here is just amazing. In America, we never get to ride in places like this, never get to ride in front of so many people, so for us it’s just amazing. I’m just thrilled, it’s always fantastic to represent your country.”

Seventeen riders had begun the competition. In the Grand Prix test, which determined which 15 riders would go on to the Freestyle final, Ebeling and Rafalca finished 10^th, with a score of 68.191 percent. “I couldn’t be happier with her,” he said later. “She didn’t really have any mistakes, and she handled the arena really well. For me, that was one thing I really wanted to show everyone—she is not as silly as she was two years ago in Vegas.” He was referring to the mare’s uncharacteristically spooky performance at the 2009 FEI World Cup Final in Las Vegas.

Haddad-Staller and Winyamaro scored 67.34 percent for 11th place in the Grand Prix, while Harding and Come On III earned 64.696 percent for 15^th. USEF Dressage Technical Advisor/National Coach Anne Gribbons expressed satisfaction that all three U.S. horses and riders made it into the Freestyle final. “We didn’t expect anything else,” she said.

 

 

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