Canadian Sharon Merkel-Beattie Win Grand Prix Special at CDI Burbank

Ottawa, ON — Sharon Merkel-Beattie of Sturgeon County, AB, won the Grand Prix Special at the CDI 3* Y/J Burbank Mid Winter Dressage, held February 26–28, 2010, at Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank, CA.

Riding Essence of Glory (Evergreen x PB Goodwill), a 14-year-old Canadian-bred Hanoverian mare co-owned by Merkel-Beattie and Donna Scott, the duo scored 64.042% for the win.

“I was really proud of Essence of Glory. She was steady and attentive. The special is a good test for us, and I was very happy with how the trot portion of the test progressed as it really flowed. We had some very nice moments in our piaffe-passage tour and were rewarded by the judges,” said Merkel-Beattie. “I am training with Dirk Glitz at Yarra Yarra Ranch in Pleasanton, California. His help has been invaluable and I look forward to the next month of training.”

Lorraine Chappell of Aldergrove, BC, and her horse Carpatino (Carpaccio x Coriolan), a 13-year-old Holsteiner gelding, placed third in the Grand Prix Special.

In the Grand Prix test, Wendy Christoff of Delta, BC, riding Pfalstaff, her 16-year-old Hanoverian gelding sired by Palladium, finished in third, scoring 65.149%, just behind Untied States Olympic Medalist Guenter Seidel and US Pan Am Games Medalist Jan Ebeling. Merkel-Beattie and Essence of Glory earned a score of 64.298% for fourth place. Christoff and Pfalstaff went on to place second in the Grand Prix Freestyle with a score of 65.650%

“It was a fun show and the weather made for very interesting riding and competing. On Friday the weather was good and we rode outside in the assigned arenas, but Friday night a huge storm came through dumping two to three inches of rain and hail during the next 24 hours,” said Christoff. “My horse was very good on Friday in the Grand Prix. The entire competition was moved indoors, and I thought he handled the spooky environment very well. I was very pleased with him in his freestyle on Sunday. I am looking forward to competing again in Del Mar as he is getting better with each show.”

Ashleigh Luca-Tyson, a Canadian who currently resides in Phoenix, AZ, and Uniek (Gribaldi x Haarlem), a nine-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare owned by Luca-Tyson and Sally Williams, finished in fifth in the Intermediaire I test. In sixth place was Lindsey Stroh of Camrose, AB, and Lancelot, a 10-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding sired by Lobster and owned by Vickie Argals. Travolta, a 10-year-old Canadian Warmblood gelding sired by Olympic Ferro, owned and ridden by Joni Lynn Peters rounded out the Canadian entries in seventh spot. Peters and Travolta also won the Intermediaire Freestyle.

Luca-Tyson and Uniek finished in fifth, with a score of 64.123%, in the Prix St. Georges test. Peters and Travolta were sixth and Stroh and Lancelot earned eighth place.

Young rider Jennifer Wood of Nanoose Bay, BC, and her horse Mister (Corleone x Wisconsin), a 16-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, finished third in both the Young Riders Team and Individual tests.

The international judging panel included Canadians Cara Whitham (FEI O), Lorraine Macdonald (FEI I) along with Dr. Jean-Michel Roudier (FEI O—FRA), Mary Seefried (FEI O— AUS) and Jane Weatherwax (FEI I—USA).

Support Canadian Riders’ WEG Dreams

There are still a number of WEG ticket packages available. Each package contains tickets directly behind “C” for four dressage events and are $875 (CDN) each. Dressage Canada also has a few select hotel rooms available at the official Canadian hotel — the Griffen Gate Resort and Spa in Lexington, KY. This is the same hotel where all the Canadian athletes will be staying. The room rate is $329/night plus taxes and the hotel rooms are booked for arrival on Sept 26th for 7 nights.