News
Susan Pape and Harmony’s V-Plus flourish in Florida
- Written By: British Dressage | Joanna Bowns
- Published: Fri, 20 Jan 2023 09:18
Great Britain’s Susan Pape has enjoyed a winning start to the 2023 Adequan® Global Dressage Festival at Wellington in Florida, USA. With her up-and-coming ride, she claimed the CDI1* Intermediate I on week 1 (11 – 15 January 2023) of the prestigious winter series that takes place annually at Palm Beach International Equestrian Center.
Partnered by Harmony Sporthorses’ bright young prospect, Harmony’s V-Plus (pictured), Susan presented a winning round to earn just short of 73% to claim Friday’s Inter I crown. The Swedish combination of Caroline Darcourt and Bournonville (IPS Bon Bravour x Painted Black), winners of the previous day’s Prix St Georges, once again performed well to obtain a robust score (71.441%) though not enough to foil a victory for Pape and the talented nine-year-old Oldenburg stallion.
Susan and Harmony’s V-Plus (Vivaldi x Fürst Romancier) claimed a national Prix St Georges win here at Wellington last year. This opening CDI of the 2023 AGDF series was the horse’s first international appearance and first ever Inter I. “It was his first, so I wasn’t really sure what was going to happen,” Susan told the AGDF. “His trot work is really good and he has a very good walk. The canter was maybe a little bit insecure because he didn’t really know what was going on, but he did everything so beautifully and really listened to me.”
Also competing in the FEI Dressage World Cup™ qualifier, the eighth leg of the 2022-2023 North American League, Susan took seventh spot in the CDI-W Grand Prix aboard Harmony Amateur Sports Foundation’s Harmony’s Eclectisch (Zenon x Olivi).
The following evening, the 14-year-old stallion displayed much quality in the CDI-W Grand Prix Freestyle. Under the floodlights of the first ‘Friday Night Stars’ evening of this year's festival, a programme choreographed to a collection of U2 hits showed many strengths, though a couple of miscommunications were costly. A final score of 72.055% put the experienced British pairing eighth in this World Cup qualifier won by the home nation’s Adrienne Lyle and 16-year-old stallion Salvino (Sandro Hit x Donnerhall) on 83.540%.
Susan, who’s competing at the celebrated Florida festival for the eighth time in her career, will contest the Adequan® Global Dressage Festival 3 next week.
Results – top five and British placings
FEI World Cup™ Grand Prix
1. Adrienne Lyle and Salvino, 77.500% (USA)
2. Sarah Tubman and First Apple, 70.500% (USA)
3. Caroline Darcourt and Lord Django, 70.283% (SWE)
4. Anna Marek and Fire Fly, 69.848% (USA)
5. Tinne Vilhelmson Silfvén and Devanto, 68.565% (SWE)
7. Susan Pape and Harmony’s Eclectisch, 66.587% (GBR)
FEI World Cup™ Grand Prix Freestyle
1. Adrienne Lyle and Salvino, 83.540% (USA)
2. Sarah Tubman and First Apple, 78.250% (USA)
3. Caroline Darcourt and Lord Django, 78.170% (SWE)
4. Anna Marek and Fire Fly, 76.255% (USA)
5. Tinne Vilhelmson Silfvén and Devanto, 75.310% (SWE)
8. Susan Pape and Harmony’s Eclectisch, 72.055% (GBR)
CDI1* Prix St Georges
1. Caroline Darcourt and Bournonville, 73.029% (SWE)
2. Susan Pape and Harmony’s V-Plus, 72.765% (GBR)
3. Charlotte Jorst and Federle, 71.882% (USA)
4. Anna Marek and Duvel, 71.588% (USA)
5. Shannon Dueck and Angelika MW, 70.500% (CAN)
CDI* Intermediate I
1. Susan Pape and Harmony’s V-Plus, 72.941% (GBR)
2. Caroline Darcourt and Bournonville, 71.441% (SWE)
3. Anna Marek and Duvel, 71.353% (USA)
4. Charlotte Jorst and Federle, 71.176% (USA)
5. Shannon Dueck and Angelika MW, 68.824% (CAN)
Photo © Susan Stickle
