Aussie Kristy Oatley Logs 1st Grand Prix Victory on Ronan With Personal Best Score at Deauville CDI3*
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July 24, 2015
By KENNETH J. BRADDICK
Kristy Oatley, the Australian Olympian and long time resident of Germany, rode Ronan to the first Grand Prix victory on the big moving stallion with a personal best score at the CDI3* in Deauville, France Friday.
Kristy and the 15-year-old Oldenburg scored 70.080 per cent for the win with Portugal’s Ricardo Wallenstein on Bem Me Quer second on 69.600 per cent and France’s 2014 World Games partnership of Marc Boblet and Noble Dream Concept third on 69.120 per cent.
“Over the moon with Ronan,” Kristy told dressage-news.com after the Grand Prix with 30 starting combinations from 13 nations around the world.
“He is getting more confident in the arena, mostly the harmony between the movements is more finely tuned.”
The pair have two posted victories in Grand Prix Freestyles, at this same show a year ago and at Compiègne, France in 2012.
There were wide disparities in the scores for each of the top three combinations–for Kristy and Ronan a high of 73.500 per cent from Jean-Michel Roudier of France at B and a low of 66.100 per cent from Sarah Pidgley of Great Britain at E; for Ricardo and Bem Me Quer a high of 72.800 per cent from Lilo Fore of the United States at C and a low of 67.500 from Sarah Pidgley, and for Marc and Noble Dream a high of 72.600 from Raphael Saleh of France at H and a low of 66.500 from Jean-Michel Roudier.
Kristy works with Sjef Janssen, the former Netherlands team coach who also trains Matthias Alexander Rath with Totilas and other horses, whom she described as “an amazing trainer.”
Kristy, a three-time Olympian and who has also competed at three World Games including the 2014 championships with Ronan, has another two Grand Prix mounts, including Swagman, an 11-year-old Oldenburg stallion that she competed in the same Grand Prix in only their second CDI Big Tour event.
The Prix St. Georges was won by Jonna Schelstraete of the Netherlands on Cupido with a score of 70.632 per cent, the first victory for the eight-year-old KWPN gelding in nine starts at Small Tour this year. Belgium’s Francoise Hologne-Joux on Warhol placed second on 70.421 per cent.
Jennifer Hoffmann, the German-based American on Florentinus V was third on 70.000 per cent, the highest Prix St. Georges placing so far for the nine-year-old Westfalen stallion. Jennifer and Florentinus competed in the six-year-old final of the World Young Horse Championships in 2012.
Results:
Grand Prix
Prix St. Georges
