America's Steffen Peters and Ravel claimed the 2009 Rolex FEI World Cup Dressage title with a show-stopping Freestyle test that raised the roof of the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas Saturday.
The 44-year-old rider from San Diego, California edged Germany's double World Cup champion Isabel Werth into runner-up position with an inspirational performance, while nine-time winner Anky Van Grunsven from The Netherlands had to settle for third.
This was just the second-ever U.S. victory in the 23-year history of the Dressage World Cup – the previous American to take title was Debbie McDonald who, on Friday, officially retired the great mare Brentina who carried her to World Cup success in 2003.
Peters was chasing Werth's leading score of 84.500% when third-last into the arena. The German rider's 15-year-old gelding Satchmo can be nervous and fearful on occasions, but he kept his cool to produce spectacular movements this time out and snatched the lead from Dutchman Hans Peter Minderhoud and Exquis Nadine who were real crowd-pleasers. There had been something magical about Peters and Ravel all week.
During Wednesday's warm-up the crowd went crazy with excitement as they watched them in practice and they went wilder still when the U.S. duo topped Thursday's Grand Prix. If the noise level was difficult to cope with then, it faded into insignificance compared to Freestyle night however, when the spectators simply could not contain their excitement. Peters admitted he was “concerned” when they started clapping and screaming with delight as he worked his way through near-perfect piaffe and passage but Ravel didn't let him down. “I could see his ears were still pointing towards me and not to the crowd so I knew he was still listening to me. There was amazing electricity in there and it was hard for the dressage fans to hold back – honestly I appreciate it!” he said.
The crowd exploded as he came up the center line to finish but there was an agonizing wait for the score which saw him take the lead by less than half a percentage point and then it was time to sit back and watch Van Grunsven take her turn with IPS Painted Black who earned a mark of 82.500% which proved no danger. “The degree of difficulty in my test could have been bigger” the Dutch rider admitted, “and we did make a mistake in the changes but I'm really pleased – he tried to do well and its great for the sport that Steffen has won. It shouldn't always be Anky and Isabell,” she added, referring to the long-time dominance of these two giants of the sport. “Of course we will go home now and practice a lot to be sure we beat him the next time,” she added.
Results (18.04.09)
Final – Rolex FEI World Cup Las Vegas
1. Ravel – Steffen Peters (USA) – 84,950%
2. Satchmo – Isabell Werth (GER) – 84,500%
3. IPS Painted Black – Anky van Grunsven (NED) – 82,150%
4. Exquis Nadine – Hans Peter Minderhoud (NED) – 81,050%
5. Pop Art – Ashley Holzer (CAN) – 79,200%
6. Whisper – Monica Theodorescu (GER) – 76.850%
7. Nartan – Jeannette Haazen (NED) – 75,600%
8. Randon – Michal Rapcewicz (POL) – 72,750%
9. Bjorsells Briar – Jan Brink (SWE) – 71,650%
10. Regardez Moi – Heath Ryan (AUS) – 70,300%
11. Diamore – Marco Bernal (COL) – 66,750%