Leslie Morse of Beverly Hills, California, riding her Tip Top 962 earned a score of 76.18% to claim victory in the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle today at the Palm Beach Dressage Derby CDI***/CDIY in Loxahatchee, Florida. The top 15 riders from the 37 that competed in the Grand Prix yesterday qualified to compete in the musical freestyle competition.
Canada´s Ashley Holzer aboard her own Imperioso scored 73.90% for second place. Colombia´s Cesar Parra riding Galant Du Serein for Horse Unlimited earned 70.48% for third.
All three of the top-placed horses are stallions and both Holzer and Parra were riding their mounts from the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. Morse was a member of the 2005 Bronze Medal winning team at the 2005 CDIO in Aachen, Germany, with her stallion Kingston. Tip Top 962 is a 12-year-old black Swedish warmblood stallion that Morse has owned and ridden for three years.
Ashley Holzer Wins FEI Grand Prix Special
Canada´s Ashley Holzer continued her winning streak at the Derby, notching her third CDI win at the show. Holzer earned this victory with Gambol in the FEI Grand Prix Special, soundly outdistancing the field of 15 horses with a score of 69.080%. Leslie Morse and her stallion Kingston placed second with a score of 67.800%. Arlene Page of Wellington, Florida, and her gelding Wild One claimed third place with 65.840%.