2005 Dressage at Devon

George Williams and Rocher Dominate the Devon Dance Floor

It was a fantastic freestyle night on Saturday evening October 1 at 2005 Dressage at Devon. Devon's stars George Williams and Rocher dominated the dance floor breaking the Devon freestyle record by winning the class with a magical 77.850%. Riding to music by Madonna, the black Westfalian mare Rocher gave all she got and wowed the crowds.

Upon entering the ring, Williams and Rocher received a thunderous applause from the crowd marking their status of crowds' favorites. The pair had a clean ride with the extended trots and the left pirouette as highlights. Rocher kept a clear rhythm in the piaffe and passage and stayed consistently up in the frame. Their score of 77.850% was fair for their fabulous performance.

"She was so on the spot," Robert Williams said, adding "Devon is her dance floor." During the award ceremony, Rocher stood like a statue receiving trophies and ribbons and sniffing up the electric atmosphere that made her a champion. Rocher and George Williams currently hold the record of highest scoring Grand Prix and Grand Prix freestyle combination at Devon.

Finishing second were Canadians Cindy Ishoy on her black gelding Proton. The pair started off with a few irregularities in the piaffe and passage, but they grew in the test and got better at the end. The pirouettes were nice and once the music took an interesting turn by featuring 50 Cent's The Candy Shop, the horse was really swinging over the back and the piaffe and passage had so much expression and bounce, pushing up Ishoy's score to a 74.925% and a second place.

Dr. Cesar Parra and his Selle Francais stallion Galant du Serein ranked third. With a Latin inspired kur to music based on songs by Shakira, Parra kept up a high tempo in his test flowing from one movement into the other, though the horse was not at all times completely straight in the body. Riding for Colombia, Cesar scored 72.75% and landed a third place.

Canadians Ashley Holzer and her KWPN stallion Imperioso (by Cocktail) rode to very elegant, intriguing music with piano tunes synchronizing the rhythm of her long legged chestnut stallion. The piaffe is lovely, with the horse really sitting in the highest collection. They scored 71.50% and finished fourth. Lithuanian Julia Vysniauskas finished in fifth place aboard her Czech warmblood Syntax with a personal CDI record of 71.000%.

Text and Photos by Astrid Appels

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