December 1, 2006

Jan Brons Celebrates Opening Day of Dressage at the National With Victory

Wellington, FL – The opening day of Dressage at the National dawned sunny and bright for Jan Brons, who won Friday’s Grand Prix class at the 123rd National Horse Show in Wellington, FL.

Held at the Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club during the National Horse Show, Dressage at the National is in its 3rd year and grows with each competition. There were more than 70 entries, which included classes for Prix St. Georges, Grand Prix, FEI Test of Choice and a variety of lower level divisions, ranging from USEF Fourth Level to Training Level.

Partnered with his own horse, a Dutch gelding named Jourdan, Brons said he was “fantastic” in the Grand Prix, riding the “B” test and earning a 67.50 percent.

“Normally, you get them really right in the warm up and then lose a bunch of that in the ring, but he was almost exactly the same. It felt great, he was going around and there was some little stuff that we need to work on, but he hasn’t shown since April, so I was certainly very pleased,” Brons enthused.

In his second full year of Grand Prix competition with Jourdan, he said the horse has relaxed in the ring, which allows Brons to ride him through each movement instead of coaching him through the test. Brons added that one of his favorite parts about his winning ride today was the final movement sequence on center line, where the horse and rider must transition between passage and piaffe several times before halting. In addition, he said that he also enjoyed the various flying changes in the test because “they were big and extravagant.”

Brons said his future plans with Jourdan will be determined on a show-by-show basis. Because he is a professional, other horses sometimes take precedence over his own and horses like Jourdan can get put on the back burner. However, the pair will compete again on Saturday in the Grand Prix Special division, beginning at 1:40 p.m. in the Mogavero Arena.

Earlier in the day in the FEI Prix St. Georges class, Lars Petersen was victorious on Dacardo, an 8-year-old Swedish gelding owned by Melissa Taylor. Earning a 69.00 percent, Petersen was more than a full percentage point ahead of the other 15 competitors who rode the test. Taylor followed on her own Schumacker through a competent and polished test and tied for second with Patrick Burssens who piloted Dark Secret. The second-place score was a 67.250 percent.

Dressage at the National will continue through Sunday afternoon in the Mogavero Arena. Saturday’s classes will include the following FEI-rated divisions: Young Rider Prix St. Georges, Junior Individual, Intermediaires I and II, Grand Prix Special and Test of Choice. USEF classes include Fourth through Training level tests. On Sunday, the same USEF classes will be offered, in addition to the following FEI divisions: Intermediaire Freestyle, Young Rider Freestyle and Grand Prix Freestyle.

PHOTO CREDIT: Jan Brons on Jourdan. The pair won the Grand Prix class in the first day of Dressage at the National on Friday. Photo by Susan Sickle.